By Abdul Ghani
ISLAMABAD, March 12 (Wealth Pakistan): The Higher Education Commission (HEC) plans to launch the first phase of a blockchain-based degree attestation system by June 2026. The initiative aims to simplify the attestation process and make it more secure and accessible online.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the HEC wants to use advanced technology to improve transparency, efficiency, and service delivery in the degree attestation and equivalence processes.
The new system is currently under development. It will introduce a secure blockchain framework that connects academic records of universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on a centralized digital platform.
Through this platform, applicants will no longer need to visit universities in person for verification and attestation. Instead, the process will shift to a fully digital workflow.
Universities and HEIs will receive dedicated dashboards. These dashboards will allow institutions to verify and validate applicants’ academic records securely. After the universities complete verification, the system will automatically forward the cases to the HEC for further processing.
Once the HEC verifies and attests the degrees, the system will store students’ academic records as tamper-proof digital credentials on the blockchain. Students will then be able to access their verified academic records online.
These digital credentials can be shared securely with employers, universities, or other relevant authorities. As a result, organizations will be able to verify academic qualifications quickly and reliably.
Officials believe the blockchain framework will reduce fraud and document forgery. In addition, it will shorten verification times and improve trust in academic credentials. The system will also ensure data integrity and protect records from unauthorized changes.
The HEC expects to roll out the first phase of the blockchain-enabled degree attestation system by June 30, 2026. The initiative represents a major step toward digitizing Pakistan’s higher education credential system and improving public access to academic verification services.