Higher Education Commission (HEC) has warned students on Sunday againstapplying for unauthorized degree programs including two-year BA/BSc andMA/MSc programs as they have been phased out due to quality concerns.
According to an official statement by the HEC, some universities hadannounced admissions in unauthorized BA/BSc and MA/MSc programs to makemoney out of them. The statement warned that these degrees have beendiscarded and that students will not be able to apply for jobs based onthem.
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HEC said that the decision to replace the two-year BA/BSc and MA/MScprograms with a single, composite, four-year BS degree had been taken in2004 but universities had been permitted to continue with both the systemsin the transition period.
“In 2011, the Associate Degree (AD) was announced as an alternative to theBA/BSc degree. AD is equivalent to 14 years of schooling and entitlesgraduates to get admission in the 5th semester of the respective BSprograms after fulfilling the admitting university’s requirements,” thestatement read.
The transition period ended in 2016 and a final decision was taken to endadmissions to BA/BSc programs on 31 December 2018, and to MA/MSc programson 31 December 2020.——————————
The commission further said,
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It was also decided that the last BA/BSc exam would be held in 2020 andthat the admission to the last batch of MA/MSc students would take placebefore December 31, 2020. These decisions were confirmed in 2017, and againin 2018, 2019, and 2020.
It has also granted universities flexibility amidst the pandemic to holdthe final BA/BSc examinations within three months before 31 March 2021.
Additionally, the deadline for admissions to the last batch of the MA/MScprograms has been extended to 31 March 2021 so that the final batch ofBA/BSc students may apply for admissions.
The statement added
Any student who misses the deadline to get admission to the MA/MSc programscan apply instead for admission to the third year (i.e., 5th semester) ofthe BS program, which is a far superior option.
