ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology, on Wednesday expressed concern over a drop seen in the world ranking of Comsats University Islamabad (CUI), which has fallen by eight places.

The committee was briefed in detail about operations at the university, its campuses and staff, and the under-construction Quetta campus.

The committee was informed that the institute was ranked between 800 and 1,000 top educational institutions around the world whereas it was ranked 171st among top institutions in Asia.

Members of the committee learnt that the performance of the institution had been declining after 2017. Some of the reasons for this was lack of sufficient funding and promotion matters of the faculty.

Committee members were told that the institute’s total share in research was 15pc. The Comsats management was asked to give a detailed briefing on why its ranking fell in the next meeting.

To the dismay of committee members, work has still not started on the Comsats campus in Quetta, Balochistan. The PC-I for the project was approved in 2016, but had been shelved due to shortage of funds.

Members learnt that enrolment of almost 3,500 students was expected in the Quetta campus, the aim of which was to provide higher education facilities to students from Quetta, Pishin, Ziarat, Mastung and Chaghi.

Furthermore, committee members were updated about the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). Reviewing its performance, the committee was informed that PEC was an apex body to regulate the engineering profession including engineering education and practice in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2021