In March last year, former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered the verification of academic credentials of all federal government employees within two months. That deadline was later extended for another 90 days to August 8, 2011. However 13 months later, in CDA at least, the process has barely started.
After the PM’s order was issued, a CDA committee was constituted to collect degrees and send them to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for verification. Human Resource Development (HRD) Deputy Director General Najma Azhar was made head of the committee, which also included Deputy Director Khizer Hayyat Satti.
A CDA official said the verification process has been held up because most officials are reluctant to submit their degrees.
Each directorate was tasked with verifying the certificates and degrees of the people working for them in Grades 1 to 15. The committee was tasked with verifying the degrees of staff in grade 16 and above. A fund of Rs3.5 million was established for the CDA to carry out the verification process, but the money was spent elsewhere, said an official.
CDA Spokesperson Masoodur Rehman, appointed recently, said Najma Azhar is heading the committee and “it is better if you ask her the current status [of the verification process].”
Najma Azhar admitted that the process is moving slowly and that only 60 officials had submitted their degrees for verification, most of whom are grade 17 (the entry-level pay scale for CSS-qualified officers).
She said that every week she sends out a circular asking peoplt to submit their documents. She said that she was not under pressure from anyone. “I have not been pressurised from any quarter [to slow down the degree verification process].”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 10th, 2012.
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