Colleges’ AD Exams Twice a Year Remain Uncertain

The Regional Director of Colleges Karachi has recommended against conducting the examinations under the biannual system this year, while the University of Karachi has also decided to refer the matter to its Academic Council instead of proceeding with the examinations.

Under the proposed system, the examinations were scheduled to be held in July. However, the university’s examination department did not make the necessary arrangements. Examination forms were not collected from college students, examination centres were not established, and no schedule was announced, leaving students and colleges uncertain about the examination process.

Speaking to Express, acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi Professor Dr Tufail Ahmed said he personally believed that examinations should be conducted twice a year in accordance with Higher Education Commission (HEC) regulations. However, he said college teachers were not in favour of the system.

He said, according to the information available to him, universities in Punjab had also not introduced either the semester or biannual system for Associate Degree programmes. Therefore, the matter would be presented before the Academic Council meeting scheduled for September 1, and the university would implement whatever decision was taken.

Meanwhile, Regional Director Colleges Karachi Gulab Rai has once again recommended suspending the biannual examination system this year.

In a letter addressed to the University of Karachi vice chancellor, he stated that further work was still required on the courses offered under the AD programme. He recommended postponing the system in the interest of colleges and students, particularly because the examinations scheduled for July had not yet been conducted.

A total of 4,839 students enrolled in AD programmes at degree colleges affiliated with the University of Karachi this year. Of these, 2,705 students enrolled in AD Commerce, 1,838 in AD Arts and 296 in AD Science.

The HEC had previously phased out the traditional two-year degree programmes offered by colleges and introduced the two-year Associate Degree alongside four-year degree programmes. Following the change, however, the number of students enrolling in graduation programmes at degree colleges has fallen sharply.

Until a few years ago, annual enrolment in BA, BSc and BCom programmes exceeded 100,000 students, whereas the figure has now dropped to only a few thousand.