KUWAIT: The Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Adel Al-Adwani, on Thursday has referred a second batch of post-graduate scientific certificates to the public prosecution for review, in measures the government has been taking to fight counterfeit certificates.

The people who submitted these certificates as their education qualifications to obtain government jobs were revealed to have falsified the documents, the minister said in a statement. The false information in these certificates has allowed them to get their academic qualification recognized by the country’s high education ministry, thus enabling them to compete for highly coveted government positions. Measures to uncover fake certificates come in implementation of the high directives to fight corruption and work on the advancement and progress of the country and within the tireless and comprehensive efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education in combating corruption and eliminating counterfeiters.

Adwani said more certificates will be referred to the Public Prosecution during the coming period. “Reform and the fight against corruption is continuing and moving ahead steadily towards achieving justice and integrity,” he said. Anyone involved in falsifying academic certificates or those found with fake documents will not be met with any tolerance. “This issue will be dealt with firmly and strictly so that no one gets away with this crime against the nation,” said Adwani.

Early suspicions

Adwani had transferred all education ministry academic accreditation to the public prosecution on July 3 as part of efforts that had been delayed since 2019. In fact, the government’s suspicions that some people working in the public sector had faked their academic papers dates back as early as 2017. At the time, fake certificates were suspected in the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), and then in the Health Ministry in 2019.

Minister Al-Adwani approved the recommendation of the legal sector in the Ministry of Higher Education to refer certificates above high school to the Public Prosecution.

Adwani had said that referring these violating certificates to the Public Prosecution is a first stage that will be followed by another group of referrals during the coming period until this phenomenon, which poses a great danger to the education system and the labor market, is completely eliminated.

Indeed, the Cabinet has recently assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sharida Al-Maousherji to form a committee headed by the Fatwa and Legislation Department and the membership of five government agencies: the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the Civil Service Bureau.

The committee is tasked with examining post-secondary academic certificates of all degrees issued outside the State of Kuwait for employees, citizens and residents, since 2000, in implementation of the directives of the Council of Ministers.

The Civil Service Commission also sent letters to ministries and government agencies subject to its supervision, asking them to provide it with full data on post-secondary education certificates for all employees in the government and the private sector, both citizens and residents.