Associate degree students stuck in limbo
It has been three years since the associate degree programme was started in Sindh but the first batch of students of the relatively new programme is yet to graduate due to negligence of instructors.
Dozens of teachers of government colleges have not marked the answer sheets of the associate degree programme and thus the answer sheets have not been handed back to the University of Karachi.
Consequently, the first batch of the associate degree programme, which sat for its annual examinations back in September of 2023 to obtain their degree and then transfer to a four-year programme, is stuck in limbo.
Furthermore, as many as 1,000 students have now been forced to continue their studies in the same subjects due to the withheld results.
One such student is Naveed, who attends a government college in District Korangi of Karachi. “I wanted to transfer to an economics four-year programme after getting my associate degree results. However, since the result of the second year of the degree has been pending for months now, the admissions deadline has passed,” regretted Naveed.
“It is a shame that my precious time has been wasted. Now I will have to apply for admission in November,” he added
It is pertinent to mention that students like Naveed have to apply for a four-year programme once they have completed the associate degree because the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) has banned the two-year graduation of B.Com, B.A. and B.Sc. across the country, after which students now have to take two more years of university education to complete graduation.
Be that as it may, the Express Tribune has learnt from sources privy to the development that much of the delay in the results is due to the teachers of English, Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, Social Work, Economics, Business Communication, Business and Industrial Law, Banking and Finance, Principles of Insurance, Advanced Accounting, Principles of Management, Principles of Marketing, and Economic Development of Pakistan.
Various sources within the University of Karachi’s Examinations Department also confirmed the delays and further added that the most significant delays in the grading process have been done by the teachers of English, Urdu, and Islamic Studies.
“For instance, the concerned English teacher was given 12,000 exam copies to grade and 2,000 exam copies are still pending,” a source disclosed under the condition of anonymity.
In light of these revelations, the Express Tribune spoke to the University of Karachi’s Acting Director of Examinations, Dr Shahid Zaidi. “On the direction of the Vice Chancellor, we have issued notices to teachers who have taken the exam copies and are not releasing the results, after which the teachers have now started to sending in the results,” conceded Dr Zaidi.
When asked if this would become standard practice and sabotage the associate degree programme, Dr Zaidi opined: “The solution to this problem is that the teachers who did not live up to the mark should not be given exam copies for evaluation in future.”