At the outset let me wish you a very Happy Independence Day! On our 69th Independence Day, I have sat down to pen down my thoughts on the educations frauds plaguing our country.
It’s very alarming for us as Indians to know that as per a rough estimate, there are about 2500 fake universities and 7500 fake educational companies existing in India! Isn’t it shocking? Education has been put on a high pedestal in our country from times immemorial and in the olden times education centers were highly respected and the teachers were called Guru’s. Gurus for imparting knowledge would take a Guru-Dakshina from their disciples. The Guru-dakshina could be anything under the sun and the disciples would very humbly give their Gurus what they asked for, such was the value of knowledge and piousness of education.
Fast forward to modern times and we see such a disturbing upsurge in fake universities, bogus education companies and a plethora of agents distributing fake/forged degrees for a few thousands. A Background Discrepancy Survey has rightly given us the tarnished tag of having the highest number of cases of education related inconsistencies. Educational authorities in Maharashtra, Kerala and several other states, have stumbled upon cases of even professors working for various reputed educational institutes holding fake credentials. It’s disheartening to witness not only bogus centers of knowledge but also phony Gurus (teachers, professors, professionals).
The need for a shortcut to success/hard work along with the high rate of unemployment in India is fueling the educational fraud rackets and selling of forged certificates to students and job seekers. The exorbitant cost of higher education in our country is adding fuel to this fire.
In Bihar we recently witnessed about 3,000 schoolteachers resigning out of fear. The reason – they allegedly used fake degree certificates to get jobs. In the aviation sector we had an Air India pilot who had allegedly acquired a fake degree from a university after failing the HSC exam. Our political chieftains are not far behind, day after day we are reading in newspapers, how our politicians are being caught with fake degrees. Irrespective of whether these allegations are true or not, it highlights the fact that our public representatives can procure educational documents to land themselves in public offices.
We also have the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) chairman – Manan Kumar Mishra’s quote saying – 30% cent of all lawyers are fake, who either hold fraudulent degrees or are non-practicing persons and 20 % of those who sport lawyer’s robes do not have proper degrees. Here goes the judiciary too for a toss.
At workplaces too, prospective employees fib about their educational credentials. Spending a little money gets them a fabricated degree too. Yes, you read it right, so next time you’re interviewing someone, please bear in mind, that degree you’re looking at, may have been procured with a few thousands.
In some cases an applicant’s claim to a higher education may not necessarily be a total farce. He/she may have in fact actually enrolled in the university listed on the resume and he/she just might not have graduate from that school. Also, there is a notable volume of employment applicants who have engaged in what is called “a ghost attendance”. They not only failed to graduate from the school, but they never enrolled at all!
There recently was a case, where the employers were promoting a senior manager who had been with them for ten years and decided to get his MBA degree verified before finalizing the promotion. On verification it was found, that the Senior Manager had never attended a single session at the claimed B-school. He had purchased his MBA degree like we purchase goods for our household. He was immediately relieved from services and the case is now pending in court.
While the concerned authorities clean up the mess, it’s upon us to safeguard our organizations, workplaces and institutions from these imposters. It therefore becomes imperative for all kinds of organizations to conduct background verification checks on the educational credentials of their employees.
Overall, the moral to of the story is that every organization’s Human Resources Management must verify the education qualifications, no matter how trustworthy a candidate sounds/looks.
The Solution – Undertaking Educational Qualifications checks.
It is of paramount importance that a pre-employment/ post-employment screening program be worked out that works to include education verification, as part of that program.To combat the fabricated educational documents flooding employers/ institutions, Educational Verification is the only way out. Money, time and effort spent proactively in verifying details now may later save you from potential litigation and embarrassment.
We at JantaKhoj proudly boast of providing top of the line services to our clients. We verify certificates of Class X, Class XII, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and Doctorate degrees. Also, we verify diplomas, certificate courses, etc. The minimum, we recommend to all our clients are that the highest-level certificate for every employee must be verified.
Our field officers physically visit the Registrar’s/ record keeper’s office of the concerned institute/university and get the document validated and attested. By going directly to registrars, we are able to raise the Red Flag and give you a reliable picture of each candidate.
So let’s not be penny wise pound foolish and have no hesitation in spending a little money on the above mentioned verification.
Choose JantaKhoj – Your candidate Our verification!
