PESHAWAR: Stakeholders at a seminar here on Tuesday highlighted gaps and problems in the BS programme, urging the government to not only have a proper mechanism of check and balance but also evaluate the utility and marketability of it and ensure its market-oriented productivity.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Foundation (KPEF) and Khyber Medical University (KMU). The event was largely attended by officials of both the organisations and a good number of students.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Dr Robina Nazli, Dean KMU, Dr Yousaf Ali, Arif Shah from KPEF, Dr Zeeshan Zakria, Director ORIC KMU, Dr Irfanullah, Hira Shakoor from KMU, Shahab Saqib, director Academic KPEF and others.
Dr Robina Nazli, in her opening remarks, stressed the need for enhanced financial aid opportunities for the students of KMU. She lauded KPEF for extending its scholarship programme to the students of allied medical sciences of the university and asked the management of the foundation to increase the scholarship slots for KMU students.
Arif Shah spoke about KPEF, its mandate and activities. He also highlighted the purpose of the seminar, which was aimed at seeking stakeholders’ perspectives about the BS programme in the province. He said that along with the financial assistance to students through its scholarship regime, the foundation had also been performing a number of other functions including research-based policy studies for the promotion of higher education in the province.
Dr Yousaf Ali, in his keynote address, gave an overview of the current BS programme in various disciplines in KP. He said that the BS programme was launched in KP in 2009, like other parts of the country, under the Higher Education Commission’s reform agenda to align the education system with international standards.
He said that though 16 years have passed since the launch of the BS programme to replace the traditional BA/BSc and MA/MSc, it is yet to be fully implemented as some universities, especially the oldest and biggest university of the province - the University of Peshawar - were still offering MA/MSc degrees, which would come to a complete end next year - 2026, he said.
Dr Yousaf Ali also shared detailed statistical data about the number of universities and colleges offering BS courses, enrollments, fee structure and other necessary details.Dr Irfan Ullah, director Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, KMU, said that there should be specialized institutions for specialized disciplines in the province where trained and sufficient faculty and facilities should be made available. This, he said, would lessen the burden on institutions and improve the quality of education.
He said that the marketability of the BS and Associate Degree (AD) programmes should be properly evaluated and the caliber of both degrees should be determined. He also stressed the need for rationalization of fees and other educational charges of students enrolled in various universities and colleges.
Hira Shakoor, another official of KMU, underlined the need for ensuring uniformity of curriculum and standards in the BS and other courses being offered at various public and private institutions in the province. She said that relevant faculty should be arranged at the institutions offering degree courses in different disciplines.
Syed Aminullah, another official of KMU, was concerned about the launch of Allied Health Science programmes by various general universities in both public and private sectors. He said that as per rules, affiliation with KMU was a must for all medical programmes. Therefore, all the general universities running degree programmes in allied health sciences should either be barred from such programmes or at least they should be bound to follow the enrollment criteria, curriculum and evaluation system of KMU under its supervision, he stressed.
Aqib Javed, a lecturer, and Waresha, a student, also stressed the need for giving all the allied health science programmes in all institutions under the supervision of KMU.Madiha, another student, expressed her concerns about the time-factor in the semester system. She advocated for the old-fashioned annual system.
Kalsoom, another student, spoke about declining enrollments in higher studies. She said that there was job insecurity and poor marketability of various disciplines. She stressed the need for launching internship programmes and having more job fairs and expos in educational institutions.
Shafia, a student, said that the lack of awareness among students about different academic disciplines was contributing to the declining enrollments. Azmat Ali, a staff member, stressed the need for more scholarship opportunities for students.
Amina, a student from Ghazi Tarbela, was concerned about the discrimination among graduates of public and private education institutions.Shehzad Samad, a student of BS Health, demanded internship opportunities for his fellow students.
