Another day, another case of Education Documentation Fraud. This time, it’s in a position of great power.
It’s not uncommon with the rise of the digital age that companies and governments alike are finding themselves trapped in a seemingly endless well of Educational Fraud cases. In our most recent example, a Human Resource Manager at the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) – Kenya was recently charged with forging her education documents to secure a State job several years prior.
Irene Chesang, faces serious charges of obtaining public property fraudulently, which cost the government an estimated SH10.9 million between 2001 to 2018 just in salary alone.
“The charge against Ms Chesang stated that on unknown dates within the Republic of Kenya and with intent to defraud, she made a university degree certificate for a Bachelor of Science in International Business, purporting it was genuine and issued by United States International University Africa (USIU-Africa) on June 17, 2000.
She is further accused of forging academic transcripts for the years 1997 to 2000, purporting them to have been issued by USIU-Africa.”
You can read more about this here.
Her case is not new, it seems that every country in the world seems to be facing some level of difficulty in distinguishing between real and forged educational documents. An issue that could have profoundly serious consequences if it’s not addressed immediately and with swift action. Recent plans have been announced by the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to introduce new regulations that will help prevent people from forging their way into that high-paying job.
An article in Khaleej Times states that:
“The Federal National Council (FNC) committee on education, culture, sports and information affairs said it has remotely discussed the federal draft law amendment on the use of bogus education certificates, especially from foreign higher institutions, to secure jobs in the country.”
The new legislation proposed tougher punishments to recruiters, agencies and anyone else who knowingly accepted fake degrees or other candidate certificates. The ministry further asks that:
“Before accrediting any certificate, the ministry asks for stamps from partie
s concerned, for example the embassy of the country where the degree was issued. Then the officials call the university and confirm if the student graduated from there before an equalisation process is done,” said Al Falasi, adding that the ministry was committed to ensuring cases of potential forgery didn’t slip through their net.
A move that will keep society safe and our community well protected by not allowing someone who isn’t rightly qualified to obtain a position of power or influence. To know more about the role of Education verification, have a look at our Education Verification page, it has all the information you need!
