Shoura Council member Khidr Al-Qurashi has described forged and “purchased” academic certificates as a “danger” to the country. “The danger they pose is deadlier than swine flu,” Al-Qurashi said, adding that the certificates enable their purchasers to rise to sensitive positions in government. Al-Qurashi called for the creation of a specialized department to audit certificates and verify sources, saying that agents who engage in such activities should be punished along with purchasers. The Ministry of Higher Education recently formed a committee from several government bodies to study the increasing trade in false academic certificates as issued by bogus universities, and ordered the Ministry of Commerce not to approve certificates presented by staff unless they were from universities recognized by the higher education ministry. In efforts to address the situation, the ministry took part in a workshop in March attended by numerous parties from university departments to look at the issue and put in place proposals to prevent the practice spreading, while 52 agents and purported educational bodies in the Kingdom offering distance courses have been shut down by the ministry. Several lecturers have also been among persons employed on the evidence of false academic qualifications, the most recent case being a female lecturer at Sajir Educational College who was given a one year suspended prison sentence and fined SR1,000 for holding a forged Master's degree in Home Economics.
