Five years on, H-8 college’s BS Economics programme in limbo

Islamabad: Despite the growing demand for a BS in Economics programme in the federal capital, the Islamabad Model Postgraduate College (IMPC), H-8 has failed to initiate the course even after the passage of around five years.

The delay has drawn sharp criticism from faculty members and stakeholders who blame the former college administrations for negligence and lack of seriousness in pursuing the much-needed academic programme.

According to them, the Federal Directorate of Education formally allowed IMPC, H-8 in October 2020 to start the affiliation process for a BS in Economics with Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

The green light was given on the recommendation of the Liaison Committee of QAU, following a written request by the then principal of the college, Professor Qasim Masood, who showed keen interest in launching the programme and initiated the affiliation process in November 2020.

He approached the Dean of Social Sciences at QAU and began groundwork for meeting the affiliation requirements.

However, the process came to a standstill after Professor Masood retired in December 2020. Following his retirement, the momentum was lost, and the subsequent college administrations failed to pursue the matter further.

Since January 2021, no significant steps have been taken by the college to resume or complete the affiliation process, despite the academic and professional value of the programme. A faculty member of the college voiced disappointment over the prolonged inaction.

“The administration since 2021 showed complete indifference to this important academic initiative. Even repeated requests by the head of the Economics Department to resume the process went unheard,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that despite FDE’s approval and high demand in Islamabad for a quality Economics programme, the college leadership remained passive.”

Currently, only Islamabad Model College for Girls (F-7/2) offers this programme, limiting opportunities exclusively to female students.

Male students from middle-income backgrounds are left with no choice but to enrol in expensive universities or abandon the subject altogether. A former student of the college, Afaq Ahmed, lamented that he was very keen to pursue BS Economics from IMPC, H-8 due to its affordable fee structure, but since the programme was not available, he had to seek admission in QAU, where the costs were significantly higher.

"Had H-8 launched this programme, I would have studied there.”

Another faculty member pointed out that with the recent change in the college’s leadership, there was renewed hope that the new principal would act responsibly and urgently to resume the affiliation process from where it was abandoned.

He said BS in Economics was not only a relevant and essential discipline for today’s students but also one that would uplift the academic profile of the college.