KARACHI, Jan 26: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has linked recognition of M.Phil and PhD degrees to the strict fulfillment of its criteria by all the authorised institutions.

A reminder in this regard has been issued to the relevant institutions after it was observed that some universities are not following the criteria set by the HEC for the award of these degrees, according to an HEC communication released on Friday.

The criteria include conditions for admission, course work, examination and research publication. Degrees of those universities not following the criteria will be de-recognised and the grants allocated to such universities will be frozen as HEC is emphasising quality rather than quantity, it states.

Under the ordinance of the Higher Education Commission, the power of recognising PhD degrees rests with the HEC. Warning letters have been issued to a number of universities whereas the governors of provincial universities have been conveyed the names of offending universities so that the VCs of such universities may be replaced if they continued with their practice of flouting or ignoring the HEC criteria.

Before moving into the PhD programme, candidates will need to complete 30 credit hours out of which 24 credit hours will be reserved for course work, which may lead to the award of MPhil/MS or an equivalent degree.

The minimum CGPA should be 3.00 or first division in MS/MPhil or an equivalent degree for admission to the PhD. In addition, the candidates must pass subject GRE International test for admission in the PhD. In the disciplines where the test is not available, it (test) will be developed locally.

Additional PhD level course work of at least 18 credit hours, followed by a comprehensive examination, along with thesis will be essential for the award of PhD degree, while the doctoral dissertation must be evaluated by at least two experts from technologically advanced countries.

In the case of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, a foreign experts employed may be from an academically advanced country. Acceptance and publication of at least one research paper in an HEC-approved journal is essential before the PhD thesis can be submitted for foreign review.

Universities are required to have at least three PhD faculty members in a department to launch a doctoral programme. HEC has advised students to ensure that the established conditions are being fulfilled before joining an advanced academic degree. Otherwise, the degree will not be recognised by HEC.—PPI