Except for a handful, Sindh’s universities fail to make a mark

Karachi
According to the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) university rankings for 2014, announced on Monday,
besides the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi, Aga Khan University (AKU), Indus Valley School
of Art and Architecture
(IVSS), Iqra University (IU) and Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), no other university from Sindh, including the University of Karachi (KU), made it to the top three positions in any of the categories.
The Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad was ranked first, followed by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in second place and University of the Punjab on the third position in the overall ranking.
According to the six marked categories, the QAU bagged the first position in General, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Engineering; IBA Karachi took the lead for the category of Business Education; University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in Agriculture and Veterinary; AKU in Medical Sciences whereas National College of Arts (NCA) topped the list in the Arts and Design category.
The universities established after June 2009, as well as those offering distance learning programmes, were not included in the selection in order to provide them with the space to adopt the criteria and enhance their research ability and capacity.
Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, while announcing the rankings at the HEC Secretariat, said that it was a global practice followed to achieve the standard of international as well as national competitiveness in education, research and innovation.
The parameters considered in the comprehensive process included quality assurance, teaching quality, research, finance and facilities, social integration and community development, stated an HEC official.
The ranking results
were based on the data
shared by universities relevant to the given standards, he added.
The first HEC ranking was announced in 2006, second in 2012, followed by the third in 2013.
The criteria for the current rankings were amended to bring them at par and more compatible with global practices.