ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has allowed six private institutions to collaborate with international universities and has recognized their degree programmes. According to official documents, the institutions allowed to operate through collaborative arrangements with foreign universities are;

Griffith College Ireland, Karachi Campus, which collaborates with Griffith College of Ireland and offers programmes in BSc (Hons) computing science, BA (Hons) business studies and accounting awarded by the National Council for Educational Awards, Ireland.

Karachi Institute of Information Technology which collaborates with University of Huddersfield, UK, and offers BSc (Hons) and BSc computing in software development.

Asia-Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT), Karachi, has a joint venture with Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology, Malaysia, and Staffordshire University, UK. It offers BSc (Hons) in computer programmes.

Beaconhouse Informatics, with one branch each in Lahore and Islamabad, has an agreement with Informatics Holdings Singapore and Curtin University of Technology, Australia, and offers bachelor of business in IT.

College of Digital Sciences, Karachi, is offering BSc (Hons) in computing and information system through collaborative arrangement with London Metropolitan University of England.

Thames Business Schools based in Islamabad teach BBA and MBA degree programmes through the collaboration of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Over the last couple of years, the commission has been warning the masses against dubious degree-awarding educational institutions functioning in the country.

There are scores of local universities operating in every nook and corner of the country which claim to be affiliated with international universities, and these attract students who are interested in getting foreign degrees.

When the students go to the job market after completing their degree programmes they are immediately rejected on the basis that their respective educational institutions are not recognized by the HEC.

Similarly, they cannot apply in the public sector on the same ground, and thus rendered unemployed after spending hard- earned money of their parents and their precious time.