ISLAMABAD: Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday launched e-portal and smartphone application of the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) for equivalence certificates.

IBCC Secretary Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah briefed the minister on the utility and benefits of the application.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the IBCC had been following the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan by introducing transparency, ease of doing business and customer facilitation. He said that according to the vision of the prime minister, the launch of such an application was not only a revolutionary step but also a signature project of the Ministry of Education which intends to minimise the problems of the public and increase their accessibility to the IBCC.

Mr Mahmood said that before digitalisation the applicants used to face many problems and stand in queues for hours to deposit fees and payment of the IBCC to fulfil the condition of being physically present there.

Furthermore, courier service wasn’t available and the applicants had to travel miles to come to the IBCC office to get equivalence certificates, he added.

The minister said overseas Pakistanis were assets and the mobile application would be of great help to them. For the ease of the applicants, courier service has been integrated so that the applicants could track their applications in real time. They will be updated throughout the processing of their applications.

Mr Mahmood was of the view that the same changes were to be made in every department for the ease of the public. He congratulated the stakeholders, especially the IBCC secretary, on facilitating the public by using the latest technology.

“This application does not only enable the applicants to apply online for equivalence certificates but also allows them to deposit their fee online from the IBCC mobile app through OTC, Digital Wallet payments from any financial institution through credit and debit cards (local and international) as the IBCC has integrated digital payment solutions in the application,” said a press release.

Speaking to Dawn, the IBCC secretary said that after the launch of the application there was no need to submit original certificates for getting equivalence certificates. “Now, through photocopies students through this e-portal and smartphone app can apply for equivalence certificates and we instead of getting original certificates from students will cross-check the authenticity of photocopies from the country/boards concerned,” he said.

Federal Education Secretary Farah Hamid Khan, Parliamentary Secretary Wajiha Qamar, Additional Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani and other officials attended the launching ceremony.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2021