Fake university degrees in the spotlight

17 มกราคม 2560

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has been urged to look into a network which supplies allegedly fake university degrees online and those who buy them.

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DSI asked to probe 'fake' online uni degrees

King-oua Laohong

Dumrongkiat Mala

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has been urged to look into a network which supplies allegedly fake university degrees online and those who buy them.

The petition was lodged Monday by Weerachai Phutdhawong, secretary-general at the Coordinating Centre for the Public Higher Education Staff (CHES), who is a lecturer at Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen campus.

According to Mr Weerachai, a complaint was filed to the CHES claiming a person used a fake degree of a prestigious university in the UK to apply for a lecturer's position at a Thai university.

After an investigation, the UK university said the person did not graduate from it, he said, adding the person's thesis was not in the university's records either.

Mr Weerachai said one website says it offers online courses for all degrees from foreign universities and students can graduate in between six and 12 months.

Based on information on the website, 60,000-125,000 baht is needed to buy a bachelor's degree certificate, 72,000-125,000 baht for a master's degree, and 150,000-225,000 baht for a doctorate, he said.

Mr Weerachai said the website is also linked to World Peace University, earlier accused by the DSI of granting honorary degrees in exchange for money.

"It is impossible to finish a doctorate degree within six months," said Mr Weerachai. "A total of 10 teachers were found to have used the bogus education certificates to teach in various prominent universities. One of them has been teaching for three years."

There are flaws in the system used to screen lecturers for universities and tougher measures are needed to scrutinise them, he said.

Those using fake education certificates were generally found to apply for positions as extra lecturers first and then were recruited by universities later as permanent staff, he said.

DSI deputy spokesman Woranan Srilam said the petitioner claimed a person who handed out unauthorised World Peace University degrees at the graduation ceremony had a habit of falsifying degrees of popular universities to be used by applicants for lecturer positions.

An investigation will be carried out to determine whether the offences are linked to World Peace University, he said.

He said the DSI handled four cases related to World Peace University and the investigations into them have now been completed.

The investigation reports are being sent to prosecutors to seek indictments of the people involved, Pol Lt Col Woranan said.