On Sunday, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) sent a notice cautioning students not to apply to two-year programmes that have been phased out as of the 2019–2020 academic year.
HEC announced on its official Instagram account that “two-year BA/Sc and MA/MSc programmes with extended deadlines of the academic year 2019 and June 30 2022” have been phased out.
The notification disclosed that, in defiance of HEC’s directives, several postsecondary educational establishments accepted students enrolled in these phased-out programmes beyond the designated dates.
Additionally, it advised stakeholders, parents, and students to forego enrolling in these programmes because “degrees obtained from such programmes do not qualify for recognition and attestation by HEC.”
The official statement from the HEC states that the decision to do away with the two-year degree programmes was made in 2004 with the intention of raising the calibre of degree programmes to meet international standards.
However, the EU had given the universities till 2016 to phase down the aforementioned curricula.
Some higher education institutions enrolled students to these programmes after the deadlines, even though these two-year degree programmes were gradually phased down.
As a result, HEC has issued warnings to parents, students, and higher education establishments about the fact that degrees earned from these kinds of programmes would not be accepted and validated by HEC.
It is important to note that HEC is able to set requirements for the opening and functioning of higher education institutions, even those that are not part of the State education system, in accordance with its Ordinance.
The bachelors of arts (BA) and bachelors of science (BSc) degree programmes were replaced by the two-year associate degree programmes approved by the HEC, which was equal to 14 years of schooling.
Graduates of associate degree programmes are eligible for entrance to the fifth semester of a four-year bachelor’s programme.
 sent a notice cautioning students not to apply to two-year programmes that have been phased out as of the 2019–2020 academic year.){kind=link}