Sindh

KU to restore honours, master’s programme

Letter sent to HEC to phase out present BS programme.

Safdar Rizvi January 04, 2011

KARACHI: The University of Karachi (KU) has decided to reinstate its honours and master’s programme once again after following the four-year BS programme for four years.

KU pro vice-chancellor Prof Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi told Daily Express that the university has written a letter to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to restore the Master’s programme but they are still waiting for a reply.

It may be noted that the four-year BS programme, which the university has been following for the past four years, was introduced after pressure from the HEC.

The university has prepared a working paper for the Honours and Master’s programme which will be presented before the academic council at its next meeting. If the council approves the working paper then the management will decide if it wants to reinstate the programme immediately or look further into the problems that it will face due to the transition, said Dr Kazmi.

According to the working paper, those students who completed the Honours and Master’s programme were more successful in finding jobs than BS students. Those students who complete Master’s, either privately or from KU’s evening programme, are also finding jobs more easily.

It added that the university also has to hire more teachers for the BS programme and that is a burden on the university’s budget.

“The university is not giving admissions to its own BS students by saying that the BS programme is equal to the Master’s evening programme,” said Dr Kazmi. “These students are unable to do Master’s then.”

It is interesting to note that the decision is being implemented at a time when the first batch of the four-year BS programme is about to graduate.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (3)

Amin Amir Ali | 13 years ago | Reply SHAMEFUL SHAMEFUL SHAMEFUL !!! They are restroring the programme for the new students and what about the first batch who entered KU in 2007. They are mentioning that the programme is not that much receptive in the market, so, if they cancel this programme then the first batch will be extinct from the market because they will be the only one in pakistan with such degrees. I support the decision of restoring the programme but the first batch should also be given the degrees which KU use to give in the past like BSc, BBA not this BS (Whom no body knows in the market). I appeal to the concerned authorities to restore the previous kind of degree (BBA and Bsc) for the new students and also for the first batch.

Sabih Saleem | 13 years ago | Reply Karachi University is one of the finest institutions of the country but it has an incompetent management. They are playing with the future of thousands of intelligent students. What about the students who will graduate this year? Will they be awarded a three years honours and a masters degree instead of a BS degree in the same year (i.e 2010)? The Governor of Sindh must take strict action against the academic council of Karachi University and its top management.

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