DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Higher Education Department has sought a comprehensive investigation into private colleges affiliated with Gomal University after the Higher Education Regulatory Authority (HERA) identified discrepancies in their academic records during a review and physical inspection.
According to a letter sent by the department to the relevant authorities, irregularities were found in records relating to admissions, registration, enrolment, attendance and examinations at a number of private colleges affiliated with the university.
The department has taken up the matter with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), requesting a detailed review of the affiliation of the private colleges with Gomal University as well as their territorial jurisdiction.
It has also sought verification of the colleges’ student admissions, attendance, examination and degree records by comparing them with the corresponding records maintained by Gomal University.
The department has asked HERA to consider imposing an interim ban on further admissions to unregistered private colleges and programmes until their legal and regulatory status is verified.
It has further recommended verification of degrees issued on the basis of incomplete, questionable or unavailable student records. The department has also suggested that the competence of graduates with suspicious academic records may be assessed through appropriate competency or verification tests.
The letter said action should be taken in accordance with the law if discrepancies in academic records were established.
It stressed that comprehensive verification was necessary to protect the credibility of educational qualifications and the future of students, and called for immediate scrutiny of the records of private colleges affiliated with Gomal University.
Provincial Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi said no compromise would be made on the quality of higher education in the province.
“Accountability for improvement in higher education will continue,” he said, according to the statement issued by his office.
