Students left in limbo due to HEC's 'non-operational' degree verification system

Students across Pakistan have been left in limbo due to malfunction of the Higher Education Commission's (HEC) degree verification system which has not been working since 10 days, sources told Geo News on Thursday.

The degree verification of hundreds of students is in doubt amid prevailing uncertain situation and has also left those worried who intend to travel abroad for higher studies.

The government body, each year, verifies degrees and provides education credentials-related services to hundreds if not thousands of students.

HEC's degree attestation or verification service is often utilised by students wishing to secure admissions into foreign educational institutions which often require HEC-attested, verified documents to tackle the issue of forged documents etc.

Furthermore, the service is also used by those people intending to apply for jobs as well as those applying for immigration to other countries.

Lamenting the HEC's attitude towards the said issue, students have said that their concerns have not been addressed despite visiting the body's offices multiple times.

They said that their challans have not been issued despite submitting online applications.

Meanwhile, commenting on the issue, HEC officials have said that the degree verification system has malfunctioned in Islamabad and that challans and appointment dates will be issued to the students as soon as the system recovers.