ABHA — Thirty-six Saudi engineers have been referred to the Ministry of Interior for investigation due to suspicion that they are holding fake engineering degrees.
Ghazi Al-Abbasi, secretary General of the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE), was reported by Al-Sharq Arabic daily as saying that two women were among those whose degrees are under investigation.
“The total number of fake engineering degrees that were discovered has amounted to 1,300. This large number is due to graphics editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, in addition to the lack of punishment, which has led many to fake their degrees from local and foreign universities,” he said.
Al-Abbasi warned expatriates that those caught faking their professional qualifications will be deported, and said there are many expatriates who are holding positions that are not commensurate with their academic qualifications.
“There is an international company that uses advanced means to discover fake certificates, and a number of expatriates holding fake engineering certificates are not aware of the system which discovers the authenticity of their certificates,” he said while adding that the amnesty period granted to expatriates to correct their residency status has increased the discovery of fake certificates, as many expatriates with fake degrees were trying to correct their status.
Finally, Al-Abbasi said there are around 350 women engineers working in engineering consultancy offices and private companies, and there is a need for more women engineers to join the job market.
