ISLAMABAD: Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood launched on Tuesday an e-portal and a mobile application for the issuance of equivalence certificates.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, he said that previously, students would have to go through the hassle of applying to the Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen and waiting in long queues to get equivalence certificates.
The launch of the e-portal and app would simplify the lengthy process, he added.
Shafqat Mahmood said a student can apply online for the issuance of the equivalence certificate and will not have to go anywhere, adding the payment will also be made online.
He said the manual system was not being done away with and would remain in place in case some people opted for it. Terming the move a revolutionary change, he said it was aimed to facilitate the youth and make the process simple.
The minister said the government is taking steps to bring improvement to the education system.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the minister said everything from the submission of payment challan to documents had now been digitalised and students would be able to track their application status.
He added that students would brave difficulties because most of them were unfamiliar with the banking process.
Mehmood said the entire process was a burdensome one and there were fears of misplacement of original documents submitted by the students.
He said the new system was devised after meetings with all stakeholders, including the 30 boards in Pakistan and international education boards such as Cambridge.
He said once the online application had been completed, students would receive a certificate at their address, adding that in the future “these certificates will also be given to students in PDF format”.
with additional input from News Desk
