ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has launched a completely secure and robust online degree attestation system through which applicants can apply for attestation of their degrees while sitting at home.
HEC has created a new portal which the applicants will use for online registration and creation of account.
The system has been evolved to facilitate degree holders with a hassle-free mechanism where they will no longer have to stand in queues for attestation of their documents.
The applicant may now fill an online application form and upload his/her scanned documents. After submission, the application will initially be scrutinised online by HEC.
The applicant will then receive an email or SMS to schedule his visit at one of HEC offices in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar or Quetta.
On scheduled date and time, the applicant will bring all his/her original documents along with a copy of the same and receive attested degrees within a short time.
In case the applicant sends someone else on scheduled time, that person should carry an authority letter from the applicant.
The applicant may also get his/her degrees attested through courier service. In this case, he/she will select the mode of attestation through courier and will submit documents and fee with the courier company whose details are available on the portal.
For PhD applicants, the verification process is based on two steps. From dashboard, the applicants will be navigated to PhD Country Directory (PCD) and the system will make a search on the basis of CNIC or email address provided by the user.
The user will then add PCD serial number and fill in the data verification form. HEC will verify the record for subsequent attestation.
The applicants can also re-schedule their visit in case of failure to visit on the time prescribed earlier. The new system also provides the facility of tracking the application online.
It is pertinent to mention here that the new system for degree attestation has been linked to Pakistan Qualification Register (PQR).
Unless a degree programme is listed in PQR, the applicant will not be able to proceed for attestation. In this case, the applicant can contact the focal person of his/her university asking for entry of the programme in PQR. List of focal persons is available at the attestation portal.
Though majority of universities have been completing the entries on PQR proactively, however some universities whose response is slow are being advised to enter their degree programmes in PQR at the earliest so as to streamline attestation and other related processes.
