Appreciating the initiatives taken by the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) to improve the quality of business education in Pakistan, HEC Chairman Dr Javaid R Laghari on Saturday advised business schools to immediately seek accreditation through NBEAC. The HEC chairman stated this at a meeting with NBEAC Chairman Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad.
The meeting was held at the HEC Secretariat and it was also attended by HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi. Dr Laghari underlined the need to synchronise the roadmaps of various degree programmes from undergraduate to doctoral level for smooth transition of students. He also highlighted the need for faculty development to increase the quality of classroom instructions and industrial linkages.
“It was agreed that MBA degrees should be considered in principle as a two-year degree and minimum requirement for admission should be 16-year qualification,” it said. According to a press release, it was decided that those entering the MBA programme with prior education in business administration would be provided with waiver of up to 15 credit hours while those joining non-business undergraduate degrees would undergo two-year studies, including summer sessions, if necessary.
Similarly, students with 14-year degrees should be offered admission to other degree programmes to facilitate them, converting these into 16-year bachelor degrees. The NBEAC chairman apprised the HEC leadership about the steps taken to develop a formidable team of evaluators at national level to take care of the workload of peer evaluation.
He also said that a premium training programme of top-tier trainers would be held in October in collaboration with the European Foundation for Management Development at Brussels. It was decided that workshops for case writing skills would be held in all provinces. Dr Leghari also approved the proposal to hold the first international conference on management education in March 2012 in Lahore.