Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has challenged the Higher Education Commission (HEC) notification on the status of graduate engineers and B.Tech graduates in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
On behalf of PEC, Barrister Raheel has filed a writ petition, adopting a stance that the HEC notification is illegal. The plea demands declaring the HEC notification null and void.
The petitioner further said HEC had issued an illegal notification and declared BSc Engineering and B.Tech equivalent. He added that the matter of equivalence had been resolved with clarity years ago, but HEC issued a notification on 8 December 2021 in violation of laws. The PEC representatives showed concerns with regard to the HEC equivalence committee meeting, but the PEC stance was not reflected in minutes.
The petition contends that the notification issued by HEC has caused enormous confusion for the engineering fraternity and the stakeholders. It says that the HEC notification violates the PEC Act and is against the judgment of the apex court.
In his application, Barrister Raheel stated that in the PEC Act 1976, non-engineers including technologists were not allowed to perform any engineering work or to perform on the post of engineers.
Engineering and technology are two different streams of the engineering profession and cannot be considered equivalent, he added. He observed that on the basis of HEC notification, government institutions had started entertaining B.Tech degree holder applications for the posts of engineers. If B-Tech technologists are allowed to perform on the posts of engineers, very little space will be left for engineers, who are already jobless in large numbers, he argued.
HEC issued, on 8 December 2021, a notification declaring bachelor’s degrees in engineering (16 years of education) equivalent to bachelor’s degree (16 years of education) in equivalent technology.
HEC issued the notification after the decision of the 10th meeting of its accreditation and equivalence committee. HEC is of the view that the committee approved this modification after due deliberation and the PEC representative was present in the meeting.
Source: Pro Pakistani