IBA to begin MS programmes in journalism and general psychology

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) to start Master of Science programmes in journalism and general psychology. HEC Quality Assurance Division (QAD) Deputy Director Sanaullah Memon has issued a letter to the IBA Karachi registrar in this regard.

The letter states that the IBA has appointed two PhD teachers (assistant professors Amir Hamza Marwan and Shehram Mukhtar) for MS journalism, and three PhD teachers (assistant professors Ayesha Zia, Sehar Nadeem and Saima Saif) for MS general psychology. The letter says there is no objection to both the programmes, so an NOC is being issued to start MS journalism and general psychology.

The letter advises the IBA to strictly comply with the HEC policies for MS, MPhil, PhD and equivalent programmes, including minimum standards for faculty, programme duration, credit hours and semester guidelines, as notified by the commission. Moreover, the Postgraduate Programme Review Committee will also monitor the parameters mentioned above during their visit to the IBA, and in case of a change in faculty, the institute must inform the QAD immediately to update the NOC status in the database.

The letter points out that the HEC reserves the right to withdraw the NOC if the IBA cannot demonstrate its ability and commitment to meet the minimum HEC criteria and guidelines. A few years ago the HEC had closed the IBA’s master’s programme in journalism due to a lack of PhD teachers. Now the IBA has announced admissions in MS journalism as soon as the NOC is received, as the admission process will continue until July 7.