K-P mulls hybrid graduate degree education system

HEC says it is not aware of any proposal and will not recognise unsanctioned degree formats

ABBOTABAD/ ISLAMABAD: In a bid to offer a middle way for students who have trouble accessing universities but wish to pursue higher education, a high-level confab of top education officials of varsities in the province has decided to propose a hybrid method of completing graduate studies and offering some educational certificates for those who do not continue their course beyond two years.

A grand confab of vice chancellors of varsities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was held on Sunday where Abbottabad University of Science and Technology (AUST) Vice Chancellor Dr Iftikhar Ahmad introduced the “2+2” model for degree awarding colleges in the province.



The Higher Education Commission (HEC) had decided to phase out the old two-year-long Bachelors of Arts (BA) and Bachelors of Sciences (BSc) programmes and would be replaced with the four-year-long Bachelors of Studies (BS) programmes.

The HEC had set 2018 as the last year for colleges to enrol students in the BA and BSc programmes, while 2020 is the cut off for enrolling in the Masters of Arts (MA) programmes.

However, Dr Ahmed noted that the decision had been undertaken without conducting the necessary “spadework”, and had “shaken the universities, colleges and higher education departments of the country”.

While the provincial government had started implementing the four-year programmes in most colleges of the province, the programme was facing resistance since colleges do not have the capacity to run four-year-long BS programmes.

Moreover, he said that the programmes are quite lengthy and students hailing from impoverished backgrounds cannot afford it and many decided to not take admission. Those leaving the programme midway too have to walk away empty-handed.

“As per the National Education Policy, access comes first and terminating the BA and MA private degrees means negating that policy,” he said.

To solve this, the VCs have come up with the 2+2 model. Under the model, students can enroll into the BS programme but can complete studies for the first two years of the programme — when mostly foundation and general courses such as English, mathematics, Pakistan and Islamic studies are conducted— at a degree college and then continue their remaining studies at university or at a postgraduate degree college after transferring the requisite 66 academic credit hours.



For students who do not wish to continue their studies after two years or drop out, they can receive an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or Associate in Applied Science certificate which will be equivalent to the BA and BSc degrees.

The move was also hailed as ‘reasonable’ and ‘realistic solution to a complex problem’ by K-P Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, who helmed the provincial higher education department in the last tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). However, an HEC official told The Express Tribune that the cutoff date to phase out the conventional BA and MA still stands.

Moreover, he said that no one had yet to formally approach the commission on the proposed model.

“HEC will not recognise the [two years] degrees offered by colleges and universities after the deadline,” the official said, adding, “The purpose of the four year programme was to enhance quality of graduate education and bring it at par with international institutions and allow students to directly seek admission to Masters in Philosophy abroad after 16 years of education in college. HEC will not step back and degrade the system.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2018.