THE scourge of qualification fraud is yet again in the news. As a retired university professor of applied ethics who worked very hard for his own degrees, I have contempt for people who buy and use so- called degrees from institutions that purport to be genuine universities but are not, and then use them fraudulently to obtain appointments and the benefits that come with them.
There are four evils here. Firstly, serious dishonesty by the person who claims such qualifications. This is no impetuous mistake. It is planned, deliberate and sustained.
Secondly, these misdeeds are an insult to people who work hard for their degrees.
The third evil is the lack of disciplinary action by employers against those whose qualification fraud is uncovered, but who are retained in office. This leads to a fourth evil, the encouragement given to others that they can get away with their own qualification fraud.
We really must rid the country of this grossly unethical scourge and also ex-pose and punish those who fail to take very severe action against perpetrators, including employers who don't bother to check the source of claimed qualifications with utmost thoroughness
