Peshawar University Closes BS Departments Over Low Admissions
The University of Peshawar has decided to close nine Bachelor of Studies programmes after receiving very low admissions for the fall 2025 academic semester.
According to the official notification, the departments being discontinued include Development Studies, Geography, Geology, History, and Social Anthropology.
The closure list also features Statistics, Logistics and Supply Chain Analytics, Human Development and Family Studies, and Home Economics.
The decision follows university policy, which states that any programme with fewer than fifteen enrolled students will be cancelled before the semester begins.
Admission data revealed a poor response, with only one applicant for Human Development and Family Studies and two each for Development Studies and Home Economics.
Similarly, only two students applied for Logistics and Supply Chain Analytics, while Geography and History each received three applications for the fall semester.
The highest among the affected departments was Geology, which received fourteen applications, still below the university requirement for continuation.
The notification added that students already admitted to these programmes would be guided toward alternate degrees through the Director of Admissions.
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Officials said the measure was taken to ensure students did not face disruptions and could smoothly continue their higher education journey.
Sources revealed that although Peshawar University has sixty-nine departments, many have also recorded lower admissions this academic year.
Departments like Mathematics, Chemistry, Urdu, Pashto, Journalism, and Disaster Management have also reported declining enrolment in recent semesters.
However, fields such as Pharmacy, English, Psychology, Computer Science, Law, Political Science, and International Relations continue to attract strong student interest.
A university spokesperson linked the low admissions to shifting academic interests and limited career awareness among prospective students in the province.
He said students now prefer Allied Health Sciences and Computer Science because such disciplines offer better job opportunities in Pakistan and abroad.
Education expert Yousaf Ali added that the issue reflects a wider trend of falling enrolments across universities and colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He warned that unless academic programmes are modernised and aligned with market demand, more universities will continue facing declining student interest in coming years.
