There are some issues that I see differently from some members of the Shoura Council. One of them is the issue of fake or bogus degrees. The Shoura Council, represented by its member Hamad Al-Qadi, views this issue as a phenomenon that has started to spread in both the public and private sectors. Al-Qadi pities the holders of these bogus certificates. He says the council will come up with a draft project containing specific standards and controls for verifying the validity of the educational certificates. Talal Bakri, another member, adds: “The council has already started considering the issue but has not yet finished with it. It is a welcome initiative, especially that the bogus certificates now include Ph.D. and the master's degrees. Some people have occupied high positions as a result of this bogus piece of paper. This is a real problem.” I do not look at this issue either as a phenomenon or as a problem. On the contrary, I consider it a flagrant crime falling under the classification of “continuous theft of public funds”. If members of the Shoura Council look at the wage scales for civil servants, they will discover that a bachelor's degree holder is tied up to a certain level of pay while a master's holder receives more and a Ph.D. holder is paid even higher. When somebody is employed because of his fake doctorate, he will be stealing from the public funds every month. Henceforth the issue of the faked certificates represents a real crime that is obvious and continuing and not just a phenomenon or a problem. Therefore the issue does not require discussions or council sessions. We have a special department concerned with scrutinizing and verifying educational certificates. Through this very department we can curb this crime. There should be a standing decision never to accept any certificate before it has passed through this department to verify its authenticity and check the viability of the university that has granted it. The decision should make it clear that anyone who lands any job with the help of a bogus certificate will be considered a criminal stealing public money. There should be a grace period of three months for holders of such certificates to correct their situations before any penal action was taken. It is true that society will not be able to regain all the funds that were stolen from it in the past and it is equally true that full justice will not be realized in this regard.
