Pakistan's Shah Abdul Latif University cancels 1,184 LLB degrees after records inquiry
The Khairpur university has declared results, transcripts and degrees of 1,184 law candidates invalid, saying the records were entered into its system without lawful authority. Bar councils and the Higher Education Commission have been informed.
Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) in Khairpur, Sindh, has cancelled the academic records of 1,184 candidates from its law programmes, according to reports by Aaj English TV on 17 October and ProPakistani on 18 October.
The cancellations cover 658 candidates from the three-year LLB programme and 526 from the five-year LLB programme. The three-year records relate to the 2016, 2017 and 2018 batches, while the five-year records relate to the 2017 batch.
What the inquiry found
ProPakistani, citing the university's notification dated 16 October, reported that an inquiry committee examined records held by the university and its affiliated law colleges and concluded that the disputed entries had been added to the university's system without lawful authority. The notification declares any related result, transcript, provisional certificate or degree void from the outset. The affiliated colleges listed are reported to be in Jacobabad, Kandhkot and Kashmore.
The Higher Education Commission, the Pakistan Bar Council and the provincial bar councils of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have been notified, ProPakistani reported. The individuals affected appear in an annexed list and have not been publicly named in the media reports.
A process that began earlier this year
The decision follows steps reported in July. The News reported on 8 July that the university's Syndicate, at its 92nd meeting, had approved action on more than 1,200 suspect LLB records, and that candidates would be given 15 days to produce authentic documentary evidence before results and degrees were cancelled. The same report described earlier phases of the university's drive, including FIRs against 128 individuals over allegedly fake academic records and the suspension of more than eight university officials.
Aaj English TV also reported that SALU had cancelled 1,280 law degrees in the previous year.
What it means for verification
Because an LLB is the gateway to enrolment as an advocate, cancellations of this kind have consequences beyond the university. The case shows why bar councils, courts and employers check law degrees directly with the awarding university's records, and why a degree that appears on a university portal may still be questioned if the underlying admission and examination records do not exist.
This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.
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