ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee was informed on Thursday that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was not only imposing penalties on plagiarists but also taking action against those who filed false cases of plagiarism against academicians.

During a meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Government Assurances, HEC adviser Mohammad Ismail said currently 59 plagiarism cases were under investigations. He said since 2007 when a plagiarism policy was introduced the HEC had decided 171 cases. In case anyone defames an academician by filing a false plagiarism complaint against them with the HEC, the commission proposes action against the false accusers.

He said the best possible plagiarism checking software available today was ‘Turnitin’ and Pakistani universities had access to it through the HEC. The commission has a monitoring mechanism in addition to the internal checking by universities.

Action is also taken against those who file false cases of plagiarism against academicians, Senate body told

The official said a similarity index of 19pc was allowed in one research work but the percentage of this index was five per cent from a single source.

The committee observed that the software leaves room for human error and mala fide and was not addressing many plagiarism concerns. The HEC representative said the software did have its limitations but it was the best available as it was being used in a number of countries and thousands of universities.

The meeting was held with Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani in the chair to discuss various assurances given by ministers on the floor of the house.

Discussing the assurance given by minister for interior for setting up Islamabad Food Authority, an official of the ministry of interior said they had received a summary from the department concerned which would soon be moved to the cabinet for approval.

The committee was also presented a progress report on allocation of land for Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad. Secretary CADD Azhar Ali Chaudhry said 100 acres was required for the university and the CDA had only 15 acres. He said recently the CDA had requested the National Institute of Health (NIH) for 500 acres. “If NIH gives us the land we will provide the same to the medical university without any delay otherwise we have to explore some other options,” he said.

About highlighting harmony, information and respect for national holidays in educational institutions, the committee was told that the days were already being observed in 424 government schools and colleges in the capital.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2018