ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan today directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan to seal all the illegal campuses of private universities in the country.
The Supreme Court gave this order while hearing a case about illegal campuses established by Preston and Al Khair universities in Karachi and Lahore. The students had approached the court against the HEC when they were not issued degrees after studying at the sub-campuses of the two universities.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial today ordered the HEC to verify the degrees issued by the campuses in question and enforce uniform policies across the country. There will be no compromise on providing higher education to the young generation, the court said.
The top court took up the question if universities were allowed to set up sub-campuses. The bench said that the HEC had told the court that private varsities were not allowed to establish illegal campuses beyond their designated places and that they had been alerted multiple times.
The court remarked that the federal and provincial governments should be supportive of the HEC efforts to eradicate illegal activities.
The Lahore High Court had ordered the NAB to take action against private universities, Lawyer Ali Zafar told the court.
Justice Bandial said that the HEC has powers to act over the issue and the NAB does not need to investigate the matter. If the HEC is weak then the court will order the federation to amend the laws, the Supreme Court said.
