HEC deadline for universities to meet criteria ends on June 30th

Islamabad: The deadline of higher education commission to implement its order regarding raising the minimum qualification for the appointment of lecturers to 18 years of education is ending at the end of this month.

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In March, the higher education commission re-circulated a notice to all varsities regarding ensuring the implementation of the new qualification criteria for the hiring of lecturers as well as assistant professors.

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According to this new criteria, the minimum qualification for the hiring of a lecturer will be an MPhil, MS or an equivalent degree (18 years of education) or a master’s degree from a foreign institute.

For this purpose, the higher education commission of Pakistan has been issuing letters to vice chancellors and the deans, asking them to make sure that the minimum qualification for employment of a lecturer should be MPhil/MS or equivalent degree i.e., 18 years of education or masters from a foreign university.

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Earlier in 2012, the commission has decided to raise the qualification of lectures and assistant professors and fixed January 1^st, 2015, as the last date for the employment of lecturers under the new criteria and Jan 1^st, 2016, for the employment of assistant professors.

Higher education commission also extended the cut-off date for increasing the minimum qualification of assistant professors in varsities and degree-awarding educational institute to PhD from January 1^st, 2018.

The Pakistan universities that have already accepted as well as fulfilled the decision have been appreciated and are also advised to continue implementing the decision.

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Up till now, the higher education commission has not mentioned what action would be taken against those universities and degree awarding institutes which were working along with 16 years graduates as lecturers or assistant lecturers because the HEC’s ordinance of 2002 is also silent regarding any such strict action or punishment.