PESHAWAR: The University of Peshawar has decided to close nine Bachelor of Studies (BS) departments due to low student enrolment from the fall 2025 semester, according to a newspaper report.
The affected programmes include Development Studies, Geography, Geology, History, Social Anthropology, Statistics, Logistics and Supply Chain Analytics, Human Development and Family Studies, and Home Economics.
According to the university’s admission data, only one student applied for BS Human Development and Family Studies, two each for Development Studies, Logistics and Supply Chain Analytics, and Home Economics, three each for Geography and History, five for Social Anthropology, seven for Statistics, and 14 for Geology.
In a notification, the university stated that under its approved regulations, any BS programme with fewer than 15 admitted students will be cancelled. The administration has instructed that the affected students be guided to select alternative academic programmes to safeguard their education.
ALSO READ
Meta AI now available in Urdu for Pakistani users
Sources said the university has 69 departments, with each enrolling around 60 students in the four-year BS programme. However, several major departments such as Mathematics, Chemistry, Social Work, Urdu, Pashto, Journalism and Mass Communication, Disaster Management, and Urban Area Planning also recorded low enrolment.
Departments like Pharmacy, English, Psychology, Computer Science, Law, Environmental Sciences, Physics, International Relations, Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, Criminology, and Management Sciences saw sufficient admissions.
A university spokesperson said multiple factors contributed to the low enrolment, including lack of career guidance. “Students prefer trending fields like Allied Health Sciences and Computer Science, which offer better job prospects in Pakistan and abroad. Traditional subjects like languages have limited scope, making them less attractive,” he explained.
ALSO READ
Govt appoints Hamad Ali Mansoor as new CEO of EDB
Academician Yousaf Ali said the drop in admissions reflected poor planning at both university and government levels. He noted that no proper data hub existed for policy and planning in higher education.
Official data shows that total enrolment in universities and affiliated colleges dropped from 160,000 in 2022 to 155,000 in 2025 across BS, MPhil, and PhD programmes, indicating a steady decline.
Mr Ali attributed the trend partly to the simultaneous introduction of BS programmes in both universities and colleges. “Colleges offer the same courses at much lower fees—about Rs7,000 per semester—compared to Rs75,000 at the University of Peshawar,” he said.
He added that the university’s financial crisis had led to regular fee hikes, further discouraging students. “With 34 public and 10 private universities and nearly 1,000 colleges in the province, competition has intensified. Departments that failed to update their courses according to market needs have lost relevance,” he said.
