Note: This is a guest post written by Muhammad Farhan Sohail from Karachi regarding his experience on his degree attestation process under the HEC.

You can either google HEC office in Karachi or simply go here to find a map of HEC office location.

Day One 17th October: TOKEN DAY

In Karachi you can get only a maximum of 50 tokens per day i.e. a maximum of 50 people can get their documents attested in a given day in Karachi. People come as early as 5:30 am and I reached by 8:10 am and got the 45th Number – sometimes people come in as early as 7:00 am and find all the tokens taken – therefore I advise to go in early to be on the safe side.

First step is to get your name registered with a guy seated just outside the HEC gate. If your name is there he will give you the token and make sure you are there when he calls your name. Dont go for halwa poori. 😛

At around 8:30 am he went inside and came out with a page that had tokens printed and spaces to write names and mobile numbers. He called everyone by the registration number (as per the register) and then wrote the names and cell numbers on them.

All names are written except for those who are not present at this “Golden” moment on the printed sheet. Then he will bring a scissor and cut all tokens and give you one.

Note that you may collect a token for someone else too if you bring their NIC copy and know their mobile phone.

Your appointment will be written on the token. On the 17th of October 2014 I got an appointment for 21st October. Please note that this attestation process started just two months ago in Karachi and there is already a 4 day delay in token provision and submission. This gap is expected to widen.

I was free by 9pm.

Day 2: 21st Oct 2014

I reached HEC Karachi with all forms at 9:30 am. I was free by 10 am.

I printed the HEC form the night before. It tells you what to carry with you when coming to HEC. I collected all the documents and their photocopies – please make photocopies of all documents otherwise you have to go get photocopy and come back again which causes a one hour delay.

For those who had foreign degree, their degree/transcript is not attested. However the HEC equivalence certificate is attested. Get Equivalence certificate first (even if you don’t have PEC registration it would still work). While entering your data on HEC form, educational detail, please make university/board as Higher Education Commission. Also make the country Pakistan. Then you will be able to move beyond step 2 of HEC online form.

While printing HEC form you will notice that formatting is all out. The form consists of 4 challans, 2 on each page intended for landscape printing and a 2 page HEC form that is intended to be printed in portrait form. Please save that print page and open in word and make 2 files, one for challan and other for form. Print sign on HEC form (Only 1 place, dont sign the recieving back documents part and all form challans.

Go and submit. The guy on the left male counter is slim with french beard. I heard him speak sindhi. He is very active, polite efficient and an anomaly in public service appointment in Pakistan. Infact when he checked all the documents and none were missing Mashallah, he smiled. Here comes the caveat. I was wondering whether I had done something remarkable, or he is a polite person. Becuase I have seen almost everyone in line sent for either photocopies, print forms, this and that.

Anyways, i will go get my documents back by Inshallah 28th Oct 3pm.