Fake degrees phenomenon
It is strange to see that academic degrees continue to be bought and sold in Kuwait. This problem came to light in the late 1990s, and since then has only been on the rise. Today, it has become an extremely dangerous phenomenon.
I personally know of a citizen who works in the public sector and, until now, only had a high school degree as his top academic qualification. Suddenly and without any prior notice, I learned that he had obtained a PhD in a field that I know is not amongst his interests. I believe this is one example of many cases where people ‘import’ degrees from abroad and receive them right at their desks without any trouble whatsoever.
A local daily recently reported that the Ministry of
I’ve heard of certain “conditions” that need to be met for obtaining a higher degree outside Kuwait, which include helping an instructor obtain a work permit and a decent job in Kuwait, in addition to giving them valuable “gifts” amongst others.
Higher Education refused to accredit higher degrees of many Kuwaiti citizens from universities in the Philippines. Fake degrees come from many sources - there are many people ready and willing to help anyone looking for one - and soon after, these people were given the green light to take full advantage of their degrees.
The Ministry of Education has continued to be irresponsible. In the same way that they had previously encouraged the rapid increase in private tuition, they now encourage people to obtain fake degrees. I’ve heard of certain “conditions” that need to be met for obtaining a higher degree outside Kuwait, which include helping an instructor obtain a work permit and a decent job in Kuwait, in addition to giving them valuable “gifts” amongst others. Moreover, even though all the universities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries teach only on weekdays, there is a group of new “graduates” in Kuwait who have managed to obtain degrees from a GCC country taking classes on weekends.
These practices must not be encouraged and I leave you with a quote to reflect upon: Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Quran: “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (39:9).