Issues of Quality Assurance (QA) in LIS Higher Education in Pakistan

Abstract

The change has been a constant phenomenon in librarianship. However, it has been comparatively very slow in developing countries like Pakistan, where a need to prepare professionals with a blend of traditional and modern skills is still there. Presently, eight universities have been offering regular programs in LISE. However, there are serious quality issues regarding faculty, curriculum development, infrastructure, assessments, etc. in these programs. Nonetheless, for the last few years, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is pushing hard to induce and maintain the quality of higher education. The paper gives a brief account of the present scenario of post-graduate LIS programs, identifies the basic issues regarding quality library and information studies education (LISE) in Pakistan, and suggests the possible measures for QA in Pakistan. The multi-method approach was used to collect the data for this study based on survey, interviews, focus group, discussions with peers and observation and experience of the author.