A delegation consisting of representatives of different boards of religious seminaries led by President, Tanzeemul Madaris Ahle Sunnat Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman called on Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Tariq Banuri at the HEC Secretariat on Tuesday. Other delegates included Maulana Haneef Jallandhry, Maulana Abdul Malik, Dr Atta-ur-Rehman and Allama Afzal Haidri, says a press release issued here.
The meeting discussed the implications for seminary graduates of the closure of two-year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programmes. Currently, the HEC treats Shahadatul Alia fil Uloomal Arabia Wal Islamia and Shahadatul Almiya fil Uloomal Arabia Wal Islamia as equivalent to BA and MA degrees, respectively.
However, the Commission has now discontinued the certification of BA and MA degrees. Instead, a new four-year BS degree as well as a two-year associate degree has been introduced.
The objective of the change is to ensure that graduates from Pakistani universities possess three types of competencies, namely general education, subject specialization, and practical skills for participating effectively in the economy. These competencies are just as relevant for seminary graduates as for university graduates.
Mufti Muneeb appreciated the HEC for strengthening the graduate programme and making much-needed changes. He said that the representatives of the seminaries were fully supportive of the central role of the HEC in strengthening higher education, especially after the 18th Amendment. He also said that he and his colleagues want to make sure that the recent changes in the HEC policies do not affect the future of seminary students adversely.
The HEC chairman appreciated the delegates for anticipating future changes and agreed to set up a joint committee with the representatives of seminary to assess how the equivalence system can be adapted to the changes.
Mufti Muneeb thanked the chairman for considering their request and for his resolve to improve and streamline the higher education sector of the country.-PR
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