KARACHI, March 21: In a major policy shift, the Karachi University academic council decided on Wednesday that BA, BSc and BCom annual examinations would be conducted at the colleges affiliated with the varsity instead of its main campus.

The proposal floated by KU vice chancellor Prof (Dr) Mohammad Qaiser while chairing a meeting of the academic council was approved by the body to ensure unhindered research and teaching activities at the varsity.

The council also decided that a comprehensive plan for holding degree exams would be prepared in consultation with the principals of the colleges affiliated with the university.

Since the mid-1990s, Karachi University has been holding annual degree exams of male college students at its premises.

The decision to conduct the exams at the varsity was taken by the then vice chancellor Dr Abdul Wahab to check outside interference in the exams at the colleges.

However, some senior professors whom Dawn spoke to were of the opinion that in the presence of student wings of political parties the latest decision was bound to cause a breakdown of law and order in colleges during the exams.

Earlier, the KU academic council also approved the affiliation of 23 educational institutions with the university.

Academic programmes

To bring uniformity in its four-year BS and three-year honours, being run simultaneously, the KU academic council decided that passing marks for both the programmes would be 45 per cent.

It also gave a choice to students admitted in its BS (Part I, II and III) programme to get their enrolment changed to honours with the condition that the approved semester rules of 2002 would be applied on them.

The council decided that the university would start offering MS admissions in April.

Besides, it approved the university’s MPhil, PhD and MD programmes schedule.

BASR, PSC & ASCE

On the occasion, Prof (Dr) Abid Hasnain, former president of the Karachi University Teachers’ Society, was elected an academic council representative of the Board of Advanced Study and Research (Basr), Karachi University, for a period of two years.

Prof (Dr) Shahida Sajjad, the chairperson of special education department, and Kuts president Prof (Dr) Mutahir Ahmed were nominated as representatives of the academic council on the board of governors of the Pakistan Study Centre (PSC) and the Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE), respectively, for a three-year term.