REPORTS OF 'FAKE DEGREES'

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REPORTS OF 'FAKE DEGREES': **

(Verification of academic degrees): **

5.

Assoc. Prof. Kalyani K Mehta:

Assoc. Prof. Kalyani K Mehta asked the Minister for Education in view of the recent reported incidences of 'fake degrees' (a) what is the current process of verification of academic degrees of new 'foreign talent' applicants for jobs and scholarships at NTU, NUS and SMU; (b) whether any resume-screening methods are currently being utilised and, if so, what are they; and (c) how many cases of 'fake degrees' have been detected from 2003 to 2007.

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Assoc. Prof. Kalyani K Mehta asked the Minister for Education in view of the recent reported incidences of 'fake degrees' (a) what is the current process of verification of academic degrees of new 'foreign talent' applicants for jobs and scholarships at our Polytechnics; (b) whether any resume-screening methods are currently being utilized and, if so, what are they; and (c) how many cases of 'fake degrees' have been detected from 2003 to 2007.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Our universities and polytechnics recognise the importance of maintaining high standards among the international students and staff they recruit. They have put in place checks to verify the academic degrees of foreign applicants who apply for jobs and scholarships as well as those who seek admission into their degree and diploma programmes.

Such checks include ensuring that the applicants produce their original certificates for verification, ascertaining that the institution in whose name the degree is awarded is bona fide , and verifying that the student or job applicant had indeed graduated from the institution as he or she claims. Where in doubt, the university or polytechnic may also directly contact the degree-awarding institution or the job applicant's previous employer to verify his or her details.

Our universities and polytechnics typically recruit their international students and potential employees from overseas institutions with whom they are familiar, and which enjoy a strong international reputation. These checks are intended to provide an additional level of quality assurance.

Our institutions have encountered very few cases of falsified qualifications. Their strict processes have also enabled them to detect "fake degrees" in the past. For example, in 2007, the National University of Singapore (NUS) detected two undergraduate applicants and two postgraduate applicants who had tampered with their transcripts. These students either withdrew their application when confronted, or had their candidature terminated immediately.