Rabia Naseem Farooqi, parliamentary secretary for the Federal Education and Professional Training Division, told the National Assembly on Thursday that all 282 universities across Pakistan offer internship opportunities. A two-month internship is compulsory during the sixth semester, she said.
She was responding to a Calling Attention Notice about alleged shortages of internship places at universities recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and their affiliated or listed institutions. Roughly two-thirds of the country’s universities are public, while the rest are privately run, she said. She stressed that no university in Pakistan was operating without an internship programme.
Farooqi said placements follow students’ academic fields. Computer science students are sent to software houses, agriculture students to farms, and mechanical engineering students to sites run by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL). Internships carry three academic credit hours on students’ transcripts.
Revised fee structure for internship students
Member of the National Assembly Alia Kamran questioned whether available places were enough given the rising number of universities. Without naming the institution, she alleged that one university was charging students Rs25,000 for an internship.
In reply, Farooqi said the federal ministry had sent a letter through the HEC to all universities about a month earlier, asking them to lighten the financial burden on students doing internships. Under the revised system, students completing internships will pay for only one credit hour rather than three, she said. The parliamentary secretary promised lawmakers a copy of the letter.
Monitoring tightened to prevent extra internship fees
She also said monitoring of the policy had been strengthened so that more students receive placements and are not charged additional fees. Farooqi assured lawmakers that details of the monitoring teams and their procedures would be provided to the House.
