The Higher Education Commission (HEC) announcement addressing the comparability of graduate engineers and B.Tech graduates was suspended by the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday.
After a preliminary hearing on the petition filed by Pakistan Engineering Council, Justice Babar Sattar issued notices to the Federal Secretary of Education and the HEC. Barrister Raheel Ahmed, speaking on behalf of the PEC, stated that the HEC notification was in breach of the PEC Act and the Supreme Court ruling.
Also Read: UHS Issues Second Merit List of Undergraduate Programs Fall 2022
He claimed that the degrees of BSc Engineering and B.Tech Technology were not equal, but HEC ruled them to be so and sent a letter to the provinces requesting that they execute the ruling. The petitioner told the court that the HEC notification had caused confusion, and that certain institutions had begun accepting applications from B. Tech degree holders for positions that were only open to engineers.
He claimed that the notification had raised severe issues for PEC and the engineering community, because non-engineers were not allowed to perform engineering duties under the PEC Act and the Supreme Court decision.
On the 25th of January, PEC filed a challenge to the HEC equivalency announcement. HEC issued a statement on December 8, 2021, certifying a bachelor’s degree in engineering (16 years of education) equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in analogous technology (16 years of study).
Following the outcome of its Accreditation and Equivalence Committee’s 10th meeting, HEC released notification. The committee approved the amendment after much consideration, according to HEC, and a PEC official was also present at the meeting.