PESHAWAR: The public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have failed to introduce associate degree in the four-year Bachelor of Studies programme in violation of the decision of Higher Education Commission (HEC), according to sources.

“The students, especially girls, are the ultimate sufferers of the non-implementation of the HEC’s decision,” sources in higher education department told Dawn.

They said that due to marriage of girl students and poverty, many students went home empty handed without getting any degree or certificate despite studying for two or three years in the BS programme at public sector colleges and universities.

Girl students suffer often owing to violation of HEC’s decision

“To save the precious time of the students and their money, the HED raised this issue with HEC in 2017,” said an official. He added that both HED and HEC had decided that introduction of associate degree in the four-year BS programme was necessary.

In the light of that decision, HED through a notification directed all the public sector universities to devise a mechanism for the associate degree in four-year BS programme that should be awarded to the students after successful completion of two years.

“However, not a single university has so far introduced the associate degree despite lapse of around two years,” said the official.

He said that as per plan, on successful completion of four semesters (two years) of the BS/BEd programme, the students would be awarded associate degrees if they could not continue their studies to complete all eight semesters.

All universities and 100 public sector colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have launched four-year BS programme several years ago. It was decided that the two-year degree would be called Associate Degree in Arts (ADA), Associate Degree in Science (ADS), Associate Degree in BEd and Associate Degree in Applied Sciences etc.

Sources said that logic behind awarding of the associate degree was that the students having it could resume their studies right from the fifth semester within the prescribed timeframe.

“Many of our girl students quit education in the middle of the BS degree programme due to their marriage or poverty as they couldn’t continue for four years,” a teacher at a government degree college for girls told Dawn.

She said that often girl students got engaged in the first or second semester of the BS prgramme and got married after one year so they dropped out from the college in the early semesters as they believed that it was not possible for them to continue studies for four years.

Similarly, some students completed four semesters and quit education in the fifth semester due to poverty, so according to the HEC’s decision such students should have been awarded associate degrees but in vain, she said.

“Despite getting two years higher education, such students only leave with a higher secondary school certificate,” she said.

A senior official in the administration of University of Peshawar told Dawn that there was no complication in awarding associate degree to the students. He said that a year ago, the academic council of UoP established a committee to devise mechanism for introducing associate degree.

The UoP official said that the committee also submitted its recommendations to the academic council but no decision was taken so far.

“I am in contact with the universities regarding introduction of associate degree,” said HED Secretary Manzoor Ahmed, when approached for comments. He added that it should have been properly worked out.

He said that the administration of Islamia College University Peshawar would soon launch associate degree as it was communicated to him in a meeting few days ago.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2019