Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The future of students enrolled with University of Chakwal (UoC), has been put in jeopardy as the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan cancelled the No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to the university.

Last Sunday, HEC published a warning in the print media.

According to the advertisement, the HEC has prohibited students from take admission in the university. “Do not take admissions in the University of Chakwal,” reads the advertisement published in national press, as well as well as on the official website of the HEC by its accreditation and attestation wing.

“University of Chakwal located near Shah Multani, Bhoun Road, Chakwal is not recognised by the Higher Education Commission,” it stated.

“Parents, students and the public in general are advised not to take admission in this institution, which is an illegal entity and is not authorised to operate or admit students in any degree programme. Degrees awarded to such students shall not be recognised by the HEC,” reads the advertisement.

However, HEC did not say anything about the status of students who are already enrolled with the UOC.

The HEC media wing told Daily Times that the UOC had been banned over incomplete academic arrangements. “The district government of Chakwal held an inquiry when it received some complaints against the university. The district government submitted the inquiry report to HEC. The commission then took action,” the media wing said.

However, the documents obtained by Daily Times present a different picture.

According to the documents, UOC was issued an NOC in 2015 to run the varsity for validity of one year.

On expiry of the NOC, the varsity administration requested the commission to extend the NOC. However, the commission did not responded despite repeated reminders.

The university was also granted the charter to run any university in the private sector. Moreover, in a meeting in 2007, the HEC decided that the universities who had NOCs would be authorised to intake admissions and issue degrees. The degrees will also be recognised by the HEC. This was done because the process to get a charter is a lengthy one.

According to the information, the HEC gave the public alert advertisement after cancellation of the NOC of the UOC. The cancellation was made in wake of an inquiry report findings against the college.

The documents revealed that a former employee of the UOC registered a complaint against the university with the Chakwal district administration. DCO Javed Bhatti directed director colleges Nasir Mehmood Awan to conduct an inquiry.

The DCO then ordered another inquiry under the supervision of education monitoring officer, who was not authorised to investigate the matter.

In his inquiry, the monitoring officer declared the UOC guilty. Then the report was sent to the HEC and the commission took the decision of cancelling the NOC. Later, the UOC administration challenged the decision in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and obtained a stay order.

According to the documents, the UOC possesses the minimum required land that is required for establishment of a university. Currently, it has 28 faculty members, including 10 PhD degree holders.

When contacted, UOC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Humayun Chaudhry said that the decision was an injustice to the people of Chakwal. “HEC has violated its own decision that it made in 2007,” he said.

To a question, Chaudhry said that the students would be accommodated in some other university. “We will ensure that no injustice is done to our students because they are our responsibility,” he said.