Senate panel wants curriculum, degree awarding issues probed
NUML student’s PhD degree held by the university after six years of having completed the work
PHOTO: FILE
With students complaining about curriculum, registration and awarding of degrees, a Senate panel has directed the concerned departments to investigate the issues and submit a reply to the committee.
This was decided in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training at the Parliament House on Thursday. The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad.
During Thursday’s meeting, the committee reviewed the petitions of students issues regarding universities, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) which had been referred to the committee by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
Sharing the issues with members of the meeting, Waqar Zahidi, a student of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), told the committee that the university had delayed his doctorate of philosophy (PhD) degree by six years.
He said that he had submitted his thesis in 2010. But over the next six years, there had been no contact from the university so that he could defend it and get his PhD. He asserted that during these six years, there was not a single response to his emails.
Senator Professor Dr Mehr Roghani lamented the sorry state of affairs that students are not facilitated in Pakistan.
The committee called for a thorough examination of the case.
Another student, Muhammad Iqbal through his petition, told the body about an alternative method for foreign foundation degree holders to get attested.
The committee recommended case must be sent to the two organizations and that their representatives must be present in the next meeting for an in-depth discussion on this issue.
Ishtiaq Ahmed suggested revisions and changes in the curriculum based on public administration, good governance and basic rights was the need of the hour.
Amendments in Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) were also discussed in the Senate body.
Senator Roghani, while speaking about the issues, said international communities try to provide the best learning opportunities for their students in higher education, but Pakistan not only lags behind but also continues to have an increasing number of issues.
HEC Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali said that as per policy and rules, the curriculum undergoes periodic changes every three years.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, while lauding the efforts said that the inclusion of Quranic education and Uswa-e-Hasna in the educational curriculum would be appreciated.
However, the committee’s chairman added that interpretation of the Quran should be modified to include modern concepts.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2018.
This was decided in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training at the Parliament House on Thursday. The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad.
During Thursday’s meeting, the committee reviewed the petitions of students issues regarding universities, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) which had been referred to the committee by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
Sharing the issues with members of the meeting, Waqar Zahidi, a student of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), told the committee that the university had delayed his doctorate of philosophy (PhD) degree by six years.
He said that he had submitted his thesis in 2010. But over the next six years, there had been no contact from the university so that he could defend it and get his PhD. He asserted that during these six years, there was not a single response to his emails.
Senator Professor Dr Mehr Roghani lamented the sorry state of affairs that students are not facilitated in Pakistan.
The committee called for a thorough examination of the case.
Another student, Muhammad Iqbal through his petition, told the body about an alternative method for foreign foundation degree holders to get attested.
The committee recommended case must be sent to the two organizations and that their representatives must be present in the next meeting for an in-depth discussion on this issue.
Ishtiaq Ahmed suggested revisions and changes in the curriculum based on public administration, good governance and basic rights was the need of the hour.
Amendments in Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) were also discussed in the Senate body.
Senator Roghani, while speaking about the issues, said international communities try to provide the best learning opportunities for their students in higher education, but Pakistan not only lags behind but also continues to have an increasing number of issues.
HEC Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali said that as per policy and rules, the curriculum undergoes periodic changes every three years.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, while lauding the efforts said that the inclusion of Quranic education and Uswa-e-Hasna in the educational curriculum would be appreciated.
However, the committee’s chairman added that interpretation of the Quran should be modified to include modern concepts.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2018.