China tackles fake degrees

China tackles fake degrees


An advertisement with a phone number to call to buy a fake diploma, at a street corner in Beijing on April 20, 2009. The crackdown on counterfeiting may have driven the trade away from the city centres but in certain districts it is still easy to track down forgers. In Beijing, they can be found in the suburbs. -- PHOTO:

BEIJING - ONE hour and about US$40 (S$60) is all it takes to get a fake degree in China, but the chances of fooling an employer or foreign university have diminished following a crackdown in recent years.

While the trade in counterfeit Hermes handbags or Windows software is well known, marriage certificates, driving licences and diplomas are also seen as fair game by the forgers. Measures put in place by the Chinese authorities have made it possible to limit cheating and many counterfeit diplomas are detected by authentication procedures.

But allegations of a trade in diplomas intended for Chinese students at several French universities, if confirmed, would echo a widespread practice in China, where access to higher education is selective and a degree opens doors to a career.

The crackdown on counterfeiting may have driven the trade away from the city centres but in certain districts it is still easy to track down forgers. In Beijing, they can be found in the suburbs.

Half an hour after taking a photograph and details, the forger returns with the requested diploma which costs between 200 and 300 yuan for a bachelor's or master's degree, depending on the fame of the university, the seal of which is reproduced on the forgery. This also includes report cards.

'I got a false diploma from the Beijing Commerce Institute in 2001 for 100 yuan,' a young executive said.

'I had it after waiting for about 30 minutes in front of an alley where many migrant workers live.' But since the installation of computerised anti-fraud systems by the education ministry, provincial authorities and tertiary institutes, getting a government job with a forged diploma has become increasingly difficult.

A growing number of foreign companies and universities that welcome Chinese students also systematically check the authenticity of diplomas.

'All the papers are checked. You find about 3-4 per cent of diplomas are forgeries' among prospective students wishing to study in France, according to a person involved in the university exchanges who asked not to be identified.

'Before 2003, you could buy a fake diploma on the street corner,' the source said. In 2002, the education ministry estimated that at least 500,000 people had forged degrees. Developed countries then began establishing procedures to check the authenticity of diplomas, the source added. -- AFP

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Too many fakes in China. Doubt they can clean them out.