Govt aims to strengthen IT education

According to The Express Tribune, Senator Ahad Cheema has called for a comprehensive mechanism to deal with unaccredited IT institutions, keep students out of unrecognised programmes and ensure graduates have internationally competitive skills. Chairing a senior meeting on the IT Skills Assessment Test and the accreditation system for computing education, he asked the Ministry of Information Technology to count graduates who completed degrees at unaccredited institutions. He also wants coordinated steps to block admissions to programmes that lack the required accreditation.

The test drew over 33,000 students across 188 institutions, and Cheema wants its framework brought into line with global benchmarks and the shifting needs of the technology industry. He also stressed the need for scrutiny, quality assurance and institutional checks to protect the credibility of the assessment. A detailed report on participating institutions is to be prepared, analysing competency results to pinpoint those needing corrective steps.

The meeting also looked at a proposal for mandatory competency assessments at several stages of academic programmes, with instructions to study its effects on students and institutions before any decision. Cheema called for closer coordination among the Higher Education Commission, the National Computing Education Accreditation Council and the Ministry of Information Technology. He also wants stronger public awareness about accredited and non-accredited institutions.