PIA fires 200 fake degree holders

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines has fired 200 employees for presenting fake degrees at the time of hiring. PIA Director Public Relations Syed Sultan Hassan told The Express Tribune that employees were served warning notices multiple times and given a chance to prove their documents were valid before being handed pink slips.

According to Hassan, the degree verification process began in 1997 since when all contracts and letters of employment issued have clearly stated that education documents will be verified from relevant institutions. He said that after PIA was unable to confirm the documents, employees were served notices and given time to prove that they have, in fact, secured the degrees or diplomas that they claimed at the time of appointment.

The 200 employees whose documents could not be verified from their educational institutions had been told to respond to the charges against them by June 30. “All employees who were able to prove the validity of their documents remain employees,” said Hassan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.