Barani Institute: Educational Institution or Private Company?

If you are a student or have a family member enrolled in Barani Institute of Information Technology (BIIT), or considering joining, it’s crucial to know some vital information for a better understanding of the institute’s status.

Under the Right to Information Act, I sought answers from Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University regarding BIIT. While they provided some documents, the responses raised more questions. Therefore, I’m sharing these queries about Arid Agricultural University and BIIT with you, especially if you have a loved one studying there.

Arid Agriculture University was asked to provide a copy of the agreement signed between the Barani Institute of Information Technology (BIIT) and the University. The university shared an agreement signed on August 22, 2022, between Arid Agricultural University (AAU) and Resource Organizer and Software Engineering. However, it’s unclear if this agreement involves BIIT directly. How can we assume BIIT operates under this agreement if it’s not a party to it?

I also inquired if BIIT is registered with any regulatory body as an educational institution. In response, the university provided a registration certificate issued by the Directorate of Public Instruction (Colleges) Punjab, dated May 22, 2017.

According to this certificate, Barani Institute of Information Technology managed by BIIT Private Limited (a registered private limited company with SECP) was permitted to teach teach BS (CS), CS (IT), MSc, MIT and MS (CS) classes for the year 2016-17 and 2017-18 on an provincial basis. It is clearly mentioned on the said certificate that it is valid until April 2018. This raises questions about BIIT’s status after the certificate expired and before it was issued.

According to the university staff confirmed that university do not have any registration certificate other than the above certificate. (Which expired in April 2018)

Here’s where the confusion deepens:

• What was BIIT’s status before this certificate was issued?
• Is BIIT even registered as an educational institution now that the certificate has expired?
• Is the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) the appropriate authority for registering university-level programs?
• Adding another layer to the mystery, BIIT claims to have been operational since 1998, yet the provided certificate is dated 2017. Furthermore, BIIT Private Limited appears to be a separate entity from ROSE, the company with the AAU agreement. So, the question remains: where exactly is BIIT registered as an educational institution?

Additionally, BIIT Private Limited and Resource Organizer and Software Engineering (ROSE) are distinct private companies. While the university has an agreement with the ROSE, BIIT’s status remains unclear.

Where is BIIT registered as an educational institution? How did Arid Agricultural University enter into an agreement with a private company? Is a public university authorized to partner with a private limited company?

These discrepancies raise a multitude of questions that demand answers:

• Under what legal framework did AAU enter into a partnership with a private company “ROSE”?
• Can a public university like AAU even have such partnerships?
• What is BIIT’s legal standing as an educational institution?
• Does AAU’s agreement with another company legitimize BIIT’s existence?

In an effort to find answers, we’ve reached out to various institutions including Higher Education Commission, Directorate of Public Instruction (Colleges) Punjab, Higher Education Department, Punjab, SECP and others . If you have answers or insights, please share them via email. Otherwise, you have the right and responsibility to demand answers using the Right to Information laws from the Arid Agriculture University and BIIT.

Explanation: While an earlier story published 4 days back, we mentioned that admissions exceeding the limit. However, the information provided by the university today further clarified that the data provided a few days ago pertained to the students studying as a whole. Today, more detailed data has been provided regarding the number of enrolled students in each semester, according to which admissions have not exceeded the allotted quota (i.e., 400 students) in Barani Institute of Information Technology.

We are committed to uncovering the truth and will continue our investigation. Stay tuned for further updates as we shed light on this developing story.