HEC degrees verification task
HEC tasked to find needle in a haystack
Islamabad, July 02: The mystery surrounding the
outcome of the degree verification issue of lawmakers has further deepened, as
the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is finding it difficult to complete the
task on time due to various issues. Officials from both HEC and the
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are blaming each other for the
delay. These issues have now prompted the HEC to return 161 degree
verification cases of lawmakers to the ECP, which included sketchy educational
certificates that could not be verified. HEC officials, requesting
anonymity, have revealed that the ECP had sent ambiguous photocopies of degrees
and in many cases just affidavits to the HEC. The sources said that out
of 1,095 degrees, HEC had sent back 161 cases to the ECP as some degrees did not
contain any date of enrolment and others were certificates of "To Whom It May
Concern" that were submitted at the time of filing of nomination papers. These
certificates had been accepted by the concerned returning officers, sources
said. In some cases, a candidate submitted the degree of his father or
son while filing nomination papers. Sources say these documents were accepted
without any verification by the returning officers as well. The sources added
that the verification process could have been far easier, had the ECP taken
original educational certificates from lawmakers at the time of filing the
nomination papers instead of ambiguous photocopies. This would have
allowed the ECP to verify the degrees on its own within a few days, the HEC
officials said. According to the HEC, the copies of the remaining 934
degrees have been sent to universities and institutions for verification with
directions to complete the process by the second week of this month. Of these,
300 degrees have been sent to Punjab University, while 21 to Madaris boards and
36 to foreign institutions. The ECP and the HEC are blaming each other for the
delay in the verification process. ECP officials claim that they had
started the process of sending degrees to HEC on May 24 when 873 degrees were
delivered to the commission. "Now, degrees of all lawmakers, excluding
eight members, have been sent to the HEC, but they have not yet verified a
single degree," the officials said. The official said the degrees of these eight
lawmakers would also be sent to the HEC next week. On the other hand, HEC
officials have blamed the ECP for the delay, saying the Election Commission
should have submitted original certificates for verification instead of sending
photocopies, which in most cases were very dim and in some cases not even
readable. Due to these differences the issue of verification of lawmakers'
degrees is expected to be delayed longer. This would further fuel the prevailing
uncertainty that is haunting the political circles in the country. Under
normal circumstances, a person can get his degree verified and attested by the
HEC within two days. Officials from both the HEC and ECP have rejected claims
they are under political pressure over the issue. However, the delay in the
verifications of the degrees and the prevailing differences among these
government departments has raised doubts about their performance. Daily times
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HEC to delay new eligibility criteria for teachers
Islamabad: The Higher Education Commission has reportedly agreed to delay
the implementation of "new eligibility criteria" for some time. The new
criteria considered harsh by the faculty was to be implemented from July 1,
2010. This was stated by Dr Mahr Saeed Akhtar, President, Federation of
All Pakistan Universities Association, in a communication sent to the
office-bearers of teachers' bodies of all public-sector "non-fauji"
universities. According to the communication, Dr Suhail Naqvi, Executive
Director, HEC, in a telephonic discussion with Prof Mahr, informed that HEC
approved the delay in enforcing the criteria. The criteria do not accept pre-PhD
experience as valid for qualifying to apply for promotions. Talking from Lahore, Dr Mahr, who is also President of Punjab University
Teachers Association, said all issues for which FAPUASA is struggling are
important. The faculty was suffering because of apathy, inaction and callous
attitude adopted by HEC high-ups towards teachers' demands despite making a
promise in March last to consider them sympathetically in the relevant bodies of
the commission. Dr Naqvi reportedly agreed to look into all matters
initiated by FAPUASA turn by turn. The first is the new criteria in which the
Federation is demanding 10 years deferment. Other issues include HEC
announcement to reject all articles published in any journal before 2005 when
the commission started enlisting "HEC-recognised journals." Articles even in
these chosen journals will be unacceptable if published before 2005, says HEC.
But now, Dr Mahr said, Dr Naqvi thinks we can sit once again and resolve it in
the coming week. He, however, added that as for the matter of articles/journals
was concerned, he said, "I feel they have some reservations on our point of
view. We will try to educate, I believe we will do it." Up-gradation and
enhancement of MPhil and PhD allowance in the leftover universities are the
other issues. FAPUASA believes and strives for uniform application of rules,
incentives and practices in all the universities. The Federation also opposes
making International GRE mandatory for PhD admissions in Pakistan. The
HEC is also mulling over convening another general body meeting by the third
week of July. The news
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Strict scrutiny of degrees awarded by Al-Khair
Islamabad: 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.
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UoP to verify degrees of 105 lawmakers
Peshawar: The Higher Education Commissioner has sent 105 degrees of
parliamentarians to the University of Peshawar (UoP) for verification.
The university has set up a committee under additional controller, which
will submit its report to Vice-Chancellor Dr Azmat Hayat in two weeks, UoP
Controller Iftikhar Hussain Khan said. "It is confidential and we
will complete our job fairly in two weeks," he said, refusing to provide any
details about the names of parliamentarians whose degrees have been sent for
verification to the university. The National Assembly's Standing
Committee on Education had asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to get more
than 1,000 graduation degrees of MPAs, MNAs and senators verified from
universities. The Supreme Court, taking notice of the issue of fake graduation
degrees of parliamentarians, had also directed the Election Commission to take
action in this regard. The EC had sent the degrees to the HEC and directed it to
verify them from respective universities. Analysts say graduation is no
more a condition for contesting general election, but the issue has become a hot
topic because submitting a fake degree is considered 'misconduct' and a person
charged with misconduct is unfit to hold public office. Dawn
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FDE DG assures to resolve problems of Humak College
Islamabad: Director General of Federal Directorate of Education Dr.
Shaheen Khan visited FG Fatima Jinnah Degree College, Humak the other day and
stressed the need of using energies to groom students. Besides taking
round of the college, the Director General also held a meeting with the
office-bearers of Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) and agreed to their most of
the demands. Dr. Shaheen Khan assured the PTA that she would play her
part in getting these demands fulfilled and appreciated the role being played by
the institution in serving the cause of education in both curricular and
co-curricular areas despite limited resources and a number of other problems
being faced by its management. Dr. Shaheen, who visited the College on
the special invitation of PTA, also had a special session with the college
staff. The college is catering to the educational needs of the a vast area
spread over 150 square kilometres mainly comprising semi-urban and rural
population. PTA President Tanwir Hussain Syed briefed the Director General about
the problems being faced by the college. The DG pledged that she would play her
role in getting the adjacent plot to the college for a playground. Dr
Shaheen said co-curricular activities were equally important besides curricular
activities for the overall grooming the students. During the visit, she
was apprised of the construction work for expansion of the college building, due
to which no space has been left for a playground. Taking advantage of Dr.
Shaheen Khan's presence, DPE Ms. Shamsa showed the trophies and shields won by
the college students in various sports competitions. Principal of the
College Ms. Roudaba Shujah gave a brief resume of the college's performance over
the past few years. The news
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60th anniversary of Fulbright programme
Islamabad: The 60th anniversary of Fulbright academic exchange programme
between the US and Pakistan is being observed and the president of the United
States has said that educational cooperation between the two countries would
continue to grow. In a statement released by the US embassy the Pakistan
Fulbright programme was initiated in June 30, 1950, and on the occasion the US
president has welcomed 158 Pakistani Fulbright students coming to study in the
US. "Our countries are strengthened by the people to people ties built
by this programme and the alumni of other US sponsored academic and professional
exchanges," the message of President Obama said, adding "Both America and
Pakistan care deeply about the education of our young for the jobs and economies
of the future." Dawn
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Students of Ali Trust College excel in SSC exam
Islamabad: The students Ali Trust College got remarkable success in the
Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Annual Examination of the Federal Board of
Intermediate and Secondary Education, says a press release. All the 53
students of the college appeared in the examination, got A1, among all
candidates 25 are included in top 60. The GPA 6.00, is the highest among
all institutions affiliated with FBISE. Among all the male candidates of Science
Group, Imran Haider of Ali Trust College got second position in the
board. Ali Trust Pakistan has congratulated the students, their
parents/guardians and the staff members on achieving tremendous
success. Ali Trust College, providing free of cost education to the
selected students from across the country.
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Abbottonians excel in exam
Islamabad: The Abbottabad Public School (APS) achieved enviable results for the
HSC annual examination 2010 held under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary
Education (BISE) Abbottabad when as many as 75 out of 105 students achieved 'A1'
grade. The Abbottonians, as the APS students are generally known,
achieved 100 per cent results in the examination. Aniq Rahim topped in
the APS by securing 940 marks out of a total of 1050. "Aniq Rahim stood first
among the male students in the board but was placed sixth overall as the first
five positions were bagged by girl students, who certainly have outdone the boys
in the exam," Principal of the APS Mehboob Alam told from Abbottabad. "Another student of the APS secured 930 marks and bagged
third position among the boys and 13th position in the overall results. Malik
Furqan Mehmood and Basharat Hussain shared 5th position among the boys and 19th
overall by securing 922 marks each.
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Distinction
Rawalpindi: The students of the JJS Montessori and High
School, Tulsa Road, Lalazar, Fatima Amjad obtained 849 marks, Mina Arif got 816
marks and Fatima Tuzzehra obtained 749 marks in the Secondary School Certificate
Annual Examination of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education,
says a press release. The news
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