Egypt seeks exoneration in fraudlent certificate cases
Kuwait forms committee to combat corruption
CAIRO, Aug 1, (Agencies): Egypt’s ministry of higher education said on Wednesday that none of the country’s schools have issued fake college degrees to Kuwaiti students, underlining its “concern” over a case where fraudulent certificates were awarded to dozens of Kuwaitis.
“Egyptian universities are not involved in this scandal and we assure Kuwaiti authorities that the degrees in question are fake,” the ministry said in a statement.
Egyptian schools have recently employed cutting-edge technology to ensure that the degree certification process is highly resistant to fraud, the statement emphasized.
It added that the Egyptian education body is willing to cooperate with Kuwaiti authorities and join investigations, if need be, in order to get to the bottom of this sensitive matter.
The statement revealed that Egyptian colleges have established a close rapport with foreign embassies in the country, keeping them updated on the academic progress of their students.
Kuwait’s education ministry had recently uncovered some 40 fake college certificates issued in an unnamed Arab country and investigations into the case remain ongoing.
As part of the government’s efforts to address the false certificates issue, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Khalid Al-Jarallah confirmed that the ministry formed a joint committee with the Ministry of Higher Education, reports Al-Jarida daily
Al-Jarrallah explained this is in response to the campaign announced by the Council of Ministers to combat corruption in various fields, especially the prosecution of those proven to have committed forgery.
He added the Foreign Affairs Ministry is currently coordinating with a number of bodies, Kuwaiti embassies abroad and embassies of brotherly and friendly countries considering the involvement of a number of universities and academic institutions in other countries.
Kuwait Municipality Director General Eng Ahmed Al-Menfouhi issued an administrative decision to form a working team tasked to identify, review and inspect university and higher (master’s and doctorates) degrees obtained by Kuwaiti and expatriate employees, reports AlRai daily.
An official source from the Municipality has affirmed the opening of a file concerning the external missions of managers and staff in the last five years, indicating Al-Manfouhi has requested for statements and financial allocations related to these missions.
The source said the initial assessment
resulted in the discovery of repetition of a number of names of participants in the missions — most of whom are not qualified and do not represent their sectors. The source added legal and administrative measures might be taken against these employees and their direct superiors.