Makerere verifies degrees

Oct 17, 2008

MAKERERE University has set up a unit to verify academic documents as a result of the increasing demand by employers.

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe

MAKERERE University has set up a unit to verify academic documents as a result of the increasing demand by employers.

University authorities yesterday said over 50 organisations had presented academic papers of their employees for verification.

The results of the verification indicate that a significant number of employees present fake qualifications to gain employment.

Out of the 600 cases, over 140 were found fake, according to a source at Makerere.

From the the National Social Security Fund alone, 40 employees were discovered with fake academic transcripts. They have been sacked.

Other organisations which have verified their employees’ qualifications are Bank of Uganda, Uganda Revenue Authority, Standard chartered Bank, and the army.

Several embassies have also had bad experiences with students who get scholarships using forged documents. Consequently, they have resorted to verifying before awarding the scholarships.

The acting academic registrar, James Okello said the verification desk, which has been established within the transcripts office, will handle any queries forwarded.

Okello said: “Those who have forged transcripts purporting that they got them from Makerere University will be exposed.”

A source said most of the degrees forged are Bachelor of Commerce, Social Work and Social Administration, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Economics, Human Resource Management, Mass Communication and Law. Cases of Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery have also been uncovered.

Okello said the issue of fake degrees is not peculiar to Makerere University. “Even other institutions are complaining,” he said.

Although uttering false documents is a crime in Uganda, the Police has not followed up these cases. In many incidences, the employees are asked to leave without being reported to the Police.

Some universities in Europe, US and South Africa also continue to verify the academic qualifications of former Makerere students who apply for further studies.

An investigation by a committee of deans, last year, discovered that some officials in the Academic Registrar’s office were involved in the forgery of transcripts. The committee found that transcripts are forged in Wandegeya, on William and Nasser Roads.

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