OK. Lets admit it. As expatriates, we each (personally) know at least a couple of folks who are working in Saudi Arabia with fake academic degrees. And they've been doing so for years without anyone at work noticing (in most cases). Have you ever asked yourself how they managed to keep their jobs for so long? Do you think their employers kept them for so long despite the fact that they weren't productive?
I will cite a few examples based on the experience of persons whom I know (no names mentioned):
X and Y are desperate to get a job to feed their families. They have completed at least high school and can speak English better than most Saudis. So, they opt to work as teachers. Now the thing is, employers won't hire teachers who don't have at least a bachelor's degree. X and Y are stranded. They find someone who can get them a fake BA or BSc. Then they pay more to have a copy of their 'fake' certificates authenticated at the Saudi consulate in their home country. Bingo! The employer sees the authenticated copies and he's impressed. X and Y have just landed a job and are keen to keep it because that's how they get to feed their families.
A and B have worked for ten years with fake bachelor's degrees and no one has ever noticed. They feel they have achieved enough experience to pose as holders of master's degrees. That's about double the time required to complete undergraduate and graduate studies combined. They pay someone and get their master's degrees within a few months. They get lucky. A recruiter succeeds in making them land a position as lecturers at a Saudi university. Eureka! The Saudi government grants them visas and all the benefits that follow (housing, medical insurance, paid vacation, two-way ticket, education for two children, etc).
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not an advocate of fake degree use, and I abhor the use of fake documents (in fact I possess an authentic degree that I spent three years short of a decade to obtain). I'm just saying that shouldn't employers offer jobs based on experience instead of insisting that the minimum requirement should be a "bachelor's" or "master's" degree? How do people with fake degrees sometimes outperform holders of authentic degrees, which employers are so much after?
The implications of using fake degrees are serious. The Saudi government plans to introduce penalties against people found to be holding fake academic degrees and to deport them from the kingdom. According to one report, fake degree holders will be prosecuted, imprisoned, deported and banned from entering Saudi (more). Although the punishment is harsh, this still doesn't deter people from purchasing counterfeit certificates. I, however, still believe that if employers focus on experience/ skills instead of academic qualifications, many people won't find a reason to break their moral rules to purchase fake degrees. I agree that hiring employees based on experience might only work for some professions, and it will probably not work in the case of engineers or doctors. Thus, it is reasonable for the Saudi government to regulate such high-skilled professions and use the necessary measures to catch fraudsters.
What do you think? Should people be hired based on their skills/ experience or qualifications? Will hiring people based on their experience/ skills decrease the use of fake academic degrees?
X and Y are desperate to get a job to feed their families. They have completed at least high school and can speak English better than most Saudis. So, they opt to work as teachers. Now the thing is, employers won't hire teachers who don't have at least a bachelor's degree. X and Y are stranded. They find someone who can get them a fake BA or BSc. Then they pay more to have a copy of their 'fake' certificates authenticated at the Saudi consulate in their home country. Bingo! The employer sees the authenticated copies and he's impressed. X and Y have just landed a job and are keen to keep it because that's how they get to feed their families.
A and B have worked for ten years with fake bachelor's degrees and no one has ever noticed. They feel they have achieved enough experience to pose as holders of master's degrees. That's about double the time required to complete undergraduate and graduate studies combined. They pay someone and get their master's degrees within a few months. They get lucky. A recruiter succeeds in making them land a position as lecturers at a Saudi university. Eureka! The Saudi government grants them visas and all the benefits that follow (housing, medical insurance, paid vacation, two-way ticket, education for two children, etc).
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not an advocate of fake degree use, and I abhor the use of fake documents (in fact I possess an authentic degree that I spent three years short of a decade to obtain). I'm just saying that shouldn't employers offer jobs based on experience instead of insisting that the minimum requirement should be a "bachelor's" or "master's" degree? How do people with fake degrees sometimes outperform holders of authentic degrees, which employers are so much after?
The implications of using fake degrees are serious. The Saudi government plans to introduce penalties against people found to be holding fake academic degrees and to deport them from the kingdom. According to one report, fake degree holders will be prosecuted, imprisoned, deported and banned from entering Saudi (more). Although the punishment is harsh, this still doesn't deter people from purchasing counterfeit certificates. I, however, still believe that if employers focus on experience/ skills instead of academic qualifications, many people won't find a reason to break their moral rules to purchase fake degrees. I agree that hiring employees based on experience might only work for some professions, and it will probably not work in the case of engineers or doctors. Thus, it is reasonable for the Saudi government to regulate such high-skilled professions and use the necessary measures to catch fraudsters.
What do you think? Should people be hired based on their skills/ experience or qualifications? Will hiring people based on their experience/ skills decrease the use of fake academic degrees?
