ECP accuses HEC of overstepping mandate

Fate of the entire process of degree verification now hangs in balance because of lawmakers’ non-compliance.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has accused the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the two institutions dealing with the verification of parliamentarians’ educational credentials, are now at loggerheads after some key politicians failed to comply with requests for submitting copies of documents.

The ECP has accused the HEC of overstepping its mandate.

Earlier, the HEC gave a list of 428 lawmakers to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which included names of lawmakers who have not yet submitted their matriculation and intermediate certificates, halting the entire process. The prime minister, some cabinet members and leading figures from opposition parties are among non-complying lawmakers.

Fate of the entire process now hangs in balance because of the higher authorities’ non-compliance. There are 11 legislators who have not submitted any certificates so far.

HEC asked the ECP for help in obtaining certificates from these members and the ECP wrote letters to the lawmakers asking them to do so.

Now, sensing the gravity of the matter and to shift responsibility, the ECP has decided to write a letter to the HEC seeking explanation why they have gone into details when they were asked to just verify just the graduation degrees.

A copy of the draft letter, which the ECP will be sending to HEC on Monday says: “We would like to know the relevant provision of the law under which above mentioned certificates are required to be produced before the HEC for the purpose of verification of BA degrees”.

The ECP further writes that these certificates are checked by universities before giving admission to the students for degree courses.

This may generate another controversy since the HEC believes that the process can not be fully accomplished unless all educational certificates are duly verified.

According to HEC officials, if the ECP provided original certificates of the members, they would have completed the verification process within a few months. They say that the ECP only gave them copies of certificates, which in many cases are not readable.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2010.