HEC said "Do Not Take Admission in Unauthorized 2 Years BA/ BSC and MA/ MSc Degree Programs"

Today, Higher Education of Pakistan (HEC) published a notification in daily newspapers and on its social media regarding a ban on 2 years degree programs of BA/ BSc and MA/ MSc. HEC posted a tweet on its official Twitter account which stated that "Do Not Take Admission in Unauthorized 2 Years BA/ BSC and MA/ MSc Degree Programs".

hec-notification

According to details, HEC said in the following notification that:
Students are advised not to waste their time and money by enrolling in unauthorised degree programmes, such as 2-year BA/BSc or MA/MSc programmes. These programmes have been phased out because of quality concerns. One or two universities have announced admission to unauthorised BA/BSc and MA/MSc programmes. While this will earn money for the university, it will not be in the interest of the students. These discarded degrees will not enable students to apply for jobs or further education. The decision to phase out the BA/BSc and MA/MSc programmes, and replace them with a single, composite, 4-year BS degree was taken in 2004. However, universities were allowed to continue both systems in a transition period. In 2011, the Associate Degree (AD) was announced as an alternative to the BA/BSc degree. AD is equivalent to 14 years schooling, and entitles graduates to get admission in the 5th semester of respective BS programmes after fulfilling the admitting university's requirements. In 2016, the transition period was concluded, and a final decision made to stop admissions in BA/BSc programmes on December 31, 2018, and in MA/MSc programmes on December 31, 2020. It was also decided that the last BA/BSc exam would be held in 2020, and that the admission to the last batch of MA/MSc students would take place before December 31, 2020. These decisions were confirmed in 2017, and again in 2018, 2019, and 2020. 
However, because of the disruption caused by the coronavirus, the following flexibility has been allowed:  
Universities have been given a grace period of three months to conclude the final BA/BSc exams. Any exams concluded before March 31, 2021 shall be considered to be 2020 exams. 
Similarly, the deadline for admission to the final cohort of the MA/MSc programmes is also extended to March 31, 2021 so that the final cohort of BA/BSc students can apply for admission.
In addition, holders of BA/BSc degrees are allowed to apply for admission in the third year or 5th semester of the BS programme, subject to the completion of a bridging semester or any additional course requirements that the university may impose.
Any student who misses the deadline to get admission to the MA/MSc programmes can apply instead for admission to the third year (i.e., 5th semester) of the BS programme, which is a far superior option.
Fresh students can be admitted either directly into the 4-year BS programme, or in the 2-year Associate Degree Programmes, offered through recognized campuses, constituent and affiliated colleges in place of the old BA/BSc programmes.
In case of admission in illegal and phased-out programmes, the students will end up bearing all risks and costs or any associated loss incurred. HEC cannot recognize degrees of students who enrolled in conventional BA/BSc programmes after December 31, 2018. Likewise, the last date for admission in conventional MA/MSc programmes is March 31, 2021. 

 Click on the following image to read it in full scale.

hec-notice-2-years-programs

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post