THE Oxford dictionary defines the word ‘urgent’ as something that requires immediate action or attention. With this definition in mind, I applied for the attestation of my documents by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) over a month ago through its online portal by choosing the urgent attestation option.

After the initial procedure, which took about a month, the HEC sent me an email, asking me to schedule an in-person visit for the required attestation. Surprisingly, the earliest time slot that may be reserved for document attestation was 38 days from the day I received the mail. This is 38 days after I had waited and wasted a month on the scrutiny process.

If a candidate is willing to pay an extra Rs3,000 for urgent attestation in addition to the costs associated with travelling to a prestigious HEC office, it is assumed that the candidate needs the documents to be attested as soon as possible. However, the HEC fails to realise this, and the efforts of the applicant go in vain.

Surely, the HEC would take refuge behind the age-old argument of receiving a high number of applications and unavailable human resources, but does that resolve the matter? It does not. Does it absolve the HEC of its responsibility to do what it should do? No, it does not.

The HEC’s could-not-care-less attitude is ruining the life and career of those who are in the process of finding employment opportunities abroad.

The authorities concerned should look into the matter, understand the time constraints that are faced by the applicants, and save the careers of thousands.

Fahad Rind
Johi

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023