Staff Reporter
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has asked students not to take admissions in unauthorised two-year BA/BSc or MA/MSc programmes.
In a tweet, the HEC warned students, “One or two universities have announced admissions for these programmes. While it will earn money for the varsity, it will not be in the interest of students.”
“These discarded degrees will not enable students to apply for jobs or further education,” it added.
Last year, the HEC abolished the two-year bachelor’s degree programmes at universities across the country, according to which students will no longer be able to pursue two-year BCom or BSc degrees.
The notification issued by HEC read, “[The two-year bachelor’s] degrees shall not be recognised by the HEC for students enrolled in these programmes after December 31, 2018.” It said that the programmes should be replaced with a single, composite BS degree. It was also decided that the last BA/BSc exam will be taken by December 31, 2020, and admissions for the last batch of MS/MSc will be taken before the date as well.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the HEC has allowed some flexibility for students, including that varsities have been given a “three-month grace period” until March 31, 2021, to conduct exams that will be considered 2020 exams.
The commission has warned that admissions in illegal and phased-out programmes will lead to a fine for students.
