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Excelling in fake degrees since 1995
By Zahid GishkoriJuly 06, 2010
A ghost institute has awarded thousands of degrees but has gone unpunished
ISLAMABAD: Amid the intense discourse on the authenticity of public representatives degrees, and a nation-wide verification procedure launched to this effect, The Express Tribune has learnt of a ghost educational institute has been awarding fake degrees for past 15 years in the heart of the federal capital.
Despite having never applied for mandatory affiliation with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Skill Development Council (SDC) or the National Training Bureau (NTB), the Modern Institute of Informatics and Management (MIIM) has been awarding educational degrees post graduates diplomas and all kinds of technical diplomas at the national as well as international level since 1995.
Interviews with the authorities concerned, as well as documents obtained by The Express Tribune, have confirmed this racket the victims of which were suffering locally as well as overseas.
The SDCs chief executive officer, Muhammad Riaz, confirmed to The Express Tribune that the MIIM has never been registered with his body, which works under the ministry of labour and manpower.
The MIIM has for years swindled thousands of students not only in Pakistan but also abroad using the name of the SDC, said Riaz, adding that, in this regard, the SDC had written to the NTB last month. The institute also is using the name of Ali Nadeem, who was sacked by the ministry of labour and manpower for his alleged involvement in fake degree scandals with MIIM last year, Riaz revealed.
The Director General NTB, Razia Zuberi, when contacted, said that the bureau has approached the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench against MIIM as it has been awarding fake degrees and misusing the name of NTB for years now.
Thousands of diplomas have been found forged, and the [number of] diploma holders pursuing their cases with the NTB is rising day by day, Zuberi said and adding, MIIM never fulfilled the criteria set by the NTB.
Chairman SDC, Lahore, Mian Tajammal Hussain dismissed the councils CEO for the city, Syed Seerat Mehdi, and a senior official, Ali Nadeem, who were both allegedly found involved in distributing fake degrees to hundreds of students. Last month, Tajammal sent the MIIM case to NTB Islamabad, she explained.
At the moment, the MIIM administration has reportedly obtained a stay on proceedings against it from the High Court, and notices have been issued to the NTB and Ministry of Labour and Manpower, she said.
Meanwhile, HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi said that some cases from the UAE had also come into the notice of the HEC as of last month when some students sought the verification of their educational certificates with the HEC. These degrees were issued by the MIIM in Pakistan, he stated.
Such institutes have never been registered with HEC, Naqvi said, adding that, because of such operations, those bodies they claim to be affiliated with were also defamed.
Aamir Muhammad, who is working on the issue for the welfare of the Pakistani community in the UAE, told The Express Tribune that the degrees earned from MIIM were not being recognised in UAE.
I myself wrote many times to Chairman, MIIM, K.M Zahid, to point out the issue being faced by the students, but he never replied, he explained.
When approached by The Express Tribune, Federal Minister for Education, Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali said that [the government] will take action against such institutes in accordance with the law.
The media should expose all institutes issuing fake degrees and those behind such operations, he said.
Meanwhile, federal secretary for Education, Imtiaz Qazi, when approached, said that, The main objective of these institutes is to swindle the students and mar their future. Director MIIM Zeeshan Zahid neither confirmed nor denied the charges facing his institute, saying that the matter is now in the court. I will not comment on the issue further, he replied when contacted.
Literature available with The Express Tribune states that the MIIM has branches in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Rawalpindi all of which provide degrees.
The website of the MIIM states that institute is awarding the degrees in affiliation with the Directorate of Higher Education in Peshawar. However, Director of HEC in Peshawar Farmanullah Anjum told The Express Tribune that the MIIM had never been registered with them.
Meanwhile, in a letter obtained by The Express Tribune, the MIIM had actually requested the Chairman of the Sports Sciences and Physical Education Department of Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan to compare the institutes syllabus and issue an equality certification, Vide Ref No 143 DSSPU/GU DI Khan Dated: 22-1-2010.
A senior official of the university on condition of anonymity said that the university never replied to the institute because it has no affiliation with the university. MIIM was misusing the universitys name; the Registrar of the university will soon knock on the door of the court, he added. The Registrar of Gomal University, DI Khan, Muhammad Jan Khan, and Director Academics of the university Fareedullah Khan confirmed that the MIIM has never been affiliated with the university, also saying that they would take the matter to the court.
Interviews with the authorities concerned, as well as the documents obtained by The Express Tribune, have confirmed this racket the victims of which are suffering locally as well as overseas.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2010.
