[h=1]MOM HIRED INDIAN FIRM TO CHECK ON FAKE DEGREES IN 2012[/h]
Post date:
24 Apr 2015 - 9:54am
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has pushed the onus of doing checks on fake educational qualifications onto employers. It also said that it has hired an Indian firm to conduct checks on fake degrees since 2012.
This was told by the MOM to The Straits Times last year. MOM said that it is the "employer's responsibility to ensure that the documents in work pass applications are genuine", it was reported.
There has been a flurry of news recently of the expose of how there are many foreign workers, even civil servants, who have been hired to work in Singapore, whose degrees are from degree mills.
The latest expose started with Nisha Padmanabhan who has a degree from a known degree mill from Southern Pacific University. When the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which hired her, was contacted, it however claimed that Nisha "has a Bachelor’s degree from a reputable university", referring to her degree from the Mumbai University and also claimed that "Her MBA from Southern Pacific University was not a factor that contributed to her employment at IDA."
This shocked many netizens who were perplexed by the seeming contradictions. Could a company, and the civil service for that matter, ignore a qualification from a known degree mill, even if a degree could be fake?
In fact, it is illegal for a person to lie about their educational qualifications, but not only that, even their marriage and birth certificates.
Thus would be against the law for the IDA to defend its employee if even one of the information provided on his or her resume is found to be untrue. Action can be taken.
Moreover, it is not just the IDA but netizens have also unearthed other workers who also have degrees from known degree mills, such as from the Standard Chartered Bank and even lecturers (read here and here), the irony of it all.
It was found that even private education providers are also known to be degree mills, such as the King International Business School (KIBS), where it was found that civil servants also sit on its board.
MOM told The Straits Times that "foreigners who submit fake educational certificates when applying for a work pass can be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both."
In fact, employers might even be barred from hiring foreign workers.
This then begs the question. Will the MOM investigate the IDA and Standard Chartered Bank, and the other companies that have been involved in the expose so far?
MOM also said that it prosecuted 43 foreigners in 2012 and 28 others from January to June 2013. But what are the updates ever since?
Moreover, with how the recent expose can net so many workers with suspicious degrees, it looks like what MOM is getting to is only the tip of the iceberg.
MOM said in 2012 that it has hired a New Delhi firm, Dataflow Services (India), to conduct checks on the certificates and employment history of Indian nationals who work in Singapore, but even so, these are random checks.
Applicants from China have to show proof that their educational qualifications are authentic.
If so, can there not be a more systematic and thorough system put in place to ensure that the educational qualifications can be thoroughly screened?
Already, Singaporeans are crying foul at having to spend tens of thousands on their degrees, and be left unable to find a job and have questioned how it is that foreign workers who have degrees from degree mills are allowed to get away.
Indeed, if the current situation is not properly resolved, it will only result in a further erosion and trust of the system, not only by the citizens but also of businesses who invest in Singapore, expecting that the workforce hired is up to standard.
Post date:
24 Apr 2015 - 9:54am
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has pushed the onus of doing checks on fake educational qualifications onto employers. It also said that it has hired an Indian firm to conduct checks on fake degrees since 2012.
This was told by the MOM to The Straits Times last year. MOM said that it is the "employer's responsibility to ensure that the documents in work pass applications are genuine", it was reported.
There has been a flurry of news recently of the expose of how there are many foreign workers, even civil servants, who have been hired to work in Singapore, whose degrees are from degree mills.
The latest expose started with Nisha Padmanabhan who has a degree from a known degree mill from Southern Pacific University. When the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which hired her, was contacted, it however claimed that Nisha "has a Bachelor’s degree from a reputable university", referring to her degree from the Mumbai University and also claimed that "Her MBA from Southern Pacific University was not a factor that contributed to her employment at IDA."
This shocked many netizens who were perplexed by the seeming contradictions. Could a company, and the civil service for that matter, ignore a qualification from a known degree mill, even if a degree could be fake?
In fact, it is illegal for a person to lie about their educational qualifications, but not only that, even their marriage and birth certificates.
Thus would be against the law for the IDA to defend its employee if even one of the information provided on his or her resume is found to be untrue. Action can be taken.
Moreover, it is not just the IDA but netizens have also unearthed other workers who also have degrees from known degree mills, such as from the Standard Chartered Bank and even lecturers (read here and here), the irony of it all.
It was found that even private education providers are also known to be degree mills, such as the King International Business School (KIBS), where it was found that civil servants also sit on its board.
MOM told The Straits Times that "foreigners who submit fake educational certificates when applying for a work pass can be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both."
In fact, employers might even be barred from hiring foreign workers.
This then begs the question. Will the MOM investigate the IDA and Standard Chartered Bank, and the other companies that have been involved in the expose so far?
MOM also said that it prosecuted 43 foreigners in 2012 and 28 others from January to June 2013. But what are the updates ever since?
Moreover, with how the recent expose can net so many workers with suspicious degrees, it looks like what MOM is getting to is only the tip of the iceberg.
MOM said in 2012 that it has hired a New Delhi firm, Dataflow Services (India), to conduct checks on the certificates and employment history of Indian nationals who work in Singapore, but even so, these are random checks.
Applicants from China have to show proof that their educational qualifications are authentic.
If so, can there not be a more systematic and thorough system put in place to ensure that the educational qualifications can be thoroughly screened?
Already, Singaporeans are crying foul at having to spend tens of thousands on their degrees, and be left unable to find a job and have questioned how it is that foreign workers who have degrees from degree mills are allowed to get away.
Indeed, if the current situation is not properly resolved, it will only result in a further erosion and trust of the system, not only by the citizens but also of businesses who invest in Singapore, expecting that the workforce hired is up to standard.
