ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Science and Technology has declared engineering degrees of 21 universities and colleges across the country to be fake and unauthorized.
The issue came to light during a National Assembly session on Wednesday, where the ministry submitted the details of the varsities and colleges that have been issuing unauthorized degrees to the students. It was revealed that such institutes have been operating under fake affiliation certificates. ------------------------------
The ministry official informed in the lower house that since 2013, it has exposed as many as 21 such universities and colleges that were playing with the careers of the students by issuing them fake degrees.
Among the institutes that have issued unauthorized degrees are 11 engineering universities and colleges from Punjab, five from Sindh, three from Gilgit Baltistan, while one each from Azad Kashmir and Islamabad.
Earlier on January 11, 2020, the Higher Education Department of Punjab (HED) had declared 23 sub-campuses of seven private sector universities unauthorized for operating without a formal affiliation certificate or approval from the provincial government. ------------------------------
The department said it will launch a legal action against the owners of these campuses, adding that they have been stopped from taking further admissions.
The students were also informed via public advertisements to refrain from taking admission in such institutes.