The Ministry of Higher Education has hired a top international company to verify 100,000 scientific degrees in engineering, accountancy, economics, medicine and other specializations. This comes after a number of private and public companies suffered severe financial losses as a result of employing people with fake certificates. Informed sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the company has already started its task and has a team of 70 experts checking 30 certificates a day. The verification procedure covers the marked examination sheet, name of the university, and other measures to determine the authenticity of a certificate. According to the sources, nine government agencies and 30 private companies have suffered great financial and professional losses after employing 8,072 employees last year who were believed to hold fake certificates. Meanwhile, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education and Chairman of the National Committee for Childhood Education, stressed that everything possible should be done to support children's development as stipulated under the Islamic Shariah. Prince Faisal made the comments at a meeting with the committee members at his office on Saturday. He said the Islamic World is facing problems of ignorance, poverty and disease. This can only be eradicated by education during childhood, he said. The members discussed the philosophy and tasks of the committee and also touched on future challenges facing children in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Education has also adopted a number of measures to overcome the shortage of teachers in many villages and remote areas. This includes sending temporary and permanent female teachers to these areas. Meanwhile, Salam Al-Hamsh, prominent author of Saudi curricula, who has been working for more than 30 years in the field, said conservatives are dominating the education arena and stressed that they will never recognize any attempts at modernization. He alleged that changes to the curricula are made haphazardly and only to please officials at the Ministry of Education, according to a report in Al
