The prime minister’s orders for the verification of government employees’ degrees seem an eyewash as the Establishment Division has decided to keep the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) out of the verification process.
Sources in the Establishment Division told Pakistan Today that the federal government, for unknown reasons, had decided to get the educational credentials of more than 50,000 government employees verified by the educational institutions which had issued the degrees and certificates. They said the HEC and IBCC were the only institutions that could give authenticity to educational documents.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on March 8, 2011, issued orders for the verification of academic credentials of all federal government employees within two months. Later, the deadline was extended for another 90 days until August 8.
The sources said that, initially, the Establishment Division was going to carry out the verification process with the help of the Higher Education Commission, but, later, the government, for ‘unknown reasons’ decided not to associate the HEC and IBCC with the task.
Talking to Pakistan Today, HEC focal person Rahim Bux Channa confirmed that the HEC had not received any intimation from the Establishment Division or the Cabinet Division in this regard.
The Establishment Division’s minister in charge, during the on-going National Assembly session, said in his written reply that the verification process would be completed by August 8.
“Initially, the time set for the exercise was 60 days, which was extended for another 90 days with the approval of the prime minister. Accordingly, the target date is now August 8,” said the Establishment Division minister.
