Sources at the verification committee for the Ministry of Higher Education said there were several cases of false identities, birthdate manipulation, and falsified grades among scholarship applications submitted to the Ministry of Higher education. The first week of verification witnessed more than 30 cases of forged grades and birthdates. A girl impersonated her twin sister and applied for a foreign scholarship for a master's degree in marketing under the King Abdullah Scholarship program, Al-Watan daily reported Sunday. In another case, a high school graduate presented his documents as one with a master's degree, applying for a scholarship for doctorate. Also an expatriate attempted to pass himself off as a Saudi citizen in his documents. Director for the Scholarship Center in Riyadh Mohammad Al-Samil said verification staff are trained to detect forgery. Incorrect or falsified information will be discovered one way or the other, he said. He said there is a difference in dealing with forged information and information which has been entered incorrectly. A document that is proven to have been intentionally forged is submitted to the minister. He said mistakes in the records of applicants outnumber forgeries.
