The Administration and Coordination (A&C) Division of the HEC has issued a notification stating that in pursuance of the instructions by the government of Pakistan in the wake of declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), the walk-in mode of attestation and equivalence of degrees and diplomas at the HEC Islamabad, and all its regional centers at Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar have been suspended with effect from March 17, 2020 till further orders. All scheduled appointments have since been cancelled, and the applicants stand informed through SMS and emails to reschedule their appointments by selecting courier mode of attestation.

The notification has also been sent to the director, HEC Regional Centre, Lahore; the in-charge/deputy director, HEC Regional Centre, Karachi; the in-charge/assistant director, HEC Regional Centre, Quetta; the in-charge/assistant director, HEC Regional Centre, Peshawar; the attestation officers, Main Hall, and Courier Section, A&A Division, HEC; Islamabad; The ES to Chairman, HEC Islamabad, and The ES to Executive Director, HEC Islamabad.

Further, in view of the threat of COVID-19 in the country and resultantly closure of education institutes across the country, a video conference meeting has been scheduled under the chairmanship of Shafqat Mahmood, federal minister for federal education and professional training (M/o FE&PT) on 17th March, 2020 to discuss the future course of action regarding the schedule of examinations including Cambridge examination.

All the provincial education ministers and education secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, the AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, chairman Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, chairman, Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad, Secretary, IBCC, Islamabad, are expected to attend this video conference.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020