Just a few hours after losing its autonomy, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) reiterated guidelines for the semester system as some institutions were not following its previous directives.
The President of Pakistan issued an ordinance on Thursday placing the HEC under the federal education ministry. President Arif Alvi has approved Higher Education Commission Amendment Ordinance 2021. All decisions of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will be subject to the approval of the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile, the appointment of the HEC chairperson will be for two years and the members of HEC will be appointed for four years.
“It has been observed that few institutions do not follow recommended credit hours per semester at different levels of qualification,” the HEC said in a notification sent to the Vice-Chancellors and Rectors. At a later stage, the graduates face unnecessary delay in the process of their degree attestation and degree equivalency.” The HEC mentioned course load for the semester in its notice and asked universities to strictly follow the required National Qualification Framework (NQF).
According to the HEC notification, for Associate and BS degree, a student must have 15 to 18 credit hours while for MS or MPhil and Ph.D. 9 to 12 credit hours required.
“The summer and winter sessions shall only be offered for the deficiency or repetition course or internship,” the HEC said.
