ISLAMABAD: In the face of intense public pressure, the Higher Education Commission on Wednesday reaffirmed that its processes for attesting international degrees were “satisfactory”.

In the wake of the Axact scandal, where a Pakistani software firm was accused by the New York Times of awarding fake degrees and diplomas through online universities and institutions, a committee of academic experts met at the HEC office to review the commission’s procedure regarding equivalence of foreign degrees.

Members of the committee were briefed on the HEC’s requirements for degree recognition. Only those universities, which were listed with the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultiral Organisation (Unesco) or those accredited by the relevant government agency in their country of origin, were recognised.

An HEC spokesperson told Dawn that a rigorous system was in place to verify the authenticity of degrees. “We have strict procedures in place and there is absolutely no chance that anyone can get a degree that was purchased online attested from the HEC,” the spokesperson said.

During the meeting, members were informed that to assess the accredited status of foreign universities, HEC consults the World List of Universities published by Unesco, Accredited Institutions of Post-Secondary Education published by the American Council on Higher Education, the International Hand Book of Universities, Commonwealth Universities’ Yearbook, the Europe World of Learning and the World Guide to Higher Education: A Comparative Survey of Systems Degrees and Qualifications.

The meeting was chaired by Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed and included experts such as HEC Executive Director Dr Mansoor Kundi and former HEC officials Dr. Altaf Ali G. Shaikh, Javed Khan and Raheem Bux Channa, and others.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2015

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