Widely accepted: 41 public sector universities are offering BS programmes at present, says Frontier Education Foundation MD Hifzur Rehman.
Citing legal and functional complications, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Higher Education Secretary Muhammad Ali Shehzada said the creation of a provincial Higher Education Commission (HEC) is not a viable option for K-P.
Addressing a workshop titled ‘Assessment of BS programmes in Government Colleges’ at University of Peshawar on Wednesday, Shehzada said despite a lot of deliberation, a model similar to the Punjab HEC cannot be adopted in K-P. Punjab HEC was formally announced by the Punjab government on Sunday.
The one-day event was put together by the Frontier Education Foundation (FEF) in collaboration with UoP at Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Hall. UoP Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Rasul Jan, FEF MD Hifzur Rehman, VCs and principals of other public sector varsities and colleges were also in attendance.
Addressing the workshop, college principals opined affiliation of BS programmes in colleges should be streamlined and colleges should be granted degree-awarding status.
Talking on the occasion, Jan said the development of a uniform affiliation system and curricula is the need of the hour. “HEC curriculum guidelines should be adopted by varsities after mandatory changes, if any, made by statutory bodies of universities,” he said. According to Jan, this is the only way BS programmes can be standardised across institutions. He said the four-year degrees are part of a universal system of higher education and Pakistani educational institutions should strive to maintain quality. Citing UoP’s example, Jan said the varsity abolished the BS evening programme in order to ease faculty of the workload and allow them to focus on research and increasing productivity of existing students.
Rehman said at present as many as 41 public sector colleges across K-P are offering the BS programme and around 14,000 students are enrolled in them.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2015.
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