ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman on Friday asked the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) to fulfil the condition of required qualified staff before launching new disciplines.

According to an official statement, referring to the recent announcement by the university about the launching of 26 new courses, Dr Rehman stressed that a strong faculty with doctoral degrees was now a prerequisite for starting new programmes.

He said it was expected of the universities to provide the best possible faculty before new programmes were initiated.

Earlier, the HEC had warned that degrees issued by the universities which did not meet the required criteria be it faculty or infrastructure development would not be recognised. FJWU Vice-Chancellor Dr Najma Najam, when contacted, said she did not believe that the HEC had issued such an statement.

“The HEC executive director was present in the meeting which approved the launching of all these programmes,” Dr Najam said, adding that: “I fully agree with the HEC chairman that no programme should be launched in the absence of required PhD faculty.” A detailed presentation in this regard was also made to the Punjab governor, who is chancellor of the university, in the presence of all departments concerned including the HEC, she said.

It is strange that the HEC chairman has issued such a statement without asking FJWU’s position on the issue in question, she added.

“Of course to start 26 new disciplines at once is a huge task for a new university like FJWU. We have planned a three-year programme during which these programmes would be launched,” Dr Najma responded to a query.

This year from September six new disciplines would be offered to the students, eleven during the next year and the rest in the following academic year, the vice-chancellor said.

The university had done its homework and PC-I of the first six disciplines had been sent to the government for the release of Rs151 million funding, she said.

According to Dr Najam, the FJWU is probably the only university which has three foreign PhDs in English and 12 in environmental sciences.