KARACHI, Sept 8: The Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) is still not willing to grant accreditation to the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology (DCET) owing to the absence of labs, scientific equipment and teachers.

DCET's registration was cancelled by the PEC in 1997 following its disaffiliation with the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi a few years back. Sources at the PEC said that despite tall claims by the present DCET administration, improvement in teaching facilities and lab facilities at the college had yet to be elevated to a position in order to grant it PEC's registration.

According to them, the DCET Principal, Saleem Chaudhry, had visited the PEC headquarters in Islamabad last month but failed to convince authorities regarding improvement in teaching and lab facilities at the college.

It may be recalled that DCET students have launched several campaigns in the recent years for improvement of teaching and other related facilities at the college so that it could be re-accredited by the PEC.

PEC's registration is considered as pivotal for any higher educational institution in the country, imparting engineering education, as without it, its passing-out students cannot get employment at any public sector industrial concerns and multinational companies.

Some students say that the 1995-96 passed out batch of DCET was among those severely hit due to cancellation of the institution's registration from the PEC, claiming that none of them managed to get employment at any major engineering or industrial concern in the country.

They maintained that despite several visits by the PEC and federal education ministry delegations, there has been no progress in the college's registration issue with the PEC, nor has there been any improvement in teaching facilities at the college.

Some of them, however, expressed hope that with the induction of the new federal education minister, the situation would improve and steps would be taken to get the DCET accredited with the PEC. - PPI