PhD Programs
PESHAWAR: Despite their substantial budgets, approximately 11 universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have not enrolled a single student in their PhD programs over the past three years.
Six universities have also witnessed declining enrollment in their graduate programs, and six universities have reported zero students in their MS/MPhil programs. Additionally, two universities have experienced a decrease in undergraduate program enrollments.
The universities with no PhD enrollments during the past three years include the University of Shangla, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Agriculture Swat, Shuhada-e-APS University of Technology Nowshera, FATA University, FR Kohat, University of Buner, Women University Swabi, Women University Mardan, University of Engineering and Applied Sciences Swat, University of Agriculture D.I.Khan, and University of Chitral.
Deputy Secretary of the Governor House, Usman Jilani, conducted the analysis, which also revealed a decrease in graduate program enrollments in six universities. For example, Women’s University Swabi enrolled 165 students in 2021-22 but had zero enrollments in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Similarly, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak enrolled 98 students in 2021-22, which decreased to 69 in 2022-23 and slightly rose to 79 in 2023-24.
Other universities, such as Swabi University, Islamia College University Peshawar, and Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, also reported declining enrollments in graduate programs.
Furthermore, six universities, including the University of Shangla, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Agriculture Swat, Shuhada-e-APS University of Technology Nowshera, FATA University, and FR Kohat, had no students enrolled in MS/MPhil programs.
In terms of undergraduate programs, Shaheed Benazir University, Peshawar, saw a decrease in enrollment from 4,643 students in 2021-22 to 4,347 in 2023-24. The University of Agriculture Peshawar enrolled 8,161 students in 2021-22, but the number declined to 7,011 in the following year, with a slight increase to 7,675 in 2023-24.
