The Sindh High Court has ordered the education ministry to start the four-year graduation degree program in all colleges and universities.
At a hearing Monday, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar questioned Education Secretary Ghulam Akbar Laghari.
The other provinces have made their four-year graduation programs, when will it be done in Sindh? The education secretary said that the government has made preparation but there were problems with some colleges.
The judge asked for the number of colleges in the province. The secretary said there are 350 colleges out of which 340 are active.
The judge remarked that a fraud has been committed with students for forty years. A child who spends millions of rupees still does not get admission. It is your duty to provide four-year graduation programs to every college and university, he said.
The judge said the government should not accredit universities and colleges that offer only two-year programs.
Sixteen years of education will reduce pressure on universities and these 340 colleges can be turned into universities.
“Applying to a two-year degree program is not useful,” the judge said. Let the students know this in all colleges and universities. Such degrees are just a piece of paper.
He went on to express his anger that people were promised government jobs if they had at least 16 years of education but at this rate no one would get a job, even in the Punjab. This was unfair with children.
The education secretary admitted that it was a bad situation but the ministry was trying to fix it.
The court formed a committee for education reforms and ordered that education experts be made members.
It then ordered the Sindh government to start four-year programs in 60 colleges across the province this year and 100 more next year. After two years, the program will be available in all 350 colleges.
Last year, a commission had announced that the two-year BA and BSc degrees would no longer be taught at universities in Pakistan.
Students enrolled in two-year programs before December 31, 2018 would be allowed to complete their BA and BSc degrees until December 2020.
However, those enrolled later would not be granted degrees.The Sindh government has, however, rejected this decision and has ordered universities across the province to continue the two-year degrees.
