A meeting of vice chancellors of various universities chaired by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri in Islamabad on Tuesday discussed various proposals on examinations for university students and agreed to formally start online classes from June 1.

According to the sources, a proposal to conduct open book, multiple choice questions, assignment and viva voce exams came under discussion. The HEC chairman said that exams of the students in last semesters of their degree programmes should be conducted live or online. It was decided at the meeting that students would not be promoted to next semesters without the exams. On this occasion, vice chancellors raised the issue of poor internet connectivity in various areas of the country and sought HEC’s help to have this issue fixed.

At the meeting, all vice chancellors were asked to develop a mechanism for online connectivity with the students. The HEC chairman said that all issues facing the universities would be addressed. He asked all the universities to prepare a policy on online examinations and get it approved from the boards and other legal bodies.

The HEC chairman also asked the universities to prepare a uniformed admissions policy and open admissions across the country at the same time.