KU restores conventional 2-year degree programme in colleges

Academic council gives nod to start enrolments in next few days

KARACHI:

The Academic Council of the University of Karachi has decided to resume the two-year graduation programme (BA, BSc and BCom) and MA in government and private colleges across the province and enrollment into the programmes will start in a few days.

The two-year associate degree programme of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been postponed in colleges until June 2022, officials told The Express Tribune.

The HEC was pushing for doing away with the two year bachelor and bringing graduation in line with 16-year education or four-year BS programmes recognised internationally.

The decision of resuming two-year graduation programme and postponing the associate degree programme was taken in Academic Council meeting presided over by KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi on Thursday.

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This decision has been taken in the light of explanatory letter issued to the University of Karachi including various varsities by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) in which HEC had maintained that a recommendation in the commission is being put forth for the varsities facing problem in implementing undergraduate policy may not implement the aforementioned policy until June 2022, in view of which, the approval for the aforementioned decision was granted in Academic Council meeting.

The KU VC while speaking to The Express Tribune shared that the University of Karachi in a few days will announce commencing Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) admissions in the colleges.

Meanwhile, a report of the committee led by Dr Jameel Kazmi in the said regard was presented and approved during the meeting of the Academic Council convened on Thursday while a committee led by dean education for commencing associate degree next year in June was formed in which secretary affiliation Dr Aneela Amber Malik, in-charge semester cell Dr Taseer Ahmed, Dr Sameena Saeed, Dr Intekhab Ulfat and Dr Maqsood Ansari have been taken on board.

The committee will prepare its recommendations pertaining to the implementation of phase-wise associate degree in colleges from next June 2022.

The aforementioned admissions were slated to commence from January but owing to tensions between HEC and the varsities, they will now commence after nearly seven months of delay.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2021.