Senate Committee Orders Overhaul of HEC’s Faulty Degree Attestation Process

Islamabad, August 29, 2025: The Senate Standing Committee on Education has issued a decisive order for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to revamp its controversial degree attestation process, following widespread criticism from lawmakers. Describing the current system as a “broken bureaucracy,” the committee slammed the HEC for its role in ruining careers and unfairly punishing genuine students. The lawmakers directed the HEC to establish a dedicated help desk, enabling students to bypass bureaucratic delays caused by uncooperative universities.

Senate Committee Orders Overhaul of HEC’s Degree Attestation Process

Senate Committee Orders Overhaul of HEC’s Degree Attestation Process

The Crisis Unveiled

The intense debate, held under Agenda Item (vi), exposed persistent flaws within the attestation system. Lawmakers expressed frustration with HEC’s reliance on bulk data submissions from entire universities, which often leads to students being trapped when institutions fail to cooperate. This system has left many students in limbo, unable to pursue higher education or secure jobs.

Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, Chairperson of the committee, called the process a “cat and mouse” game, where graduates face endless bureaucratic hurdles. “Every day I am getting calls, in fact, I am being harassed on the calls, I get so many calls a day,” she said, highlighting the human cost of HEC’s inefficiencies. She added that many graduates were being unfairly punished due to delays outside their control.

A Personal Testimony

The committee heard a powerful testimony from a dismissed civil servant, whose career was devastated due to inconsistent decisions by the HEC. The individual, who enrolled at PIMSAT in 2002 when it was publicly listed as a recognized institution, saw his degree attested by HEC multiple times. In 2015, HEC confirmed his academic record in writing to his department.

However, in 2022, HEC reversed its stance and declared him an “illegitimate graduate,” leading to his dismissal after 21 years of service. He was also advised that his salary would be recovered through the FIA. Senator Butt condemned the reversal, calling it “gross negligence,” especially since PIMSAT’s campus had been located right behind HEC’s main office throughout this period.

HEC’s Response

HEC officials acknowledged the issue and reported progress in addressing it. They mentioned that universities such as Heritage International and New Board had submitted complete student data, which is now under review by neutral committees from the University of Punjab and Islamia University of Bahawalpur. The HEC assured the committee that “abnormal cases” would be brought before the Commission for final approval.

However, the committee found these assurances insufficient. Senator Butt, emphasizing the urgency of the matter, issued a clear and binding directive. The HEC must immediately establish a help desk where students can present their cases individually, bypassing the delays caused by their universities. She ordered the HEC to publicly announce this new facility on its website to ensure affected students are made aware that they no longer need to wait for universities to submit collective data.

“I’ve given you all enough time… It’s an order, we are moving ahead now,” Senator Butt stated firmly.

Linking Attestation Crisis to Education Reform

The attestation crisis became a central theme in the session, even influencing the discussion on other legislation. During deliberations on The Fatima University of Sciences and Technology Bill, Senator Butt warned her colleagues against approving institutions without comprehensive constitutional and regulatory backing. She cautioned that without proper safeguards, new universities could face the same attestation issues in the future, leaving students with unrecognized degrees.

“If we approve this today, tomorrow, when this university is built and children study in it, and their degrees are not attested, you all will be responsible,” she said.

By tying the attestation crisis to broader discussions on higher education reform, the committee signaled a major shift in how degree recognition and institutional accountability will be handled in Pakistan. The committee’s decision to mandate HEC to address individual cases promptly underscores the importance of ensuring that the degree attestation system becomes more transparent, efficient, and fair for all students.

Moving Forward

With the committee’s directive, HEC is now under significant pressure to implement the changes needed to restore public trust in the attestation process. The establishment of the help desk and the commitment to transparency represent the first steps in what will likely be a long process of reform.

The Senate Standing Committee’s intervention marks a critical moment in Pakistan’s education sector, where legislative oversight is taking a more active role in holding educational institutions and regulatory bodies accountable. If these reforms are successfully implemented, they could pave the way for a more efficient, fair, and transparent system for degree attestation in the future, ultimately benefiting students and professionals across the country.