Number of private institutes of higher education are operating across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province without being registered with the Higher Education Regulatory Authority (HERA) despite strict directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and provincial government that all such institutions must be registered with HERA to legitimise their status.
It has been learnt that more than 30 private colleges, which are not registered with the HERA Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, are operating in the Abbottabad district. Their owners either have managed to get affiliation with different universities by presenting fake no-objection certificates (NOCs) or sent admission forms of students through other affiliated colleges.
While talking to the correspondent some educational activists on the condition of anynomity told that as per rules and regulations, a private college must be registered with the HERA Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and for registration, it has to fulfil a number of requirements such as sufficient land, a playground, library, IT lab, laboratory, classrooms and faculty members.These colleges do not fulfil the required criteria for registration hence they are operating illegaly.
On the eve of new academic year, the owners of these institutions advertise in newspapers for admissions with lofty slogans to attract the parents and students. They also post banners and billboards at various public points to trap the students. All these colleges are short of basic requirements, including science labs, libraries and playgrounds. Some of them are housed either in rental buildings.
Many unregistered colleges are operating without any registration. While reaching to this correspondent one of the owner of such college namely Apex Degree College/Quaidein Degree College in Birote claimed that he is neither operating any higher educational institute nor depicting it as Degree College. He was of view that to ensure provision of educational facilities in the hilly area like Birote so the private students could get better guidance at their door steps they had taken initiative of an academy where the private candidates of different varasities are learning. He stated that he has taken this initiative as students hailing from poor families faced difficulties in getting admission in the universities.
Different students of these colleges while approaching to this correspondent said they did not know if a college should be registered with the HERA. They fear that if in future any inquiry is launched, our degrees can be nullified.
While speaking to this correspondent, an official of the Higher Education Regulatory Authority, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (HERA-KP), who asked not to be named admitted that there are number of colleges operating in Abbottabad district without being registered with the HERA.
He said the first and prerequisite for the affiliation of a private college with a university after establishment was its registration with the KP Higher Education Regulatory Authority but all those colleges were not registered by the HERA.
He stated that all institutions/colleges imparting higher education in private sector are required to get registration with the Authority prior to affiliation with public sector universities in KP of their respective jurisdiction. Majority of the unregistered private degree colleges are professional colleges offering degree programmes in law and professional education and they are imparting poor quality of education as the unregistered institutions are considered illegal.
The authority has clearly mentioned its criteria for registration of universities and colleges. Besides a specific number of teaching staff professors, associate professors, assistant professors and lecturer infrastructure facilities like building, classrooms, library, laboratories and playground, the institutions have to submit a certain amount of registration fee with the authority. Those institutions who remained unregistered, the HERA asks the respective deputy Commissioner to seal them and owners of the fake institutions may further be preceded as per law.