Students no longer need equivalence certificates from IBCC, HEC tells LHC

LHC orders HEC to attest degree of petitioner who is a student

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court was told by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) that the students of O and A-Level were no longer required to seek an equivalence certificate from the inter board committee chairman of education boards after the rules had been changed.

Romana Malik, a student had filed a petition through Advocate Sheraz Zaka. She challenged the requirement to seek an equivalence certificate from the education board, in addition to the attestation of degrees from the HEC.

The counsel told the court that the petitioner graduated from Punjab University and completed her master's from a private university. He said 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 recognized by it. During the hearing, the HEC counsel presented a notification which stated that a student was no longer needed to apply to the IBCC for O and A-Level equivalence for the attestation of masters and bachelors degrees.

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

The petitioner also challenged an order of the IBCC which refused to issue her equivalence certificate as she had not studied Islamiat and Pakistan Studies in O and A-Levels. The judge disposed of the petition, in light of the HEC report, and also set aside the impugned order of the IBCC. He directed the HEC to attest the degrees of the petitioner.