ISLAMABAD – The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has barred 13 universities offering distance-learning programme, from enrolling students in MPhil and PhD programmes for not meeting standards set by the commission.
A letter sent by HEC Consultant of Quality Assurance Division Muhammad Ismail to universities states, “Further admissions in any of the distance education programs being offered by universities are stopped immediately till finalisation of recommendation by the committee.”
According to Express Tribune, the banned universities include International Islamic University, Islamabad; Virtual Campus, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, University of Peshawar, Peshawar; Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan; Government College University, Faisalabad; University of Agriculture, Faisalabad; The University of Faisalabad; Islamia University, Bahawalpur; Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan; Sukkur IBA; Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur; University of Sindh, Jamshoro and University of Balochistan, Quetta.
Around 4,000 students of these highest level programmes likely to be affected after this decision. The HEC has directed the universities to shift the students enrolled in MS\MPhil\PhD programmes to regular discipline, adding that the faculty required for their adjustment be ensured as per set guidelines.
The decision to ban the universities was made as experts found lack of adequate faculty after physically visiting varsities and reviewing documentation.
According to the HEC figures, there are about 70,000 students enrolled across the country in distance learning programs and several universities have been found violating the rules besides being recipients to benefits of weak HEC policies about distance learning and proper approval of their own statutory bodies.
