Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The future of around 200 law students has been put in jeopardy after the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) cancelled their college’s affiliation.

According to available documents, 209 students got enrolled in Islamabad Law College, located on main Kashmir Highway sector G-12, Islamabad to pursue three-year LLB educational degree. At the time of their admission, the college was affiliated with the IUB. However, later, Vice Chancellor Dr Qaiser Mushtaq refused to approve the college affiliation with the university. “The IUB never declared the Islamabad Law College as its affiliated institution,” he stated.

According to the documents, the IUB had been conducting LLB exams for the Islamabad Law College’s students since 2011. The practice continued till 2016. However, after conducting LLB first year exams for 209 students of the college in 2016, the IUB withheld their results.

VC Dr Mushtaq said that it was due to the fact that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had given its verdict against the college administration which had earlier obtained stay orders.

According to the fee and registration slips, each of these 209 students paid around Rs 60,000 to the university and college. Each student paid Rs 11,000 as registration fee with the IUB and Rs 50,000 as admission fee.

The students said that their career hung in the balance due to the bickering between the college and the IUB. “In October, the university had also issued the schedule for annual exam Part-II and III, going to be held this month (November). However, we will not be able to take part in it due to the suspension of our first year results,” they said.

They feared that their academic year would be wasted if there was any more delay in the matter. They also accused Higher Education Commission (HEC) for taking no step to resolve the issue. The students threatened that they would have no option but to go on protest against the HEC, IUB as well as other departments if the issue was not resolved.

According to the documents, the university had also conducted Supplementary Exam 2016 in June 2017. However, no student from the college was able to appear in the examination due to non-issuance of part-I results.

An IUB spokesperson said that the college had refused further affiliation with the college after 2015 because it had failed to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from the federal education ministry or the HEC. “The college went to the IHC and obtained a stay order. The students were allowed to sit the exam conducted on October 19, 2016. Afterwards on February 2, 2017, the court dismissed the college’s petition, declaring it illegal. The university then did not announce the result,” he said.

Obtaining prior approval from Accreditation Councils is mandatory requirement to run any professional programmes.

However, as per HEC sources, the Islamabad Law College had failed to fulfill this requirement and had not obtained permission from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). There are nine such councils including PBC, Pakistan Council for Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), Pakistan Pharmacy Council (PCP), Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC), National Council for Homoeopathy (NCH) and National Council for Tibb (NCT). Each of these councils gives approval to launch a programme.

HEC sources further disclosed that the college had been allowed provisionally to run an LLB programme on THE condition that it would fulfill all the requirements.

Another official at the HEC, however, said that it was unjust to withhold results of students after they were allowed to take an exam.

Published in Daily Times, November 15^th 2017.