KU’s decision to resume two-year degree leaves students in quandary

The University of Karachi’s decision to resume the two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc program in government and private colleges in Sindh has left the students in confused as varsity goes against HEC and Sindh High Court’s ruling.

In the KU Academic Council’s meeting last week, it was decided to postpone the enactment of the two-year Associate Degree program of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in colleges in the province until June next year.

After KU’s decision, HEC had advised students not to enroll in the two-year program unauthorized by HEC.

In an official statement, HEC restated that one varsity is resuming admissions to the unauthorized two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs. The commission notified that it is going to negatively impact the academic future of the students and they will face difficulty in acquiring jobs after passing out from the two-year program.

Commission also notified that the students must be aware that the university will gain monetary benefits by putting the future of students at stake.

The contradictory notification has left students in limbo all over Sindh and they are unsure whether to take admission in the two-year program or not.

It is pertinent to note that HEC has abolished 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.

Moreover, the announcement to abolish the two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs and replace them with four-year BS degrees was announced in 2004. However, universities were allowed to continue both systems during the transition period that lasted till 2016.