Students seeking attestation of their degrees are facing severe difficulties as the Higher Education Commission's (HEC) system has been non-operational for the last 10 days.

Sources say that the problem has also caused concern for those intending to travel abroad for higher studies. HEC's degree attestation or verification service is often utilised by students wishing to secure admissions into foreign educational institutions.

Furthermore, the service is also used by individuals intending to apply for jobs in other countries. Students lamented that despite visiting the HEC offices multiple times, their concerns have not been addressed.

Meanwhile, HEC officials have stated that the system malfunctioned in Islamabad and challans will be issued to the students as soon as the system recovers.