November 16, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 17, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 15: Although engineering diploma enrolment has registered an increase of about 39 per cent over the past five years, students acquiring relevant trade skills are still deprived of their right to higher education because engineering universities do not acknowledge their qualification for admission.

Students holding technical qualifications also face difficulty when they seek admission to colleges and general universities as their educational background is looked down upon.

These views were expressed by officials at the Sindh Board of Technical Education while talking to Dawn. Speaking about the case of students with technical qualification, Syed Sirajul Islam Bukhari, controller of exams, SBTE, said: “According to past government notifications, the diplomas of associate engineering and commerce are equivalent to intermediate (science) and intermediate (commerce), respectively.

But in practice the qualification of technical students is either not acknowledged or they are ignored at the time of admission. At the NED University of Engineering and Technology such students are simply refused admissions. This is unfair because students holding diplomas in associate engineering are taught all relevant subjects, including physics and maths.”

According to Asghar Ali Soomro, assistant controller of exams, SBTE, students armed with technical school certificate (TSC) faced similar problems despite the fact that a 1973 government notification had declared TSC equivalent to secondary school certificate.

“Students with TSC are ignored for admission to colleges. And that is the major reason behind the drop in enrolment to TSC programme. This problem exists all over Pakistan and needs immediate attention of the authorities,” said Mr Bukhari.

Talking to Dawn, Karachi University registrar Raees Alvi and Director-General of Colleges (Sindh) Prof Dr Rafiq Ahmed Siddiqui dispelled the impression that any discriminatory attitude was exercised towards students having technical qualification at the time of admission. The sole criteria, they said, was merit.

An NED official, however, admitted that students with diploma of associate engineering were not considered for admission. “Yes, this is true. The university is an autonomous body and we have our own regulations. Earlier, some seats were reserved for diploma-holders, but they were later abolished upon seeing poor performance of such students,” he said.

A teacher at the university said that since the university now had an admission test system, such students should at least be given a chance to appear in the test. “Earlier, there were no admission tests. So, one can accept the logic of rejecting students on the basis of poor performance. But now with the admission test policy in place, the field should be open for all.”

Increase in enrolment

Student enrolment in institutes affiliated with the SBTE, including both government and private institutions offering diploma in engineering in the province, has registered an increase of 39 per cent during the past five years.

On the contrary, technical school certificate programme enrolment has dropped by about 21 per cent in three years. Commerce diploma programme enrolment has remained more or less the same in five years, according to the statistics available with the SBTE.According to these figures, student enrolment at technical institutes offering diploma of associate engineering has increased from 7,999 in 2003 to 11,128 in 2007. Technical school certificate enrolment, however, has decreased from 2,323 in 2006 to 1,839 in 2008. Enrolment to diploma in commerce was 1,348 in 2004 and this year it is 1,360.

SBTE officials attribute the trend of increased enrolment to rising inflation that has compelled low-income families to motivate their children to opt for a three-year diploma course.

“The diploma of associate engineer holds attraction for students who want to shoulder financial responsibilities of their families as quickly as possible, without spending more money and time on studies. The starting income is usually between Rs15,000 and Rs20,000,” Sirajul Islam Bukhari said, while stressing the need for more cooperation on the part of commercial organisations in terms of looking for bright students through an arrangement with prominent institutes of the province.

“All courses are job-oriented and usually students do get jobs. But if they fail, they can always start their own work.”

About the number of institutes and the courses on offer, he said there were about 200 technical institutes affiliated with the SBTE in Sindh. Of them, 80 are exclusively reserved for diploma in engineering trades.