Kuwait: Fake degree holders brought to account

Cairo: As Kuwait is thoroughly vetting education certificates presented by civil servants to get a job, authorities are planning to order employees found guilty of furnishing fake documents to refund the state money they have illegally earned, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper.

Al Rai said it learnt that any employee proven to have presented a bogus education certificate to the workplace would be deemed a "debtor" who will have to return the money he/she has earned in the form of allowances since he submitted the certificate.

Accordingly, a fake doctoral degree holder would have to repay KD4,800 per year if he/she is a teacher, and KD1,800 if he/she is doing an administrative job, the report said.

If on a teaching job, a holder of a fake MA degree will have to repay KD2,400; and KD900 annually if he/she is on an administrative job.

Similarly, an employee with a bogus bachelor's or a high school degree will be required to return all the state money earned since landing the job.

Other legal procedures will also be taken against the offenders.

Kuwaiti ministries of education and higher education, as well as the Civil Service Commission, have recently taken steps to detect fake degrees by examining education certificates of all state employees obtained since the year 2000.

Last week, Kuwaiti Minister of Education Adel Al Adwani referred to public prosecution an unspecified number of education certificates issued by Gulf and Arab countries for investigations and other legal measures, media reports said.