Nail-biting wait for Sindh’s MPAs as degrees checked

KARACHI: The first glimmerings of panic have started surfacing in Sindh as the country’s education watchdog begins checking the veracity of academic qualifications for parliamentarians. At least 20 degrees for MPAs from Sindh have been sent back with the complaint that they are not legible.

An MPA, who wished not to be named, said that a few ministers and parliamentarians, who were elected with fake degrees, were getting worried. According to him, many legislators exerted influence at different universities. “I think the officials of the universities who provided fake degrees can help them with the verification,” he said. “The main thing is how competent they are. Otherwise degrees are useless.”

The Sindh Election Commission’s Sono Khan Baloch said that the degrees of 168 MPAs, 22 senators and 75 MNAs were sent to the Higher Education Commission that has been tasked with the scrutiny by the election commission. A couple of days ago, however, the HEC sent them a letter, objecting that the papers were not readable. “We have resent the copies to the HEC,” he said.

The court wants action to be taken against elected representatives who stood in the general elections two years ago on forged documents and degrees. The Higher Education Commission has started going through at least 1,000 photocopies but there are concerns that such documents are easy to manipulate.

In 2002, the president ruled that it was mandatory for a candidate to have graduated. Six years later, in 2008, the country’s apex court scrapped this condition by declaring it a negation of fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. “Therefore, the recent verdict cannot apply to those people who won seats in by-elections,” Baloch explained.

There was some confusion about missing roll numbers from the degrees of Nabeel Gabol, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Khursheed Shah, all from Sindh. However, Baloch clarified that these degrees were genuine and roll numbers are not usually mentioned on such documents.

After the degrees are scrutinised, the National Assembly’s standing committee on education will meet on  July 8 to decide what happens next.

Sources said that a case about an alleged fake degree for an MNA from Khairpur district is still pending in a local court.

Universities in Sindh have started scrutinising degrees and according to the registrar of Karachi University, they have received more than 120 degrees so far.

Twenty-eight degrees were declared legitimate by the University of Karachi on Friday. The examination department and the degree section cleared 10 MBBS, seven LLB, one engineering and 10 BCom degrees. They have yet to be cleared by the enrollment section. KU officials said that these degrees belonged to Dr Farooquq Sattar, Dr Sagheer Ahmad, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Dr Ruqaiya.

The committee, comprising pro VC Prof Dr Nasiruddin Khan, registrar Prof Kalim Raza Khan and Prof Dr Aqil Burney, will verify a total of 106 degrees.

There is bound to be some confusion with so much paperwork involved. Ghulam Muhammed Shahliani told The Express Tribune that he graduated from the University of Sindh in 1973. “I personally went to the election commission office and submitted my degree two weeks ago,” he said. “The copy was neat and clean. I don’t understand why HEC has objected to it.” Shahliani, who has been elected four times to the Sindh Assembly, said that his degree was “one hundred per cent genuine” and that no one could challenge it.

Sources in the Sindh Election Commission told The Express Tribune that the paperwork has been sent back for several politicians, including Federal Minister for Sports Aijaz Jakhrani, PML-F MNA Pir Sadaruddin Rashdi, PPP MPA Ghulam Mohammed Shahliani, Minister of State for Food and Agriculture Rafique Jamali, PPP MPA Abdul Rahim Khoso, PPP MPA Mehbood Bijarani, PPP MNA Aftab Shahban Mirani, Minister for Industries and Production Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, PPP MPA Haji Munawar Ali Abbasi.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2010.