JEDDAH, 15 January 2007 — Based on the number of Saudis that put “Eng.” or “Dr.” in front of their names, you’d think the country is filled with people who actually have Ph.D.s or engineering degrees. But in a report in Al-Madinah Arabic daily, many academics expressed concern over the prominence of commercial offices that claim to be educational institutions and sell fake higher education degrees in Saudi Arabia.

Because the Ministry of Higher Education doesn’t accredit these offices, many of them amount to little more than fake-document factories.

The cost of a phony diploma runs up to SR20,000 (about $5,300), a bargain in time and money compared to entering a degree program at an accredited university, especially a private one.

“These so-called universities sell illusions to people and they are harming the education sector,” said Muhammad Al-Sarhani, a faculty member at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. He warned employers to ensure that diplomas of prospective jobseekers are legitimate and coming from an accredited university.

Furthermore, said Al-Sarhani, people who use fake diplomas, or call themselves “doctors” or “engineers” without any educational background or performance, are harming the entire higher education system by destroying the credibility of those doctors and engineers who worked hard for their titles.

“We encourage those that seek knowledge and education the right way,” said Al-Sarhani.

“Such people are cheaters who get exposed sooner or later. I advise students that want to study to stay away from such offices. If they could not have an education opportunity abroad then they should study in our universities.”

Raja Al-Saiegh, dean of higher education in Taibah University, said it could be difficult to confirm the weight of a potential employee’s academic background until it’s too late. (This is especially true considering that labor rules in the Kingdom make it difficult to fire unqualified Saudis who have become full time contracted employees.)

“I personally cannot judge whether these certificates are good or bad unless I see the curriculum,” said Al-Saiegh. “If that person has purchased his certificate, it’s likely he won’t be exposed until he’s actually put to the test on the job he’s hired to do.”

Muhammad N., a student, told the newspaper that he shopped around at smaller institutions and found that he could get a master’s degree at one after two months of easy work.

“It’s easy,” he said. “Their website provides questions and answers and I could have gotten a master’s degree in two months.”

Saleh Ali, another Saudi student, said that he once visited a place claiming to be an accredited university with academic ties to various institutions abroad. Ali rationalized that since he was seeking a job in the private sector and not a government job why not get a degree that isn’t accredited.

While this is flawed (just because one is seeking a private sector job doesn’t mean the degree they hold shouldn’t be a product of actual study) Al-Madinah concluded that many Saudis are taking the easy route to an academic diploma and harming the reputation of Saudis that have real post-graduate degrees.