HEC asks VCs to verify authenticity of degrees

KARACHI: The Higher Education Commission has asked all Vice Chancellors and Rectors across the country to verify the authenticity of their educational documents to prevent Pakistanis coming to work in the UAE from getting into any trouble.

Assistant Director (Coordination), HEC, in a letter to the heads of universities, said that the UAE Federal National Council has passed a new draft law which seeks to prevent fake degrees and education by citizens.

To prevent the use of the certificate, severe penalties have been proposed for obtaining employment in public and private companies or for any other purpose, even if they claim ignorance of the authenticity of their documents. Job seekers who use fake degrees to get a job in the UAE could face up to two years in prison and a fine of one million UAE dirhams. The new bill also targets recruiters and employers who deliberately accept fake degrees.

As reported, UAE authorities seized 143 fake degrees and certificates from foreign universities in 2018. The letter said that the heads of the universities should strictly ensure the authenticity of the educational documents issued by them so as to prevent Pakistanis coming for employment in the UAE from getting into any trouble.