ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has called an internal meeting on Wednesday (today) to review the developing Axact scandal over the sale of falce degrees and diplomas.

The New York Times (NYT) had accused Axact of selling fake degrees and diplomas online through hundreds of fictitious schools purportedly located in the United States.

`HEC has serious concerns over these allegations as Pakistan`s name is being tarnished. We are monitoring the developing scenario, but in fact, we don`t have direct dealings with the Axact Group and the international institutions allegedly involved in the scam,` HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed told Dawn on Tuesday.

`I have called an internal meeting of officers from the degree-attesting wing of the HEC on Wednesday where we will discuss the issue in detail,` the HE C Chairman said. The HEC can only verify degrees from recognised national and international universities following a proper whetting process, he said.

`As per the [NYT J report, the falce degrees were allegedly issued by fictitious schools... so I don`t think any such degree holders tried to get his/her degree verified from HEC,` he said, adding, that the HEC had to play whatever role it could in stemming this practice, which was bringing the country into disrepute.

`In case of international universities, we follow a strict standard operating procedure. We recognize degrees of only those universities that are recognized by the concerned departments of their home countries. We also take passport copies from degree holders to verify their claim of being abroad when they received degrees,` he said.Kashif Abbasi