‘Equivalence certificate not needed for O & A levels’

LAHORE: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Monday told the Lahore High Court that rules had been changed and the students of O and A level were no more required to seek an equivalence certificate from Inter-Board Committee Chairman (IBCC) of education boards.

A student, Romana Malik, had filed a petition through Advocate Sheraz Zaka challenging the condition of seeking equivalence certificate from the education board in addition to attestation of degrees from the Higher Education Commission.

The counsel contended that the petitioner graduated from Punjab University and completed her master's from a private university. He said the HEC was not attesting her degrees without the equivalence certificate from the IBCC.

He argued that the petitioner was facing problems in getting an iqama (work permit) in Dubai as the HEC failed to perform its statutory obligations. Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan observed that the HEC should have attested the degrees of the universities duly recognised by it.

During the hearing, the HEC counsel presented a notification saying now for attestation of master’s and bachelor’s degree, a student was no longer needed to apply with the IBCC for O and A level equivalence.

He said the rules had been changed for the students’ benefit and they would be applicable across the country with uniformity. The HEC abandoned the requirement to seek equivalence certificate from the IBCC, the counsel added.

The petitioner had challenged an order of the IBCC that refused to issue her equivalence certificate since she had not studied Islamiat and Pakistan Studies in O & A levels. The judge disposed of the petition in light of the HEC report and set aside the impugned order of the IBCC directing the Higher Education Commission to attest the degrees of the petitioner.