ISLAMABAD:
The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Training on Tuesday ordered relevant authorities to expedite the investigation into the alleged leak of Cambridge A-Level exam papers and ensure that the matter is resolved before July 21.
The panel, chaired by Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, expressed concerns over the issue during its meeting held in Parliament.
In May, Cambridge International Education (CIE) confirmed the leak of an AS-level mathematics exam paper and announced the postponement of another mathematics paper.
Students who sat for an AS-level maths assignment claimed the assignment they received was identical to a solved assignment they came across on social media a day earlier.
Previously, the AS level mathematics exam (9709/12), held on April 29, was also the subject of similar complaints.
During the meeting, the Inter Board Committee of Presidents (IBCC) informed the committee that it had shared the available evidence with Cambridge Assessment and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for investigation and appropriate action.
The president ordered letters to be sent to relevant authorities, urging them to expedite the investigation and ensure that the matter is resolved before July 21.
The committee was briefed about the issue of degree attestation for graduates from unauthorized campuses of PIMSAT, University of South Asia, Lahore, and NICE, Karachi.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) informed the meeting that it had approved the examination of 4,383 of the approximately 6,000 students concerned for obtaining a degree certificate.
The meeting was informed that an online service had been introduced to streamline the degree attestation process, while the President directed the relevant authorities to present a detailed report at the next meeting on the number of degrees attested through the system.
The committee also deliberated on the long-pending issue of non-attestation of degrees awarded by Al-Khair University.
The meeting was further informed that the commission had planned to conduct a test before verifying the students’ qualifications, but the examination is yet to be held.
The panel asked the HEC to resolve the issue by adopting the policy previously applied in the case of Global University, Lahore, and submit a comprehensive report within 10-15 days.
Expressing serious concern over the prolonged delay, the President observed that HEC had been negligent in resolving the matter for several years.
She said it would be unreasonable to require people who finished school years ago to take an exam at this point.
The body stressed the need for a speedy and fair resolution of the matter in order to safeguard the academic and professional interests of the affected students.
HEC also informed the committee of its plagiarism policy, stating that the level of plagiarism permitted varies between disciplines, with the maximum allowable limit set at 19 percent. He further informed the committee that Turnitin software is used to detect and assess plagiarism in academic research.
