The Higher Education Commission (HEC) completed the first phase of the verification process of educational degrees of federal and provincial lawmakers Friday. Meanwhile, the HEC has expressed its dissatisfaction over the authentication of degrees of almost 100 MPs by the University of Sindh as it found that the degrees have not been verified as per the HEC rules, said a report. A HEC statement said copies of 939 degrees were sent to the concerned universities for verification of which 736 have been received back by the HEC. It said the universities have verified 699 as genuine and 37 as fake. The HEC is in the process of ensuring that the comprehensive review process for verification has been followed by the universities. Another 168 degrees have still to be verified, out of which 61 are still awaited from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has asked the HEC to verify the degrees of all MPs. In a parallel move, the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the ECP to verify all MPs' degrees through the HEC. The statement said the HEC has developed a comprehensive process for the verification of the degrees of parliamentarians. The photocopies of diplomas received from the ECP are forwarded to the respective universities for verification. After authentication from the universities, the verified degrees will be sent back to the standing committee.
