University enrolments fall amid confusion

Students think the new four-year BS degree is not viable as employers still seek a master’s qualification

KARACHI:

The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan’s policy to replace the two-year master’s programme with a four-year Bachelor of Studies (BS) degree seems to have had severe consequences for local universities and pupils alike.

Previously, students with a two-year, college-granted associate degree would have the option to invest another two years at a university to earn a master’s qualification.

However, the government’s order to phase out the two-year master’s programme for a four-year BS programme, has meant students who have already studied in a college for two years will now get a BS degree instead of a master’s degree if they transfer to a university.

In addition, they will also have to forgo their college degree once they are awarded the Four-Year BS Degree. It is believed that this change of policy has discouraged thousands of students with a two-year bachelor’s degree from a college from applying to a university this year. The students appear to have lost their motivation to pursue higher education, with many claiming that they see no point of pursuing yet another bachelor’s qualification.

Owing to this reluctance, the university enrolment rate is said to have fallen by 25 per cent this year, as compared to the previous year’s enrolments. According to data obtained from Karachi University’s Enrolment Department, this year a total of 1,213 students across the university’s 54 departments have enrolled in the third year of the alternate BS programme, which has replaced the former Master’s programme of the university. Whereas, last year, over 1,601 students had enrolled in the two-year master’s programme.

The only exception to this trend are the departments of Commerce, Mass Communication and Psychology and Economics and Finance, which have surprisingly seen a jump in admissions as compared to last year. A senior professor of the university, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that the dilemma for students here is whether or not to enrol in a BS programme at a university and get another Bachelor’s Degree with just a change of Nomenclature.

“However, as per HEC Policy, the Four-Years BS Degree will be equivalent to a master’s degree of the past. But then again, students are not ready to accept this because of the degree’s nomenclature,” the professor opined. The students on the other hand maintain that employers demand a master’s qualification for jobs, so the BS degree, despite its touted equivalence to a master’s degree, isn’t of much aid to them in terms of employability.

“Until this ambiguity is removed and HEC takes the issue seriously taking the stakeholders on board, the issue will continue to persist and students will be left to take the fall,” commented an irked pupil. Speaking in this regard Karachi University’s Teacher’s Association President Prof Shah Ali Al-Qadr, said that HEC’s new policy is hostile for higher education institutions and students alike.

“The disparity here is that while two-year master’s programme has been discontinued, private and government employment agencies still seek candidates who have a two-year master’s degree. Even the Public Service Commission is accepting such graduates but the HEC is not ready to listen to them. In addition to that, graduation on a private basis has also been suspended which has closed the doors of education to thousands of students,” maintained the professor while speaking to The Express Tribune.