There were about 1,300 citizens and foreigners caught with fake certificates in the Kingdom and they managed to obtain these after paying a total of SR500 million, Al-Sharq local daily reported Saturday quoting informed sources.
Senior Saudi officials have warned against thriving fake certificate rackets in the Kingdom and other GCC states. Muwafeq Al-Rowaili, member of the Shoura Council, urged the higher authorities to take stringent punitive measures against those holding various positions in the private sector after obtaining fake certificates. Abdullah Al-Qahtani, director general of the general department for accreditation of university certificates at the Ministry of Higher Education, called for dismissing fake certificate holders from service.
According to the sources, various Saudi courts examine an average 2,500 cases a year involving the authenticity of academic certificates. Of these, 70 cases relate to forged science degree certificates. Sources at a Saudi consultancy center involved in cracking down on fake certificates disclosed fake foreign universities collected SR500 million from 1,300 Saudi citizens and expatriates in the last eight years.
Prices for a fake university bachelor’s, Master’s or doctorate degree ranged between SR10,000 and SR30,000 whereas the cost of university certificates not recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education was much higher. In such cases, a bachelor’s degree certificate costs SR30,000 while a Master’s degree could be obtained by paying at least SR45,000. The cost of a doctorate degree certificate is ranges between SR60,000 and SR90,000, the sources said.
According to reports, more than 7,000 holders of fake university degrees have so far been detected in the GCC and other Arab states. It is estimated that there are about 3,600 and 1,400 bogus universities in India and the United States respectively. Agents of some fake universities in Egypt sell Master’s degrees and doctorate degree certificates for $12,000, whereas certificates from some unrecognized US universities cost up to 40,000 euros.
The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties recently announced that it was able to detect 155 fake certificates in the past five months alone. So far it has discovered 1,075 fake health certificates. The commission has also rejected another 1,700 certificates because of suspicion about their authenticity. It also denied permission for a total of 15,202 people with a suspect academic background to practice in the medical field.
Speaking to the newspaper, Abdullah Al-Qahtani said the ministry has a full-fledged plan to combat fake certificates. The ministry, which is keen to raise awareness of fake certificates’ negative impact in the social, security, educational and economic spheres, is employing all means of the media to fight this phenomenon.
“The scrutiny of certificates issued by various foreign universities would be done in accordance with the law. The concerned committee would scrutinize the certificates and endorse only those certificates issued in compliance with the required criteria, conditions and specifications,” he said, adding that the committee will not endorse any certificates issued by fake or unrecognized universities. According to Al-Qahtani, some people obtain such certificates with full awareness about its source, while others are not aware about the dangers of buying such certificates.
Earlier, the ministry considered issuing a certificate for all those holding academic positions with a recognized university degree. Saad Al-Rashud Al-Subaie, an official at the ministry, said the move came in the wake of growing pressure from academics and researchers to combat fake certificate holders. It was also found that several fake certificate racketeers possess printing press and sophisticated computer systems that enabled them to forge documents matching the original.
While describing this as a global trend, Al-Rowaili called for taking stringent action against fake certificate holders. “There should be a new law with the objective of protecting society from unscrupulous guys who hold fake certificates. Holders of fake degrees are out in the employment market, posing a serious threat to the holders of original certificates,” he said, noting many private employers are hiring fake degree holders without authenticating their certificates.
According to Al-Rowaili, none of the Arab countries has a system to effectively combat this phenomenon. “It is not easy for such people to get a job in the government sector, thanks to the regulations of the Ministry of Civil Service. But this is not the case with the private sector,” he said. “We can protect society if we have stringent laws to punish such criminals. There should also be a regulation to drive such people out of the employment sector,” he added.
