A report into the credentials of Government information technology officer Abdallah Ahad will go to the Public Service Commission on Monday.

However, Education Minister Terry Lister would not confirm yesterday if the report showed that Mr. Ahad's credentials have been verified.

Questions were raised about the $80,000-a-year officer after it was reported that Harvard University and Cambridge College, where he claimed he had studied, said they had never heard of him.

It was then reported that the university which Mr. Ahad said awarded him a PhD no longer exists, but previously sold degrees online.

With responsibilities including the highly respected B.TEC programme in public schools, Mr. Ahad was asked to produce proof of his qualifications. The deadline to do so was yesterday.

"The report has to be finalised and that is happening today," Mr. Lister told The Royal Gazette. "It will be looked at by senior civil servants today. On Monday, it goes to the Public Service Commission who will review it and make recommendations. That is the process and it is working.

"I know it is working because the people responsible have assured me they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.

"He was given a full two weeks to produce the information so there was no rush to judgment and no axe swinging over anyone's head."

Mr. Lister has declined to comment on what will happen if Mr. Ahad's credentials do not prove to be genuine.

"Come Friday, he will produce something," he told The Royal Gazette earlier. "If it suffices, that will be the end of the matter.

"And, if not ...that report will come to me by Monday and decisions on his future employment will be made at that time."

Bermuda College president Dr. Michael Orenduff said Mr. Ahad did not require a degree for his former position at the College, while B.TEC educational director Dr. Lynn Bak said that programme was established and implemented before he was hired by the Ministry of Education.