Phony degrees

 Fleeting moments

It seemed the Axact scandal of selling fake degrees had died down – just as all scandals die down sooner than later. Many thought that such scandals occurred only in our country and that developed countries, because of their strict adherence to rules and the law, had no such incidents. Now it has been revealed that the developed world is no exception to fake-degree scandals.

The US embassy recently admitted that 334 online universities of the mighty and powerful United States had, in connivance with Axact, sold hundreds of thousands of fake degrees and diplomas to students of various countries. It was also revealed that these universities were not authorised by the US Department of Education to issue degrees. The FBI further confirmed that American online universities and Axact had been hand in glove with each other in palming off counterfeit degrees.

But why spend thousands of dollars on buying fake degrees? As it is, when the business of fake degrees flourishes, there are bound to be fake-degree busters. One such buster, Lance Huan, suggests an easy course: “Go to your Microsoft Word templates and pick out a nice award template and write yourself a degree. Give yourself whatever you like, go to the store to grab some nice paper and a frame and print it out. Sure, you’ll still be a liar but at least you haven’t spent hundreds of dollars on something that is only worth the paper it was printed on.”

While Axact faces court cases, what about all those who got those fake degrees? They can’t be sitting at home. They must already be gainfully employed – and many in place of those with genuine degrees. When all went quiet on the Axact front, people thought the matter had been settled, since Axact degree-holders usually belonged to influential and rich segment of the society. And nobody checks their degrees in minute details anyway.

Whenever someone returns from abroad with the good news of being a degree-holder of a foreign university, everyone takes it for granted that s/he does indeed have a degree. The newly returned ‘graduate’, beside being polite and suave, dresses well, speaks with an accent, and often talks with nostalgia about his university life. Those returning from the UK talk with a stutter typical of the British.

When the Axact scandal surfaced, people were shocked by the very magnitude of it, although faking degrees is not an extraordinary episode. The practice has been around since long. Quite a few Pakistani politicians have contested elections in the past by presenting fake degrees. Some of them had obtained degrees from religious schools, even though they showed no religious pretensions. One of the chief ministers when asked about his fake degree retorted disdainfully that a “degree is a degree, fake or real” and kicked off on his sports motorbike.

The lawyers’ community carved a niche for itself in society after it successfully campaigned to restore the suspended chief justice during the Musharraf regime. This community turned very assertive after the restoration of the CJP and has behaved cantankerously ever since.

Sober and well-meaning lawyers suggest that degrees of all practising lawyers must be re-verified by the universities that issued them. The relevant bar councils could take up the task. Reportedly, many of them hold fake degrees. Practising law with a fake degrees raises many questions – especially of integrity.

More or less, similar is the case of some university professors who have fake degrees and plagiarised dissertations, and are entrusted with the noble task of teaching the future generations. And this is not just conjecture. Associate with professors and doctors long enough and you come to know who is who. If you wish to see a high density of PhD doctors in a single government organisation, visit the PCSIR. Maybe the nation should be told what they research and invent?

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. Email: pinecity@gmail.com