Punjab govt’s criteria/guidelines for affiliation of private institutions made in haste

LAHORE: Punjab government’s criteria/guidelines for affiliation of institutions by private sector universities/degree-awarding institutes seems to have been prepared in haste as the criteria allows private universities to affiliate even public sector institutions.

The section related to legal formalities for offering affiliation to institutions by private universities/degree-awarding institutes (DAIs) states that the ownership of institutions (to be affiliated) should vest in a body corporate and not in individual(s) or family and should be registered under the relevant laws. “This shall not be required in case the institution is in the public sector,” reads the criteria/guidelines issued by the Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab on July 1. This clearly implies that private sector universities/DAIs can affiliate public sector institutes too which has raised concerns in both policy and academic circles.

Sources in the HED Punjab said Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) had prepared the criteria/guidelines and was approved by the provincial Cabinet. They further said some PTI ministers including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Murad Raas and others had expressed concerns over the criteria/guidelines for affiliation of institutions by private sector universities/ DAIs questioning that who would be held responsible in case degrees awarded by the institutes affiliated by the private universities were not recognised by the federal Higher Education Commission (HEC). They added that dissenting notes by some cabinet members were also missing from the meeting minutes which were later added on the direction of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

“It seems that everything was done in haste,” commented an official privy to the developments. While seeking anonymity, the official further said all those involved seemed oblivious to the likely effects of the new policy as controversies had erupted in the past when degrees offered by even sub-campuses of public sector universities were not recognised by the federal HEC leading to frequent protests by students.

It is pertinent to mention that private universities/DAIs offering affiliation should have the provision of grant of affiliation in its Act/Ordinance while the affiliation could not be granted to any institution in other provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

When asked about the provision related to grant of affiliation to public institution by private universities/DAIs in the new criteria/guidelines, Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yassir Humayun Sarfraz said this reflected on the performance of the PHEC and added he would ask the Secretary HED Punjab to take action against those responsible.