Pressure mounting on HEC over fake degrees’ issue

* Close friends of Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Javed Leghari say he was pressurised to resign

By Irfan Ghauri
ISLAMABAD: The issue of fake degrees is taking new turns everyday, as pressure from certain quarters is mounting on the Higher Education Commission to extract favourable results.

The HEC had announced to complete the verification process by July 15, but it seems it would continue for some time, exposing the weakness of the country’s educational and political systems.

Though the commission is tight-lipped over the names of fake degree-holders, its officials say they would submit their reports to the National Assembly committee concerned within a few days. However, recent political and administrative developments suggest otherwise.

Committee Chairman Abid Sher Ali is currently on a foreign tour and his absence raises several questions. According to details, the PML-N is at the top of the list on fake degrees’ scoreboard so far.

The HEC has sent back many degrees to universities since they had not followed the appropriate procedure for verification. In some cases though, a candidate’s bachelor’s degree had been found genuine, but questions were raised over matriculation or Intermediate certificates.

Sources at the HEC revealed that some influential people from the ruling elite might fall under this category. Therefore, they claim, pressure on the HEC chairman is mounting, forcing him to comply with the instructions of the political bosses or resign from office.

The arrest of the HEC chairman’s brother, sudden departure of Abid Sher Ali to London, a letter from the HEC chairman seeking a meeting with the PM and hue and cry of the MPs – especially in Punjab – have all become important issues now.

Resignation: Close friends of HEC Chairman Dr Javed Leghari said he was being pressurised to resign from office, but he took a tough stance and declined to acquiesce.

The timing of the arrest of his brother, Farooq, on corruption charges, and his re-arrest by the Sindh government after getting a bail by the court, has raised many eyebrows.

Dr Leghari was considered a close associate of former premier Benazir Bhutto, who had given him a party ticket against a technocrat seat in the Senate. Last year, he was forced to resign not only from the Senate, but also as head of SZABIST.

His close friends revealed that he was reluctant to resign from the Senate, but was forced to do so. The Sindh government’s influential personalities had demanded his resignation, while the same influentials were now after him, testing his nerves.