Pakistan

Standardisation: Capital colleges to offer four-year BS degrees

Two-year BS programmes being phased out.

Riazul Haq June 18, 2014

A militant outfit opposed to Western-style learning had forced education institutions to shut down on May 13. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) is set to start a four-year BS programmes in 11 colleges of Islamabad Capital Territory.

A notification has been forwarded by Capital Administration and Development Division to 11 Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) colleges informing them of details of the programme.

The four-year programme will be available in 12 fields including mathematics, applied psychology, English, and textile and fashion design.

Colleges

According to the CADD notification, around eleven colleges have been selected for these programmes. Islamabad Model Postgraduate College for Girls F-7/2 will have five BS programme in economics, Islamic studies, applied psychology, finance, and textile and fashion design.

Similarly, Islamabad Model Postgraduate College H-8 run programmes in geography besides B.Com degrees offered by Islamabad Model Postgraduate Commerce College H-8/4.

Islamabad College for Girls (ICG), F-6/2 will start English, applied psychology and computer science programmes.

Islamabad Model Postgraduate College for Girls G-10/4 will offer mathematics degree programmes, while Islamabad Model College for Girls, F-6/2 will run physics programmes.

Islamabad Model College for Boys H-9 and Islamabad College for Boys (ICB) G-6/3 will offer BS mathematics, while BS applied psychology will be offered in Islamabad Model College for Girls F-10/2. Likewise, Islamabad Model College for Boys will launch BS computer sciences and BS English.

A four-year business administration programme will be started in Commerce College for Girls F-10/3 with B.Com

Fee structure

According to the notification, for all subjects which includes laboratory or practical exams the fee has been set at around Rs20,000 for the first semester and Rs13,000 for the subsequent seven semesters.

Subjects requiring is no lab work will have fees of Rs17,000 for the first and Rs10,000 for subsequent semesters. The number of students in each class will be from 40 to 50.

CADD spokesperson Rafique Tahir told The Express Tribune that the Education Policy 2009 set a target to phase out two-year bachelors programmes by 2018 and replace them with four year programmes.

He added that the colleges affiliated with Quaid-e-Azam University. “QAU officials told us to send a formal application for it for evaluation and approval from the university’s academic council,” he remarked.

Tahir said they would send the application to varsity officials on Wednesday. He added that if QAU completed its evaluation process early, the programmes could start as soon as September.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2014.