I graduated with a very real MBA degree in 2010. The degree was a cherry on top for my earlier degree, B.com (Hons.). Both of the degrees promised me a bright future: a decent entry level job with good pay and opportunities for learning, growth and self-development.
During the final-semester exams of my MBA, I did what most of the other graduating fellows would do: hunt down the handful of good employers on the internet, prepare an impressive resume, apply, drop CVs at the big offices, go for trials or offer demos.
None, except Axact offered me a job. I did not know about the company then. I was so impressed by the way they treated their employees that it almost occurred to me a dream come true.
It really is. Apart from the somewhat unethical nature of Axact’s work (will comment on it later), everything you can fantasize as an employee (may be even more) has its reality in Axact. From exotic transportation and lunches to heart-fulfilling pay, perks and bonuses, Axact does not leave a pinch of dissatisfaction as far as compensation for your labor is concerned. Not even a mop man would complain of a poor compensation. The philosophical tenet ‘we value quality human resource’ can be seen in every aspect of Axact’s management.
Now, the ethical part. Yes, Axact does deal in a somewhat unethical (notorious, okay?) business of online education industry. That is, life-time, experience-based online certifications, diplomas and degrees. But before you google it more, let me make it clear that all such stuffs are completely above the board i.e. legal. There is no cyber jurisdiction that can control or prevent it. It is a gray area of the internet business the regulation for which has never been developed by any real, universally accepted educational institutions, boards or accreditation bodies. Why? There is no single universally accepted educational accreditation body!
There is a lot on the internet like this. For example, virtual private networks or VPN services that allow you to bypass the state-registered firewalls cannot easily be prevented by any internet body. This is why you can still watch YouTube and other blocked sites while they are being banned by PTA.
Then there is a whole mess of real or fake online certifications which, to date, have no real value beyond what the organizations accepting it give. O Levels has no real value in USA, for instance. A Pakistani engineering degree is as fake as an Axact’s degree when you submit it to a Canadian state employer. One can get labeled as a medical doctor learning for 5 years in Pakistan in a medical school. In UK, that real MBBS degree won’t get you a GP license.
So friends, before challenging the exact mechanism, legality and applicability of Axact degrees, shouldn’t we be concerned about our own, really-disappointing, worthless degrees? The company at least values the real Pakistani degrees before most others and keeps the lights on for an ever struggling Pakistani employee that works like a slave in most of the other organizations.
Yes, Axact might be playing on higher-education’s failings, but are other corporate giants ethical? Do a little review of the corporate and social brutality of large business organizations in Pakistan and you will see that there are bigger business evils that, unlike Axact, suck the labor of their employees to damage our very own society.
So friends, I would rather criticize the worthlessness of real degrees when the world would whistle against the fake degrees none of which has ever damaged a Pakistani.
P.S.: I left Axact when I could afford ethics. After Axact, I did ethical cleansing of my soul and started working on school textbooks and educational materials. My very real degree (MBA banking and finance) lies in a dusty shelf. No one could value it more than Axact.
My Thoughts, My Life 
Awesome
Thank you
Awsome piece of writing ,, agreed with every single word of this article, people should really think the company is bringing back the dollar to the country. It would be injustice with axact if politicians like zardari and team are allowed to do any illegal work and the one who has not created any jobs for the youth.
That’s the point. We need to think in the social scenario and first raid on political and business plunderers. Thank you for appreciation.
Two wrongs does not make a right. Exploiting so-called gray areas is one thing, but if its true (as it appears from this write) whether fake or not there has been gross misstatement and change of statements from Axact representatives. More importantly, think it from perspective of people who were victims of this scam/ rule twisting. I had got such call too, but the call centre agent never gives such disclaimers as are being given now to justify this act. Selling fake/ grey area degrees is one thing, on top of that, misrepresenting facts to rob people’s money is another. However, I do agree that other Pakistani companies are no where near to what Axact offered to its employees and they might cross ethical lines sometimes in their own business (to get a contract etc.) but having a company with the core business based on not-so-ethical/legal activity is a different ball game.
Agree with you, Aamir. Yes, Axact does not seem to be doing the very ethical job (and that’s one of the reasons why I left). What I wanted to stress on is the worthlessness of real degrees in Pakistan. You see, the most illiterate and ethically dead people make way to the top ranks in most of our govt. institutions. And, the case is not very different for private institutions, where competency comes miles behind office politics. We can shut down a company or two like this, but the fact that merit is crushed at most places won’t take us out from the vicious circle of ethical dilemmas. Think about it.