Hundreds of diploma holders from the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in various skill areas will heave a sigh of relief, as on the intervention of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, Javed Sadiq Malik, their certificates will henceforth be verified by the university.
The intervention by the Wafaqi Mohtasib will also enable the Foreign Office in Islamabad and Pakistani Missions abroad to attest the diploma certificates issued by the AIOU, says a statement issued by the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat here on Sunday.
Such verification is necessary for skilled workers seeking employment abroad.
It may be noted that a large number of diploma holders from the AIOU, especially those living abroad are not able to get admissions in educational institutions to upgrade their technical skills or get jobs commensurate with their qualifications for want of verification of their diplomas.
The Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) had refused to verify short course skill diplomas given by AIOU, as being beyond their purview. This left diploma holders in the lurch. Career prospects of the diploma holders will improve thanks to the initiative and efforts of one Fiaz Ahmad, a diploma holder from the AIOU who in May 2009 complained to the Wafaqi Mohtasib that AIOU has refused to attest his diploma on the grounds that it had no authority to do so.
On the directions of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, the IBCC obtained the list of short courses from the AIOU and forwarded it to the Ministry of Education, which directly authorised the AIOU to verify the diplomas issued by it.
This has provided the much-awaited relief to several hundred students holding AIOU diplomas of 18 short courses, which will also benefit all those who will acquire these certificates in future.
The complainant, Fiaz Ahmad, in his letter of thanked to the Mohtasib, said that this decision will be a great help for thousands of students to better their educational and technical career.