No jail please, it’s just acting big when one is small

IN reference to the article “Misuse of academic titles, a serious issue” ( The Star, Oct 23), it is debatable whether it is indeed a criminal offence to falsely claim to hold a PhD and call oneself ‘Dr.’

It all depends on the motive of using the academic title. If a fake PhD degree is used to secure a job, then it is dishonesty and the employer concerned can rightfully dismiss the employee. But if it is used for fun, just leave it at that.

Once an old lady kept on calling me ‘Doctor Yong’ when she met me. I told her I only held a Masters degree and she should not call me “doctor.” In other words, I told her I was not qualified to be Dr. Yong but only Mr. Yong. I had no pleasure in hearing ‘Doctor Yong.” In fact I felt embarassed and it was a vanity to me.

On the other hand, if a fake PhD degree is used to attain a higher salary, then it is dishonesty or cheating. There is no need to sue, just sack the fellow for being a hypocrite.

If no harm is done to the organisation or any other person, using a pseudo-PhD degree should not constitute a criminal offence - it is just talking big when one is small.

It is not difficult to find out whether a PhD degree is genuine. Call the university concerned and they will tell you whether the person concerned has ever studied at the institution of higher learning.

Ask the person to show his PhD thesis or dissertation. Pose a few questions concerning the research topic. A pseudo-PhD would start giving all types of nonsensical replies.

Next ask him or her the two or three supervisors who guided him along in his data collection and writing process. A pseudo-PhD would get stuck and would not be able to name even one genuine professor or PhD lecturer at that unexpected moment.

So, there is no need to suspect any PhD holder. A few checks here and there and a few probing questions will unearth the truth.

But don’t take any action on any pseudo-doctor. A news item in the mass media exposing his name and background would be bad enough for him to hide himself somewhere.