[DAWN] The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has suspended admissions for MPhil and PhD distance learning programmes administered by 13 universities over the latter's failure to meet various quality standards set by the commission.The HEC's decision will impact nearly 4,000 students.
"Further admissions in any of the distance education programmes being offered by universities are stopped immediately till finalisation of recommendation[s] by the committee," read a missive sent to the varsities by HEC Quality Assurance Division Consultant Muhammad Ismail.
After conducting physical visits and reviewing documents, a committee of HEC experts concluded that the 13 universities lacked adequate faculty to run the MPhil and PhD programmes, the statement read.
"In some cases, [the] universities have not even got [sic] approval of their own statutory bodies," read the statement. It also accused some varsities of violating rules and taking advantage of "weak HEC policies about distance learning".
