Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan approved on Thursday the grading of private universities in the province. The universities have been categorised in the five-star and four-star categories, depending on their infrastructure, laboratories and standard of teaching.

The grading has been done on the basis of the performance by the universities during the academic year 2006-08. Chairman Charter Inspection Team Dr SM Qureshi, accompanied by his team of vice chancellors from various universities, called on the governor and presented the report.

The universities which were accorded five-star ranking included Hamdard University, Iqra University, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Ziauddin University, Institute of Business Management , Indus Valley School, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Technology (SZABIST) and Textile Institute of Pakistan.

The four-star universities included Baqai Medical University, Greenwich University, Isra University, Jinnah University for Women, Preston University, Dadabhai Institute of Higher Education, Institute of Business and Technology, Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Institute of Economics and Technology and Newport Institute.