Karachi University (KU) defied the orders of the Sindh government, Sindh High Court (SHC), and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as it announced to resume the two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs in government and private colleges across Sindh.
In the last week’s meeting of the KU’s Academic Council, it was also decided to postpone the implementation of the two-year Associate Degree program of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in colleges in the province until June next year.
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Following KU’s announcement, HEC advised students not to waste their time and money by enrolling in unauthorized degree programs including the two-year degree programs.
In an official statement, HEC reiterated that one university has announced to resume admissions to the unauthorized two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs. While the university will reap financial benefits from the admissions, it will negatively impact the students possessing these degrees as they will become ineligible for jobs or further education in the future.
The contrasting announcements have left thousands of aspiring students all over Sindh in a quandary as they are indecisive whether to take admission in the two-year programs or not.
HEC had phased out the two-year programs such as BA/BSc and MA/MSc under its Undergraduate Education Policy earlier this year in January due to serious concerns over the quality of such programs.
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Note that the decision to phase out the two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs and replace them with the four-year BS degree was taken way back in 2004. However, universities were allowed to continue both systems during the transition period that last till 2016.
HEC also introduced the two-year Associate Degree as an alternative to the BA/BSc degree in 2011. HEC’s Associate Degree is equivalent to 14 years of education that allows students to get admission in the fifth semester of respective BS programs after meeting the requirements of the admitting university.
