Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: After a 45-day long protest by students of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST) Islamabad and boycott of examination against non-accreditation from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), the council has finally resolved the issue.

According to the information available with Daily Times, over 400 students enrolled for four years Bachelor in Science (BSC) degree in Electrical Engineering programme for 2013. After completion of their four years degree programme, they were not issued certificates from PEC due to failure of the varsity.

As per documents, the PEC had denied to register the electrical engineering department of the university due to incomplete required criteria in the campus. The council said it would only be carried out after fulfilling the set standards.

As per rules, for the registration of any engineering programme in the university or Degree Awarding Institute, there were some certain sort of requirements including those of the faculty, classrooms, laboratories and others.

However, the non-availability of adequate classrooms and labs at the campus caused an objection from the PEC for accreditation of the engineering department, stated the documents.

After the failure of the administration to meet the standards, students had no other option but to boycott the exams and hold strike in favour of their demands. The students said their careers were linked with attestation of their obtained degrees.

“Without BSC degrees, we are unable to find jobs as well as to seek further admission in any university,” they claimed.

The PEC letter issued on Friday states, “Based on satisfactory compliance submitted by Federal Urdu University of Science & Technology, Islamabad to PEC, re-accreditation is granted for one year of intake batch 2013 BSC Electrical Engineering programme of the university.”

The accreditation was granted only for batch 2013 while the status of other sessions is still unknown.

The FUUAST registrar Shah G Muhammad claimed, “We will get further recognition from PEC, as soon as we assure the council for shifting the university campus from lent building to other premises after the appointment of a permanent vice chancellor in the university. The PEC agreed over the statement we submitted.”

Earlier, as per available documents, the PEC refused to register the department until shifting of the university campus. “The committee decided that further request of university of re-accreditation of the programme will be only considered after submission of shifting plan of the dedicated campus in 2018 along with tangible evidence. Otherwise, next admission will not be allowed,” reads another letter written to the university from PEC earlier this month.

The available information revealed that FUUAST has continued its academic activities in a rented building located in sector G-7 for the last 10 years.

Originally, the lent building is owned by the Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA). WAPDA also sent a ‘final’ notice to the university to vacate the building.

The university administration purchased land for construction of its own building at Kuri Road in 2009 but until now, not a single stone has been laid there due to heavy financial embezzlements by the varsity officials, alleged an official privy to the matter.

The documents revealed that the Higher Education Commission also had approved a project for establishment of main campus building of the university with an estimated cost of Rs 800 million.

Shah G Muhammad said that the campus would be shifted soon. He requested the students to call off the protest and rejoin their classes.

Published in Daily Times, February 17^th 2018.