Illegal campus: Students’ future hangs in the balance

Superior College Pindi campus has been functioning without HEC approval

ISLAMABAD: The future of several students of a private college is at stake as it’s Rawalpindi campus is functioning illegally.

The students came to know after two years of studying that the institute is not authorised to grant degrees since it is not affiliated with the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The college currently offers graduate studies in the disciplines of computer sciences, aviation, commerce and business administration.

The students of the institute staged a protest against the college administration outside the National Press Club on Wednesday.

They urged the HEC to take serious action against the college administration and transfer them to some other institute so that two years of their academic study does not go to waste.

Nadeem, a student of the college, told The Express Tribune that at the time of admission they were told by Principal Amir Rafique that the college was recognised from the HEC.

Another student, Farhan Abbasi, said that superior college had been charging from around Rs60,000 to Rs100,000 per student per semester.

The HEC, through a letter issued on February 3, notified the students about the illegal status of the college.

The letter stated that the HEC only recognises the main campus of the private college, established in 2004 at Lahore.

It further adds that the college cannot impart degree level education in its branches/franchises or affiliated colleges since the Act under which it was established, act does not empower the college to do so.

All its branches, colleges, franchises including the Rawalpindi branch, imparting degree-level education are not recognised by the HEC.

A senior HEC official told The Express Tribune that all Superior College branches imparting degree-level programme were not recognised by the commission. On a number of occasions, the HEC has issued letters to the college administration to stop the degree level programmes.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th,  2016.