Higher Education Commission. PHOTO: FILE.
The degree programmes of these universities are not approved by the accreditation council of the faculties concerned and due to this practice future of thousands of students is at stake. On the other hand, sources inside the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan said the commission was also concerned about the issue and in this regard they also advertised in newspapers for the guidance of students and parents to check the status of programmes being offered by the universities before enrolment.
Illegal private campuses of different universities have become a thriving business in the past few years. These campuses are fleecing the students in the name of education. After the permission from the HEC to start sub-campuses of the public universities, a large number of campuses were established across the country. At the same time, a number of campuses started offering programmes without the accreditation from the council concerned.
A few weeks back, the students of Bahauddin Zakriya University Multan, University of Sargodha and other varsities protested against non-issuance of degrees. Last week, BZU Multan also published an advertisement for the guidance of students advising them not to take admission in its ‘affiliated law colleges’ as they did not approve any law college programmes at its sub-campuses.
BZU Multan Registrar Dr Umer Chaudhry said the varsity was running three sub-campuses and none of them was ruining any unapproved degree programmes. He said the status of the Lahore campus was different as it was an illegal campus. “Our policy is clear. We will not allow any unapproved degree programmes at sub-campuses, he remarked.
Recently, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested former vice chancellor of Sargodha University Dr Akram Chaudhry over alleged charges of corruption in the establishment of sub-campuses.
A senior official from the HEC said the quality insurance cell of the commission was working to guide students. He said students could check the status of their degree programmes at HEC’s website.
The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUSA) President Dr Mahboob Hussain said the government should take action against all those universities that were running unapproved degree programmes. He said FAPUSA always opposed such illegal acts in the name of education so the authorities concerned should check the status of all such private institutions in the country, he added.
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