ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ordered the Karachi University (KU) vice chancellor to make prompt and serious efforts for rectifying the shortcomings and faults in the doctoral degree programme it launched in the field of law.

In this regard the KU has been obligated to constitute a three-member committee and approach the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for resolving non-compliance of commission’s rules and regulations necessary before initiating the doctoral degree programme in law.

Likewise, the chairman/director general of the HEC will also nominate a three-member committee to sit with the KU committee members and try to resolve the controversy in the best interest of the students and the institution.

The direction came through an order by a two-judge Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, which had taken up an appeal against the Feb 1, 2023 Sindh High Court (SHC) order.

Apex court asks HEC to submit compliance report within two months

The bone of contention was the introduction of a doctoral programme in the field of law by the KU, but apparently it failed to adhere to the basic criteria prescribed by the HEC which had conducted an inquiry to ensure due compliance of the prescribed instructions and later furnished its report to the high court.

The report highlighted several shortcomings and faults on part of the KU in offering the doctoral programme to different admitted/enrolled students. The objections/findings in the report pointed out that there were no fulltime, permanent PhD faculty members for teaching and conducting research for the programme — considered a blatant violation of commission’s law/rules, the Supreme Court said.

Other shortcomings were also noted in the findings rendered in the report, along with certain recommendations, including that the KU should halt all activities related to the PhD programme like conducting classes, holding examinations unless it fulfil and comply with all the requisite formalities outlined in the HEC law and rules. It transpired that at least 70 students had been admitted/enrolled in the PhD programme of the KU.

Authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the Supreme Court order explained that it could ignore the ground reality that unless the doctoral programme was conducted in full compliance with the required formalities and criteria laid down in HEC rules and regulations, the KU could complete the PhD programme or award degrees to the successful candidates. If such a programme was allowed or continued in violation of the relevant rules and regulations, the ultimate sufferers would be the students who joined the programme, devoted much time and sheer dedication and in the end, would have their qualifications declined by the HEC, it said.

That must be the grave concern of the KU rather than the students who got admitted to the programme in good faith and dedicated their time and precious money to acquire a doctoral degree in law, the verdict said.

By consent of the parties, the Supreme Court disposed of the matter by directing the KU vice chancellor to constitute a three-member committee that would approach the HEC for resolution of all pending issues related to the non-compliance of the HEC laws, rules.

As far as the difficulty of hiring permanent faculty members due to non-availability of suitable candidates is concerned, the judgement said, the counsel representing the KU told the court that some senior advocates had shown their intention to join as visiting faculty members rather than permanent faculty members.

That issue might also be taken up by the members in the meeting to deliberate upon, as according to KU counsel, advertisements had been published in newspapers several times, but no suitable candidate for permanent appointment could be shortlisted, it said.

The order noted that both Additional Advocate General-Sindh (AAG) Sibtain Mehmood and Salahuddin Gandapur had agreed to provide their assistance if they were invited to join the meetings of the committee in advance, in writing.

HEC’s counsel Mukesh Kumar Khatri also assured the court that the commission would make their utmost efforts to resolve all issues amicably to protect the doctoral degree programme.

The apex court ordered that the entire exercise should be completed within a period of two months and a compliance report should be submitted by the HEC in the Supreme Court for considering it in chambers.

As a final authority, the apex court said, the HEC, would decide the issues with independent application of mind without being influenced by the findings recorded by the SHC.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024