HEC Degree Attestation Crisis 2026: 36,931 Students From 3 Institutions Still Waiting, Senate Told
The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training was told on 2 August 2026 that 36,931 students from three institutions, University of South Asia (USA) Lahore, NICE Karachi, and PIMSAT’s Karachi and Lahore campuses, are still waiting on degree attestation from the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Only 4,383 of USA Lahore’s 6,556 affected students have been cleared so far. The committee gave HEC 15 days to submit full data on NICE and PIMSAT, and ordered an end to vague progress figures.
Why These Degrees Got Stuck in the First Place
This isn’t a new problem. Some of the campuses involved were operating as recognized institutions when today’s affected students actually enrolled, in one case going back to 2002, before HEC later reclassified them as unauthorized. Once that reclassification happens, every degree already issued by that campus gets frozen until HEC manually verifies the underlying academic record, a process that can take years per batch of students. Committee chairperson Senator Bushra Anjum Butt has described dealing with HEC on this issue as a repeating cycle of delay, and has said she personally fields calls from affected graduates on a near-daily basis.
The scale of the problem has grown clearer with each Senate session rather than shrinking. Here’s how the numbers have moved over the past 15 months.
Timeline: How the Numbers Grew
| Date | What Was Reported |
|---|---|
| 2024 (multiple sessions) | Committee first pushes HEC for a resolution framework; a document checklist and grievance desk are proposed |
| 19 May 2026 | New HEC Chairman Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar tells the committee 52,000 to 54,000 students across four institutions are affected, some waiting since 2015 |
| 14 July 2026 | HEC narrows the discussion to USA Lahore and NICE Karachi specifically, around 6,000 combined, with 4,383 cases cleared for consideration |
| 2 August 2026 | Full institution-by-institution numbers presented: 36,931 students across USA Lahore, NICE Karachi, and PIMSAT combined |
The August 2 Breakdown, Institution by Institution
| Institution | Affected Students | Status |
|---|---|---|
| University of South Asia, Lahore | 6,556 | 4,383 cleared (Category A and B) |
| NICE, Karachi | 5,445 | Detailed report ordered within 15 days |
| PIMSAT, Karachi and Lahore campuses | 24,930 | Detailed report ordered within 15 days |
| Total | 36,931 |
PIMSAT alone accounts for two-thirds of the total, which makes the committee’s 15-day deadline for a full PIMSAT report the single biggest number to watch when this story next updates.
What “Category A and B” Actually Means
HEC sorts affected students into three groups before attestation can move forward.
Category A covers students whose admission records, exam results, and academic documentation are fully complete and verifiable.
Category B covers students whose documentation is complete but whose formal degree hasn’t been issued yet.
Category C covers students whose academic records have gaps that still need to be reconstructed or verified manually.
For USA Lahore, HEC told the committee that Category A and B together account for the 4,383 cleared cases. Clearing a case doesn’t mean an attested degree in hand, though. HEC estimated the individual attestation process still takes two to three weeks per student after they formally apply, even once their category is settled.
The Online System Question Nobody Could Answer Clearly
The most pointed exchange in the 2 August session wasn’t about the backlog itself, it was about whether HEC’s online attestation system actually works the way officials had previously claimed. Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan pressed HEC representatives on how many degrees from these three institutions specifically had been processed online in the past month. Officials couldn’t give an institution-specific figure on the spot. When pressed further, HEC eventually offered a total of roughly 15,000 degrees processed online, but across its entire system, not isolated to USA Lahore, NICE, or PIMSAT.
That gap between a broad system-wide number and the specific figures lawmakers actually asked for is what triggered the committee’s order to stop providing “unclear figures” going forward.
Students Are Still Getting Stuck on the Portal Itself
Two student complaints raised during the session point to a problem beyond the backlog: the online system itself isn’t fully reliable yet. One NICE graduate told the committee his case had technically been resolved, but his complaint on the Pakistan Citizen Portal had sat marked “In Progress” since 17 June, with no verification letter or No Objection Certificate issued. Another student said his completed attestations weren’t even showing up correctly on the portal’s own ticket and status tracker. The chairperson acknowledged the new system is facing early technical issues and told officials to resolve both cases directly rather than through further committee back-and-forth.
What Happens Next
The committee’s direction is specific: HEC must submit a complete, verifiable report on NICE Karachi and PIMSAT within 15 days of the 2 August session, matching the level of detail already provided for USA Lahore. Separately, the committee flagged a broader concern about private campuses operating out of residential buildings without labs or playgrounds despite charging full fees, and directed a review of registration standards for institutions like these going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many students are affected by the HEC degree attestation issue in 2026?
36,931 students across three institutions, University of South Asia Lahore (6,556), NICE Karachi (5,445), and PIMSAT’s Karachi and Lahore campuses (24,930), according to the Senate committee’s 2 August 2026 session.
Has HEC cleared any of these cases yet?
Yes, but only for one institution so far. 4,383 of USA Lahore’s 6,556 affected students have been cleared under Category A and B, meaning their documentation is verified even if the attested degree hasn’t been issued yet.
What is HEC’s online degree attestation system?
It’s a paperless system meant to let applicants submit for attestation without visiting HEC offices in person. Officials told the Senate committee about 15,000 degrees have been processed through it in total, though that figure isn’t broken down by institution.
What should an affected student do right now?
Apply through HEC’s online attestation portal directly rather than waiting for a batch resolution, since individual applications are being processed even while the broader institutional review continues. If a portal complaint has been stuck for weeks with no update, raising it directly with the committee’s office, as the NICE student did on 2 August, has prompted faster individual action in the past.
While You’re Tracking Education News
If you’re a parent or student following stories like this to understand which institutions are safe to enroll in later, the same instinct is worth applying to board results right now. Check your own 9th Class Result 2026 the moment it’s live, download the 9th class result gazette for school-wise verification, or look up your board’s SMS codes for all boards if the website slows down on result day. This story will be updated here once HEC submits its NICE and PIMSAT reports within the committee’s 15-day window.
