Getting Your Degrees Certified From HEC Is Not As Simple As You Think It Is

Getting Your Degrees Certified From HEC Is Not As Simple As You Think It Is

Monday, 18 April 2016 / No Comments

It takes an average of 3 to 4 years to get professional recognition in Pakistan. For skill-based education where the candidate is awarded a certificate or a diploma, the time duration is shorter. In reality, things take longer in Pakistan when it comes to completing your documents and being truly done with it all. This is what I will be going through today.

To keep things simple, I am going to depict everything here as per the Higher Education Commission’s website. This way the readers can realize how, with HEC in the mix, the time taken to get recognition may vary. I shall not go into the details of the HEC websites functionality and they way it is designed. That is a topic for another day.

Lets get down to things.

Pakistan Universities: By the Numbers

There are 177 HEC recognized universities and institutes all across Pakistan. HEC further recognizes an additional 95 Campuses (Both Public and Private) for its certification.

In addition to these, the HEC website also lists the “Non – Recognized / Under Process” list of institutes that number 163 in total. Then there is another layer of recognition which reflects the number of institutes being affiliated by the HEC recognized Universities (see list here).

For foreign affiliation programs and getting those degrees attested, you can visit the website to get it done. Please note that without the HEC equivalence letter, you cannot move an inch. If your institute name is not in the list at the time of creating your record then select HEC as the board.

Degree Attestation: A Gold Mine?

The biggest part of HEC website is related to the degree attestation process. There are around one million graduates coming out every year, so you can just do the math here.

It’s not only the graduates who need to certify their degrees. For immigrations and getting job abroad, attestation is now mandatory. According to latest reports, each year5 million passports are issued to the citizens of Pakistan. The number, coupled with the graduates one, is staggering.

Specially since you consider that HEC charges Rs. 800 for degree / Transcripts and 500/- for photocopies, as seen here on their website. You can estimate yourself how much money they’re earning via attestation services.

Why Do We Need to Get Our Degrees Certified?

We need to make ourselves very clear here, that due to certain factors in Pakistan, the HEC certifications has become mandatory for people applying for Government jobs, banking sector, or immigration.

If you are getting a job abroad, then you need to certify your documents from the respective Foreign Office of that country. In that case, HEC-certified papers can help since they are recognized abroad as well.

Over 5 million passports are issued every year in Pakistan and more than 1 million students graduate each year

In the case of medical graduates, things get more interesting where Pakistan Medical Council also has to play its role as an attestation destination. PMC has 98 medical institutes under their jurisdiction. So please check which ones are also recognized by HEC before going further.

For engineers, the Pakistan Engineering Council plays the same role as Medical Council. When I first tried to access their list of institutes the site crashed. You can however check it at your end. The home page is working, but its user interface is very challenging for users.

What Documents Do You Need?

People, who wish to process their certificates and degrees by HEC, need to take care of the following important things. This includes documentation, preparations, and above all, patience.

First of all, the most important document you need is your Intermediate certificate. Without this document, HEC will not take anything under consideration. So if you don’t have it, visit your Board of Intermediate Education, with your Admit Cards, Enrollment Card, CNIC, Marks Certificates and a fee of around Rs. 600/- and get it.

Be ready for long lines and waiting lists. In case, you don’t have the admit card with you. then you’ll have to visit the college and get one. The form for duplicate admit card is available from Board office. Rest is dependent on your college staff and their cooperation.

The other documents you need are:

• Original certificates/degrees from Matric onwards along with transcripts/DMCs

• Original matric certificate

• Original intermediate certificate

• Original degree

• Original transcripts/detail mark certificates (DMCs) showing date of admission and completion of program

• Copy of Computerized Identity Card

• Authority letter duly attested by a Grade 17 officer for the authorized person

• HEC Attests degrees/transcripts and diplomas awarded by the HEC Recognized Universities/Degree Awarding Institutions  of Pakistan both in public and private sector.  

Please keep in mind that you should not have plastic coated documents, since they will be rejected. Also make sure to attest all the copies from a gazette officer before coming for the submission.

The Most Important Factor

Now here is the catch.

It is clearly mentioned on the website that:

• Name of the Applicant must be same throughout his/her educational testimonials such as Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelors and Masters onwards to PhD Degrees/Transcripts as well as on Computerized National Identity Card/ Passport; otherwise they would not be attested by HEC.

• The Applicant’s Father Name must match on the applicant’s CNIC, Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelors and Masters onwards to PhD Degrees/ Transcripts; otherwise they would not be attested by HEC.

• Date of Birth of the applicant must match on the Applicant’s CNIC/Passport and Matriculation Certificate; otherwise they would not be attested by HEC.

• Both Degrees/ Transcripts issued on the same date, or overlapping semesters between an Undergraduate Degree and a Graduate Degree will not be recognized/ attested by HEC.

If you have any such anomalies with your CNIC in relation to educational documents, then my advice is to visit NADRA’s office and have your CNIC edited to the same name as per the degrees and certificates. In case of wrong printing of names on any of the educations documents, you’ll have to get ready for an ordeal that involves getting duplicates and documents from each of the your institutes.

Please take care of the above while you are still at your university and make sure that this kind of blunder does not happen.

The Online Registration

Now, coming to the point where everything is perfectly in order and now you need to register yourself to HEC records.

For this the site provides a simple step-by-step guide:

• Read the pre-requisites very clearly.
• You will need to sign-up with your details. In which the site will also enter your user name as your CNIC number and a password. Please be aware, the email address on which the password and user name is sent should be your own. As the email clearly states your user name and password without encrypting it.
• Once this is done, then you will need to enter all your education qualifications from Matric to the latest ones.
• In the next step you will select which degree or transcript you wish to get attested. Each will be selected and you will be shown the total amount on the screen. Edits are not possible here, so be careful or else you’ll have to start over again.
• You can also add Research Projects and Publications in the education section as well.
• For equivalence degree attestations visit here.

For the next step, the system shall display you selections regarding which Degree, Transcript and Provisional certificate you need to get attested. For each the fee is displayed and there is a quantity column for photocopies as well.

You can then select the “regional office” from where the degree will be attested and you shall present your documents to, alongside timings and other details.

After this, you can proceed to “form printing” where you can print the form alongside the details of Bank Payment Vouchers. This payment shall be made at the time of form submission, once the documents and form is verified.

Getting it Done

The timings for all this activity starts from 8:00 am, so you need to be there at least 30 minutes earlier to get in that queue. The objective here is to get a token number, which is limited to 220 people daily.

After this, your documents shall be checked and verified and in case of any anomalies, you will be asked to return back, because you will not have time to come back again.

The second queue will be for the bank, where the fee is submitted, as per the requested attestations.

It is important to mention that the attested documents are returned with the originals in 5 working days, but make it 10 for safe side. Keep in mind if you are visiting the HEC offices in Islamabad, you can get your documents back the very same day

Make sure to bring along fresh water and some eatables since its a long queue. Also, do not get frustrated or angry on employees because that is counter-productive and causes unnecessary delays. If there is an error or rejection then simply ask what to do, note it down and return back one more time. As cumbersome as it sounds, that’s how things get done here.

I wish you good luck with the process. Also, if I am missing something here, then do let the readers know in the comments below.

HEC Pakistan Scholarship Aptitude Test to Draw Merit List for the Award of HEC Scholarships , Test Pattern and Centers Information

HEC Pakistan Scholarship Aptitude Test to Draw Merit List for the Award of HEC Scholarships , Test Pattern and Centers Information

Saturday, 16 April 2016 / No Comments

HEC Pakistan Scholarship Aptitude Test to Draw Merit List for the Award of HEC Scholarships , Test Pattern and Centers Information

Higher Education Commission (HEC), since its inception, is vigorously making its efforts to facilitate the capable youth of Pakistan by providing them the opportunity of Higher Education in their respective fields in well reputed universities within Pakistan and abroad.

As per directives of HEC authorities, the matter was considered for conduction of aptitude test for entire HEC scholarship schemes and programs. For this purpose, after a prolonged and intellectual discussions made by a competent focused professional group who are experts in their fields have proposed that HEC may established its own proper testing system in this regard.

Therefore, HEC has taken an initiative to take the aptitude test from its prospective applicants itself to ensure the transparency as per its tradition. It is also a cost effective solution for the candidates applying for scholarship schemes.

About Test:

The test will be conducted in following four (4) categories based on relevant disciplines as mentioned by the applicants in their online application forms.

Test Category	Disciplines	Verbal Reasoning	Quantitative Reasoning	Analytical Reasoning	Total %
HAT- I	Engineering & Technology	30	40	30	100
HAT- II	Business Education	30	30	40	100
HAT- III	Art & Humanities, Social Sciences	40	30	30	100
HAT- IV	Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences, Biological & Medical Sciences, Physical Sciences	40	30	30	100

• The proportion of sections has been distributed as per test category mentioned above.

• Test will be comprises of 100 Questions to be attempted in Two (2) hours.

• The question papers will be distributed randomize sequences having 5 different colours sheets.

• The answer sheet will be printed optical mark recognition (OMR) format.

• Answer sheet contains five circles containing five options of answer for one question, containing alphabets from A to E inside, against each question number. The candidate has to completely shade / fill one circle that he / she thinks is correct. No cutting or filling two answer in a row are allowed.

• Test has been designed for 16 year Qualification whereas the difficulty level will be set as moderate considering the participants from all province however merit list will be finalized as per applicant’s category.

 INSTRUCTIONS: 

(PLEASE BRING ORIGINAL CNIC ALONG WITH ROLL NUMBER SLIP 1 HOUR BEFORE THE TEST)

Ø  The applicants who would be called for the test will be required to meet the eligibility criteria already published in advertisement and at our website. Appearing in the test is not the guarantee for the shortlisting for the scholarship. Application scrutiny will be made after scholarship test result.

Ø  Please note that only those applicants will be called for test who have fulfilled complete requirement of submitting online and hard copy of application. Those who have not applied through online process within provided deadline even they had sent their application via courier will not be entertained in any case.

Ø  Please bring Original CNIC along with Roll number slip 1 hour before the test.

Ø  Mobile or other electronic gadgets are strictly prohibited. A strict action will be taken in case of violation found which can also lead to cancellation of test as well.

Ø  Result will be prepared by HEC and will be uploaded after verification with the applicant’s data base on HEC website. No telephonically /email response will be made with reference to test result.

Ø  The test result will remain valid for "TWO YEARS" and is valid for entire HEC scholarship schemes.

Ø  Please bring Original CNIC along with Roll number slip 1 hour before the test.

Ø  No candidate will be admitted in the test center after specified time.

Ø  Candidates will have to produce their roll number slips at the entry point of the test center. In case the candidate has not received the roll number slip, contact center well before time along with evidence of applying for the scholarship.

Ø  Without the roll number slip no candidate will be entertained for the test.

TEST DETAIL

Test must be comprises of following three sections:

·        Verbal Reasoning

·         Quantitative Reasoning

·         Analytical Reasoning

• Ø  The proportion of sections has been distributed as per test category.
• Ø  Test will be comprises of 100 Questions to be attempted in Two and a half (2.5) hours.
• Ø  The question papers will be distributed randomize sequences having 5 different colours sheets.
• Ø  The answer sheet will be printed optical mark recognition (OMR) format.
• Ø  Test has been designed for 16 year Qualification whereas the difficulty level will be set as moderate considering the participants from all province however merit list will be finalized as per applicant’s category.
• Ø  Question booklets will be in five different shuffles.
• Ø  Each question booklet will be sealed and opened by the candidates at the start of test.
• Ø  Do not break the seal till the test starts.
• Ø  No candidate will be allowed to leave the seat during the test except for an un-avoidable reason e.g. toilet usage, that to in the escort of an invigilator.
• Ø  All papers will be collected at the end of test and no candidate will be allowed to move from the seat till the final count after the collection of the paper.
• Ø  Do not bring calculators, mobile phones and wrist watches with calculator in the test center.

ANSWER SHEET SHADING / FILLING THE CIRCLES

 

The answer sheet will be printed optical mark recognition (OMR) format to write answers of the listed questions. Use only ball pen (black / blue) to shade / fill the circles properly. Please bring pen, clip board with you.(bring pen / clip board with you, erasing materials are not allowed.). For example the candidate feels that the correct answer of the given question is 'A', then he / she may shade / fill the circle containing alphabet 'A' with ball pen like this:

• HEC will mark ZERO if shading / filling of two answers against single question is found.
• It is instructed do not write anything or do cutting on answer sheet that will result distraction of readability and will be mark zero.
• Do not bring any other stationary item including rough / extra sheets as two blank sheets for rough work are placed inside the question booklet.
• It is instructed to write NAME, allotted ROLL NUMBER and SIGN on the front title of question booklet before attempting the questions. It is not allowed to write any other thing which is not stated on question booklet.
• The questions booklet will be taken back after the test is over, so do not attempt to tear or remove any page from question booklet. No one is allowed to keep any part of it.
• The invigilation staff will not be allowed to answer about the content of questions. Therefore, no need to get guidance from them.
• Signature on Attendance sheet is mandatory in any case. It is also required to handover the roll number slip to invigilators
• HEC reserve the right to cancel the test and carry out legal action if there is any misrepresentation or violence is found. HEC can cancel any paper at any stage if the activities of the candidate are found against the discipline.

Higher Education Commision (HEC) Introduced Free Testing Service "Educational Testing Counsil" ETC

Higher Education Commision (HEC) Introduced Free Testing Service "Educational Testing Counsil" ETC

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ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) has launched own testing body to conduct free, standardised tests for university admissions.

A ceremony to launch newly-established Educational Testing Council (ETC) was held at HEC Secretariat on Friday. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal was the chief guest in the event, who formally launched the ETC, whereas State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Baleeghur Rehman, National Assembly Standing Committee on Education Chairman Amirullah Marwat, HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, representatives of KP and AJK governments and vice chancellors of different universities were also present.

Congratulating HEC on the launch of ETC, Ahsan Iqbal said that establishment of the council is part of the government’s efforts to achieve targets of Vision-2025, which is a roadmap for country’s development in all spheres. He expressed the hope that ETC will prove to be a credible and transparent entity to adopt a testing mechanism of international standard.

The minister described the initiative as an important step toward building the knowledge economy, adding that the incumbent government is providing all possible resources for the uplift of education in the country. “It is a misconception that PML-N is only working on infrastructure development, but in fact we are fully committed to providing quality education in the country,” he maintained. He said, “Provision of higher education to people’s door step is our priority.” Baleeghur Rahman also appreciated HEC for taking a much-needed step for standardisation of education in the country. He described various programmes of his ministry to develop minimum standards for primary and secondary education through consensus among all regions of Pakistan.

While elaborating the objectives of launching ETC, HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said that the council will be a self-governed body, which will be operational from Spring 2017. He said that all public and private universities of the country will be required to adopt ETC entry tests for admissions. “ETC will arrange a standardised entry test for university admissions, for which the respective university will determine weight-age of the test,” he added.

Initially, the tests will be conducted for undergraduate admissions and subsequently for MS and PhD admissions, and it will be valid for a period of two years, he said, adding the government will bear the cost of this test, which will be held twice a year. Responding to a question asked by journalists, the chairman said that the council will only conduct tests for admissions in university, whereas there is no plan to launch it on commercial basis to conduct tests for employment at this stage. The students lauded the commission’s steps to form a body which will conduct standardised test free of cost and also demanded to expand its network as currently they are facing huge problems due to heavy fees charged by the National Testing Service (NTS) for several tests.

HEC Important Notice for Student / Teachers Regarding Non-Recognized Universities / Institutions

HEC Important Notice for Student / Teachers Regarding Non-Recognized Universities / Institutions

Saturday, 27 February 2016 / No Comments

HEC Important Notice for Student / Teachers Regarding Non-Recognized Universities / Institutions

Do Not Take Admission in Non -Recognized University/Institution 

A large number of Universities/Degree Awarding Institutions/Campuses/Affiliated Colleges/foreign collaborative arrangements are operating illegally in Pakistan without permission of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Before taking admission in any University, students and their parents must check the status of its accreditation as a first step otherwise their degrees from such institutions will not be verified by HEC. 

Recognize. Institutions :

In case of any doubt, check the lists of HEC Recognized Universities/Institutions available at HEC website: 

List of Recognized Universities/Institutions http://www.hec.gov.pk/OurInstitutes/Pages/Default.aspx 

List of Recognized Campuses of Public and Private Sector Institutions http://www.hec.gov.pk/OurInstitutes/Pages/HECrecognized ampuses.aspx 

List of Recognized Affiliated Colleges across Pakistan

http://www.hec.gov.pk/affiliatedcolleges 

List of Recognized Local Institutions offering approved Foreign Degree Programmes in Pakistan 

ttp://www.hec.gov.pp/FDPP 

Any other institution which is not included in the list of recognized Universities/ Institutions/Campuses available on HEC website may also be termed as non -recognized. 

If you are aware of any institution which is operating illegally and is not listed in recognized institutions of HEC, please inform us at: info.ana@hec.gov.pk .

For further information and details, 

please contact Director General (A&A) c 

Tel: 051-90400900, 

Fax: 051-90400902 Higher Education Commission Pakistan

M-Phil degree required to teach BSc (Hons) students

M-Phil degree required to teach BSc (Hons) students

Saturday, 30 January 2016 / No Comments

M-Phil degree required to teach BSc (Hons) students

M-Phil degree required to teach BSc (Hons... by City-42

M.Sc Hons Agriculture Equivalent to M.Phil clarified by HEC

M.Sc Hons Agriculture Equivalent to M.Phil clarified by HEC

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Higher Education Commission, in its letter issued on 29^th January 2015 to Mr. Tauseef Amjad clarified that M.Sc Hons Agriculture Equivalent to M.Phil.

According to this letter, with reference to your application dated 22-01-2015 on the subject, the decision of the Equivalence Committee of erstwhile UGC taken in its 16^th meeting held on 12-01-1986 is reproduced below for your information:

“The Committee decided to equate M.Sc (Hons) Agriculture degree awarded by Pakistani Universities after B.Sc (Hons) degree (4 years course after F.Sc) in Agriculture as equivalent to M.Phil for the purpose of job and other benefits etc.”

In accordance with the aforementioned decision, 2-years Master of Science (Hons) Agriculture (Agricultural Entomology) degree held by you from University of Faisalabad after “B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture/16 years schooling” can be considered as equivalent to M.Phil for the purpose of job and other benefits etc.

It may also be noted that admission in a University for further education and determination of suitability in relation to job requirements rests with the concerned university and employing agency, respectively and this Commission has no role in such issues.

BA, BSc Program Changed to Four Years Program

BA, BSc Program Changed to Four Years Program

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 / No Comments

HEC has given the approval for changing 2 years B.A. and BSc program to four years program.

It has also been decided to implement uniform education system in all the higher education institutes. Dr. Muhammad Arshad Ali has been appointed as the new Executive Director of HEC. All these decisions were taken in the 31st meeting of governing body.

Punjab Higher Education Commission Foreign PhD Scholarships 2016 Punjab Public Sector

Punjab Higher Education Commission Foreign PhD Scholarships 2016 Punjab Public Sector

Monday, 11 January 2016 / No Comments

Punjab Higher Education Commission Foreign PhD Scholarships 2016 Punjab Public Sector

Punjab Higher Education Commission Foreign PhD Scholarships 2016 Punjab Public Sector

Introduction

The Punjab Higher Education Commission, Government of Punjab invites applications from eligible public sector college teachers/university faculty in Punjab for award of Foreign PhD scholarships (initially for 3 years) in QS Top Ranking 500 universities of 2015-16. Limited number of Foreign PhD Scholarships is available in Humanities, Social Sciences and Management Sciences this year. The scholarships are meant to support faculty to improve their research and teaching skills.

Financial Provision

Fully funded scholarship will cover university tuition fee, return air-fare, living stipend, cost of books, research allowance and health insurance. This cost may vary from country, university, and discipline wise. The tuition fee is provided up to the limit of US$ 79,440.

Eligibility Criteria:
• Must be a Pakistani citizen with domicile from any district of Punjab.
• Max Age on application deadline i.e. February 19, 2016 is 45 years.
• Must be a full time regular and permanent faculty members of Public Sector College or University with minimum 2 years’ experience.
• Must have a valid offer/admission letter from a foreign university among QS top ranking 500. The admission must be in a direct PhD program commencing from June-September 2016
• Must have completed 18 years of education (MS/M. Phil) with minimum CGPA 3.0 out of 4.0 in the semester system and no 3rd division in entire academic career.
Ineligibility
• Dual nationals.
• Candidates who are already availing any other scholarship.
• Candidates who are not full time regular and permanent employees in public sector college/university.
• Applications submitted by hand will not be accepted.

How to apply?

Following application form complete in all respects should reach the Director HRD, Punjab Higher Education Commission, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore on or before the deadline i.e. February 19, 2016. The complete application package includes the following:

1. Application Form along with statement of purpose and research proposal (Click here)
2. Valid offer/admission letter from a foreign university among QS top ranking 500 in direct PhD program
3. Attested copies of educational certificates/transcripts/degrees from issuing board/university or HEC
4. Appointment/regularization letter as regular permanent faculty in public sector college/ university
5. Photocopy of domicile
6. Photocopy of CNIC
7. CV/Resume
8. Foreign Supervisor Profile
9. IELTS/TOFL/GRE etc score (if applicable)
10. NOC from the relevant government department/university authorities

Note: - All above documents should be in the same order as mentioned above and stapled.
Incomplete applications or applications with missing documents will be rejected.
By hand applications will not be accepted.
Applicants must apply through proper channel.

Application Procedure:

• The eligible faculty of Punjab public sector college/university who have secured admission in the top ranking universities (QS Ranking List 2015-16) may apply for the Foreign PhD Scholarships.
• The applicants must have direct admission in the PhD program.
• All applications will be processed by PHEC and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.
• The successful applicants will be issued provisional award letter for the foreign PhD scholarship.
• Final award letter will be subject to provisioning of legal documents or meeting any other conditions laid down in the provisional award letter.

Terms & Conditions:

Following are the terms & conditions of the award of scholarship and the acceptance of the award is an acknowledgement of these obligations:
i. The applicant must have secured admission in his/her relevant field of studies.
ii. An awardee will not change the course of study specified in the letter of award without obtaining prior approval of the Chairperson, Punjab Higher Education Commission, Govt. of the Punjab.
iii. An awardee is not to hold any other scholarship/stipend during this scholarship period of his/her study.
iv. Change of university/institute at any stage of study is not encouraged but due to unavoidable circumstances will only be admissible giving logical justification for prior approval of the Punjab Higher Education Commission.
v. An awardee would obtain leave from his employer to join the institution of his study on full-time basis.
vi. An awardee shall sign an agreement with the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) on non-judicial (Stamp) paper to the effect that in case the awardee fails to complete his / her study, he/ she will refund to the PHEC the total amount spent on his/ her studies by the PHEC. The format of the agreement will be provided to the selected candidates
vii. In addition, a personal guarantee of a person of means on non-judicial (Stamp) paper to the effect of ensuring the recovery in case of default would need to be furnished. Specimen will be provided to the selected candidates.
viii. An awardee is required to execute a bond with the Punjab Higher Education Commission to serve his parent department for 5 years subsequent to the award of the Degree. Specimen will be provided to the selected candidates.
ix. An awardee has to provide declaration of assets by the guarantor. Specimen will be provided to the selected candidates.
x. Every document i.e. Deed of Agreement, Guarantee to PHEC, Surety Bond and Declaration of Assets must be properly notarized, that means the document must be registered by the Notary Public maintained by him as notary register and the signatures of the executants must be obtained on the register and the number of the registration must be mentioned along with the notarial stamp.
xi. The Punjab Higher Education Commission would monitor the academic progress/performance of the awardee and the financial utilization on six monthly basis.

Contact Details:

For any further information about the program please contact:

Director/Program Manager
Human Resource Development
Punjab Higher Education Commission
10th Floor, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore
Ph: 042-99262209