Private agency refuses to evaluate PTU students’ credentials

With World Education Services (WES), a non-profit engaged in the service of certification and verification of educational credentials for international students and immigrants saying that it has stopped evaluating applications from Inder Kumar Gujral-Punjab Technical University (IKG-PTU), students are in a fix.

The firm claims that the decision was taken due to increased instances of forged documents being submitted.

“In recent months, our credential evaluations department has seen a surge in submissions of forged documents purporting to come from some Indian institutions, including the PTU. In response, WES took the step, on September 21, 2018, of ceasing to evaluate academic documents from the affected institutions,” said Ashley Craddock, WES’s director, strategic communication. The organisation verifies documents that a student planning to study or work in the United States and Canada submits.

The matter came to light after students approached the varsity, claiming that the WES was refusing to evaluate their credentials, even as they had paid a fee ranging between $100 and $150 (around ₹8,000).

PTU has more than 250 affiliated colleges that have 1.5 lakh students on its rolls. Around 60 students engage the services of WES a day, varsity public relations officer Rajnish Sharma claimed.

Process will restart in 10-15 days: Varsity

To re-start the process of verification, the WES has put a condition on the PTU to upgrade its system with a secure online portal. “Create an online portal that ensures direct secure electronic transmission of documents from the PTU to the WES for verification of documents,” WES has asked PTU officials in an email.

Confirming the receipt of such a mail, PRO Sharma said, “We have been asked to create a secure portal as the number of applications from our university is high and they face difficulty in verifying the documents. We hope that the process restarts in 10-15 days.”

On the WES’s claim that it was getting forged documents in the varsity’s name, PRO Sharma said, “The WES has not brought the issue of forged documents to our notice. We will look into it if it brings this to our notice .”

Vice-chancellor Dr Ajay Kumar Sharma was not available for comments.