The Higher Education Commission (HEC) informed a Senate panel on Friday that the performance of many renowned universities has been observed to be dissatisfying.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui chaired a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training at the Parliament House, during which HEC officials revealed that 32 universities had performed poorly in 2018-19.

These universities include Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), the University of Karachi (KU), the University of Peshawar, the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), Islamia College University Peshawar, Government College University Lahore, and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).

“This is something shocking and alarming. Institutions which are otherwise known for their good reputation are under-performing,” Senator Siddiqui said.

He said that HEC must work on improving these institutions and directed it to instruct them to justify their low performances.

The senator also highlighted that fake journals are being published in many universities that are promoting low-quality research. He constituted a subcommittee headed by Senator Rana Maqbool to review the articles published by various universities, including QAU, the University of Punjab, the University of Peshawar, the University of Balochistan, and KU.

Source: Pro Pakistani