ISLAMABAD, June 30 The now defunct Al-Khair University tops the list of private sector institutions which have been directed by the Higher Education Commission to verify degrees obtained by legislators.

Ten legislators have submitted degrees they obtained from the AJK-based Al-Khair University. The university in Mirpur was stopped on April 30 last year from offering new admissions. “Therefore, at the moment, for all practical purposes, Al-Khair University stands non-operational,” said an HEC official.

Knowledgeable sources said that the lawmakers who had graduated from the university would face special scrutiny because of its status.

Established in the early 1090s, Al-Khair University has been criticised for its poor standard of education. Besides churning out a large number of low-quality graduates from its campuses throughout the country, the university had also granted affiliation to a number of colleges which virtually sold their degrees.

Despite repeated reminders from the HEC, the university failed to carry out government-approved guidelines and, therefore, the commission was left with no option but to ask it to stop its operations.

According to the HEC website, the commission asked the university to stop admitting new students and said that degrees of students admitted after April 30, 2009, would not be accepted.

A number of cases are already pending in courts about the validity of the university's degrees offered in almost every discipline, from computer sciences to zoology, law, engineering, pharmacy Arabic and Persian languages.

Two legislators have submitted degrees issued by the University of East Hyderabad, which is categorised as 'Y' degree-awarding institution on the HEC list. The universities in this category do not meet the minimum requirements of a university.

Two legislators have submitted degrees issued by a little-known Newport Institute of Communication & Economics in Karachi. It is in the 'W' category which means that it meets the minimum requirements of a university.

As per the instructions of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Education, the HEC is carrying out an across-the-board verification of degrees of all 1,170 legislators, members of Senate and national and provincial assemblies.