The Parliamentary Committee on Education and the HEC have literally opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box, as there are now demands from various quarters for not only verifying the degrees but also scrutinising the attendance records, fees paid with duration of study at the college/institution and even if the person concerned  has passed his/her FA and Matriculation examinations? Some have demanded to widen the net and not keep it limited to the politicians or university teachers but also include all the civil servants at district, provincial and federal levels, the judiciary, lawyers, medical practitioners, engineers and employees of autonomous corporations etc. A Herculean task!   It reminds me of the Mushrikeen of the USA, whom our clergy is never tired of berating day and night. No testimonials are required there to be attached by the applicant for a job – government or private. His/her word is accepted for the qualifications/experience claimed in the cv.   However, if later at any stage of the career anything declared wrong is detected, the culprit is not asked to resign,  like Dasti, or face the music, but sent straight to the prison alongwith heavy fiscal fines and recoveries.     Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd) 30, Westridge-1 Rawalpindi 46000 Tel: (051) 546 3344