VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese agencies and businesses have been warned about the existence of a lot of foreign counterfeit degrees. The organization that provides counterfeit degrees is MMC from Russia.

Counterfeit degrees more widely used

Tin Tuc newspaper has received a letter from a reader who pointed out that Duong Phan Cuong, now Chair of the Board of Management of the Chu Van An University in Hung Yen province, uses a counterfeit doctorate.

Cuong’s doctorate was granted by the International Interacademy Union, or MMC in short in Russian, which, according to reliable sources, is worthless.

A document of the Russian Duma published on http://pda.iam.duma.gov.ru/node/2/ 4585/15996ong affirmed that since 2001, the organization has not been allowed to operate in Russia.

MMC was established in 1996, which then “gave birth” to two units, BMAK and BEKK. The two units were “authorized” by MMC to grant the titles of professor, associate professor and doctorates to those who have the demand. MMC has reportedly granted tens of thousands of doctorates, including the Vietnamese citizens. One reportedly has to pay $6,000 for a doctorate.

Cuong’s curriculum vitae showed that he attended the postgraduate training course in 2002-2005. During that time, Cuong was the General Director of the Hung Yen Industry and Import-Export Company Ltd and Chair of the Hung Yen Technology and Economics Intermediate School.

Prior to that, a deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee and a deputy minister were also found as using counterfeit degrees. However, the high ranking officials have not been punished for this. The deputy secretary left the post and took another office, while the deputy minister has made a “safe landing.”

Competent agencies shut their ears on using counterfeit degrees?

In 2001, the Ministry of Education and Training began an inspection to find counterfeit degrees. About 10,000 counterfeit degrees were discovered after four years.

Lao Dong newspaper quoted the Deputy Head of the Department of Testing and Quality Assurance as saying that in principle, the Vietnamese who have the degrees granted by foreign training establishments, don’t have to have the degrees inspected and recognized by the department. The degree holders will only have to show the degrees for inspection when they are summoned by management agencies.

This means that if the management agencies do not summon degree holders to clarity the validity of their degrees, the degree holders can be composed to stay on their positions obtained by the counterfeit degrees.

Analysts have noted that the counterfeit degrees for low-level education (high school) are “dominating” at the communes’ and districts’ agencies, while the counterfeit degrees for higher education (master, PhD) are “dominating” at the ministerial or provincial levels.

In fact, the Ministry of Education and Training released the regulation on examining and accrediting the degrees granted by foreign training establishments (Decision No. 77). The Ministry of Finance has made public a draft regulation, stipulating that the maximum fee for accreditation is VND500,000.

How to punish counterfeit degree users? Dinh Van Que, former Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of the Supreme People’s Court, when answering Phap luat TP HCM City’s reporters, said that if a person uses counterfeit degrees to cheat agencies and institutions and he successfully does this, he must be subject to criminal prosecution.

Minh Ngoc – Hoang Nga