ISLAMABAD (special crosspondent) – The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has officially dismissed a viral notification circulating on social media as fake, which falsely claimed that Pakistan’s five-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme has been reduced to a four-year degree. The HEC emphasized that no such administrative decision has been ratified and no official correspondence has been issued regarding any alteration to the existing academic framework for legal studies.

Clarification on Academic Regulations

According to the commission, the widely disseminated document purported that the duration of the LLB programme had been shortened and that new academic regulations were being implemented for current students. The HEC explicitly stated that there has been no amendment to the duration, admission criteria, or the foundational academic regulations currently governing the LLB programme. Officials maintained that any substantive changes to higher education policies are exclusively communicated through official HEC channels to ensure transparency and institutional integrity.

Official Advisory to Students and Institutions

The commission has issued a stern advisory urging students, universities, parents, and legal education stakeholders to refrain from placing reliance on unverified information circulating across digital platforms. The HEC advised the public to cross-verify all academic notifications exclusively through the commission’s official website and verified social media accounts before disseminating or acting upon them. This follows a broader national commitment to maintaining academic standards, similar to recent government initiatives aimed at enhancing educational oversight and quality across various sectors, such as institutional infrastructure reforms and general policy coherence. The HEC warned that the propagation of fraudulent notifications fosters unnecessary confusion within the student body and among educational institutions, stressing that only directives bearing the commission’s official seal are valid.

Context of the Fabricated Document

The fraudulent document had erroneously claimed that the commission had streamlined the LLB programme to a four-year duration following extensive consultations with the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Directorate of Legal Education (DLE). It further alleged that the revised curriculum was aligned with the Undergraduate Education Policy V 1.1 (2023) and had received endorsement from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The commission has reiterated that these claims are entirely baseless, serving as a reminder of the importance of verifying information amidst a rise in digital misinformation targeting academic and policy-related sectors. As authorities continue to monitor such trends, public vigilance remains the primary defense against the dissemination of misleading academic directives.