The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has ordered all public universities in the province to verify the educational degrees of their employees through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) within three months, following the discovery of multiple fake credentials at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).
The directive came after the PAC was informed that 10 DUHS employees had been hired with fake degrees.
During scrutiny of the university’s 2021–2023 audit reports, the committee learned that only 450 out of 3,500 DUHS employees had so far undergone HEC verification.
Audit officials told the PAC that many contractual employees were appointed without verification of their academic records or personal background, making the recruitment process irregular and increasing the risk of bogus credentials.
DUHS spends Rs2.33 billion annually on employee salaries.
The PAC was also informed that, despite the audit department highlighting the issue in June last year, DUHS had not submitted a formal response.
DUHS management said it issued three tenders for degree verification but received no bids, after which it directly contracted HRSG Outsourcing Company to complete the verification process.
The firm has begun work, and several degrees have already been checked.
DUHS Vice Chancellor Dr. Nazli Hussain told the committee that eight of the 10 employees found with fake degrees have been terminated, while the remaining two have been issued show-cause notices and will be dismissed soon.
She added that from July 2021 to June 2025, the university hired 3,023 employees on contract, of whom 54 have been regularised.
