LAHORE: The non-accreditation of Lahore College Women University’s BS Electrical Engineering programme has been causing extreme troubles to the graduated students as the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) is not ready to register them.
This non-registration by the PEC has been hampering the graduates to find jobs in the market. Sources said the problem was being faced by around 100 students of the two batches of the BS Electrical Engineering i.e., 2014-2018 and 2015-2019.
The sources said the PEC didn’t grant accreditation as the LCWU Electrical Engineering Department did not meet criteria particularly related to the required faculty when the university applied for the accreditation.
A graduate, seeking anonymity, said LCWU was a public sector university and it was strange that it did not follow the PEC rules and regulations owing to which the students had to suffer. She said she graduated recently but when approached the PEC for registration the same was denied on the plea that LCWU’s Electrical Engineering programme was not accredited by the Council.
Another student said the graduates had been helpless as the university did nothing except extending assurances to them that the issue would be resolved. It is pertinent to mention that among other major functions of the PEC, the Council is responsible for the accreditation of engineering programmes across Pakistan and registration of engineers.
The sources said while the LCWU met most of the PEC’s requirements, one related to the requirement of eight on-duty faculty members was not met as two of the teachers were on long leave.
They said interim setup at the LCWU in the past aggravated the situation as the recruitment process of new teachers could not be completed in the absence of a regular vice-chancellor.
They said the university had advertised the posts first in March 2018 and then in August 2018 and completed the selection boards by May 2019.
They said Prof Dr Bushra Mirza who was appointed as regular VC in July this year had been authorised by the syndicate to review all previous selection boards.
They added once the process was completed, the department would have faculty members over and above the PEC requirement.
When contacted, LCWU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Bushra Mirza said that the university would meet the PEC faculty requirement soon as the Syndicate had advised her to review the appointments.
