The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has banned public sector universities and degree-awarding institutions from establishing or operating sub-campuses at the tehsil level.
In an official notification issued to vice chancellors, rectors and heads of public sector universities and DAIs, the commission stated tehsil-level sub-campuses will no longer be allowed with immediate effect.
According to the HEC, a detailed review found that such campuses are usually structurally weak and academically unsustainable. The notification said these campuses often struggle to attract and retain qualified PhD faculty, operate with low student intake and lack the academic, technical and residential facilities needed to deliver quality higher education.
The commission also warned that tehsil-level sub-campuses remain exposed to weak governance, academic isolation and reputational risks for the country’s higher education sector.
Under the new directive, no university or degree-awarding institution can establish, advertise, launch, operate or even seek approval for a new sub-campus at tehsil level. The HEC also made it clear that it will not issue NOCs, recognition, accreditation support or degree attestation eligibility for any such campus.
The notification further stated that any approval, syndicate decision, senate resolution, administrative order or institutional arrangement made without prior HEC clearance will be treated as invalid for regulatory purposes and will carry no academic legitimacy.
The commission has also suspended all pending proposals related to tehsil-level sub-campuses. Universities have been directed not to start admissions, advertisements, hiring, land acquisition, procurement or construction work for such campuses.
Any tehsil-level campus currently under consideration at the institutional, provincial or federal level will now be placed in abeyance and sent to the HEC for review.
The regulator also warned that degrees awarded through unapproved tehsil-level sub-campuses will not qualify for HEC recognition, attestation or regulatory protection.
Responsibility for any violation of the directive will rest with the relevant vice chancellor, rector, head of institution, registrar and members of the approving authority.
The HEC said it may take regulatory action in cases of non-compliance, including non-recognition of campuses and academic programmes, withholding of approvals and other measures allowed under the law.
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