Fake-degree mill in US leads to Saudi inquest

CHEAT SHEET: The US-based Spokesman-Review newspaper posted the list of those who had purchased fake degrees. It includes at least 70 Saudis or persons who list their country of residence as Saudi Arabia.

21 August 2008

by Fatima Sidiya

JEDDAH: A long list of people who had purchased or attempted to purchase fake university diplomas in the United States has spurred the Saudi education authorities to launch an investigation into the issue of Saudis and expatriates who may be working in the Kingdom on counterfeit certificates.

However, Shoura Council member Abdullah Al-Tuwairqi called the reaction to the list “disappointing,” and expressed concern that education officials would have a death-by-committee mentality in addressing the issue.

The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Washington state recently obtained and posted online a list of nearly 10,000 names of people who had spent $7.3 million on purchasing or attempting to purchase fake diplomas from an illegal operation. The US Department of Justice shut down the illegal enterprise and compiled a list of its clients. The list was then leaked to the newspaper, which posted it online at: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/data/diploma-mill/.

The list contains at least 70 Saudis, or persons who listed their country of residence as Saudi Arabia. For example, one of the names on the list is a Saudi woman who bought degrees in obstetrics and gynecology. The newspaper reported that US federal investigators do not know if the woman is currently working as a medical doctor in the Kingdom.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Muhammad Al-Ouhali told Al-Watan newspaper that the ministry would investigate people on the list who may be working in Saudi Arabia on fake documents. He said that if the US Department of Justice’s list were accurate then Saudi education officials would take necessary action.

Al-Tuwairqi lambasted newspapers for publishing advertisements from institutes promising college diplomas without background checks. He blames both the government and the media for promoting these illegitimate operations that churn out unqualified degree holders who then “unfairly” compete with people who worked hard for their academic achievements at real universities.

Abdullah Al-Qahtani, head of the Certificates Accreditation Department at the Ministry of Higher Education, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that his department had won an approval from higher authorities to form an investigative committee. The committee would include members from the Ministry of Higher Education, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Labor and would also receive assistance from the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.

“The Ministry of Higher Education expresses its worries regarding the increasing number of agencies that lure students into nonexisting universities and obtaining unaccredited certificates,” said Al-Qahtani, referring to the issue of local unaccredited institutions and degree mills.

Al-Qahtani also said the Ministry of Higher Education is now consulting the Ministry of Culture and Information to put a stop to the publication of advertisements from unaccredited institutions offering sketchy diplomas. He also called on newspapers and magazines to cooperate with the Ministry of Culture and Information to ensure the accuracy of information provided by universities that want to advertise their services.

According to Al-Watan, there are roughly 18 branches of unauthorized universities, with over 5,000 students in the Kingdom. Last year, 70 staff members at different girls’ colleges around the Kingdom were fired for having fake diplomas.