The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has reported that 220,000 degrees were attested during the first three months of its fully online degree attestation system, with applications reportedly processed in an average of three to four working days. HEC Executive Director Professor Dr Zia Ul Haq shared the figures following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between HEC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to improve digital verification of academic credentials. The agreement was signed by Professor Dr Zia Ul Haq and Foreign Secretary Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and HEC Chairman Professor Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar. The initiative is intended to simplify degree verification, reduce manual procedures and improve access to attestation services for students and professionals in Pakistan and abroad. The development follows HEC’s transition to a fully online and paperless attestation process in May 2026, replacing the previous system that required physical visits or the submission of original documents through established procedures.
Under the new arrangement, HEC and MoFA will work towards integrating their respective systems through secure application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing academic credentials to be verified electronically between the two institutions. The integration is intended to reduce delays in document verification and make the attestation process more convenient for people who need to use Pakistani academic qualifications for employment, education or other official purposes overseas. According to the government announcement, the MoU includes measures covering data sharing, confidentiality, cybersecurity and the protection of personally identifiable information. These safeguards will be important as the institutions exchange sensitive academic records digitally. The agreement also builds on Pakistan’s existing efforts to expand electronic consular services, including the introduction of the country’s Apostille system in 2024. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said improving consular services remained a priority and described the agreement as a step towards more accessible and efficient services for Pakistanis at home and abroad.
HEC’s online attestation system allows applicants to submit applications through its e-services portal without physically visiting an HEC office or sending original documents under the new process. Applicants provide their personal and academic details, upload the required documents and pay the applicable fee electronically. HEC reviews the application before sending the academic credentials to the relevant university or higher education institution for verification. Once the verification and final review are completed, an electronic attestation certificate can be issued through the applicant’s online account. The system is intended to make the process easier to access while allowing applicants to track progress digitally. Integration with MoFA is expected to extend these digital capabilities to the verification processes required for foreign affairs and consular services. NADRA integration was also identified by Professor Dr Zia Ul Haq as part of the planned development, although the specific implementation timeline and technical arrangements for that integration have not been announced in the available statements.
HEC’s next stated objective is to pursue collaboration with the World Education Services (WES) and other international institutions to make academic credential verification more convenient for Pakistani students and professionals seeking opportunities abroad. Such collaboration could help reduce repeated manual verification and improve the exchange of trusted academic information between institutions, subject to the requirements of the organisations involved. The latest MoU represents a step towards linking domestic degree attestation with overseas verification and consular processes, while the reported three-to-four-working-day average provides an early indication of processing times under the online system. However, the long-term impact will depend on the effectiveness of system integration, the reliability of digital verification and the adoption of compatible processes by partner institutions. HEC has not yet announced a timeline for completing the planned integrations with NADRA, WES or other international organisations. Further updates will clarify how these arrangements are implemented and how they affect the processing of academic credentials for applicants inside Pakistan and overseas.
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