KU faces obstacles in starting BS program

11 government colleges are seeking affiliation for the BS program in 14 disciplines

KARACHI:

A recent report submitted by the University of Karachi (KU) before the Sindh High Court has shed light on the state of government colleges in the city. Specifically, the document revealed that the files submitted by 11 government colleges seeking affiliation for the BS program across 14 relevant disciplines were incomplete and hastily prepared, lacking crucial information about the facilities available at the colleges including records of teachers, book titles, computer details, and the number of classrooms.

When the Epress Tribune out to educationist and former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Sindh Madressatul Islam, Dr Muhammad Ali Sheikh, for his opinion on the matter, he stated that the colleges and universities in Pakistan operated very differently from those in the rest of the world. “In other countries, the academic administration of colleges is managed by universities, while financial administration is handled by the government. Universities ensure that there is no shortage of teachers in their departments, and similarly, they appoint teachers in colleges on time with the help of a selection board. This process helps maintain academic standards in colleges. However, here, the government tends to retain academic authority, which leads to ongoing issues that are hard to resolve. To improve the state of colleges, we will need to shift academic administration to universities,” suggested Dr Ali.

According to the University of Karachi's report, DJ Sindh Government Science College in Karachi has requested affiliation for its BS program in three subjects: Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science. However, the Computer Science faculty has only three teachers, while the Physics department has ten teachers, and the Chemistry department has nine teachers.

Similarly, the Government Girls Science and Commerce College, located in the Federal B Area, has requested affiliation for a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program. However, this college too does not have teachers with BBA/MBA qualifications. The college has two economics teachers and four commerce teachers. Here too the file does not provide information about the college's computer facilities. Additionally, there are no details about the library, where out of 15 proposed books, only three are relevant to business studies.

Likewise, the PECHS Government College for Women has requested affiliation for the BS Economics and Finance program. Although the college has mentioned having computer facilities in its file, it has not provided the academic details of the seven teachers listed. The Premier Government Girls College has also sought affiliation for the BBA (BS) program. However, a review of the college's faculty revealed that there were no teachers from the relevant business department, with only three teachers from the commerce department and no information on computer labs either.

Other colleges including the Premier Government College, Premier Government Boys College (Evening), and Government College of Physical Education too faced similar issues in affiliation.

Director General of Colleges, Dr Naveed Rab said, "We are in regular communication with the University of Karachi and have submitted the necessary affiliation files. However, instead of conducting a visit, the university requested that the colleges obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Education Department. We have issued the NOC to the colleges, and now we await the visit so that we can start the BS program in colleges from the 2025 session."

When contacted, Dr Anila Amber Malik, Secretary of the Affiliation Committee, confirmed that the report had been submitted to the court. “We will be commencing phased visits to colleges starting from the first week of December. Our intention is to grant affiliation to colleges that meet the necessary requirements,” she stated.