HEADLINE: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia- Doctorate for RM8,000
PETALING JAYA: Targeting the status conscious who seek instant glory, doctorate mills are making offers openly to those bent on putting the “Dr” prefix before their names.
A group sent out such offers via email recently, offering honorary doctorate degrees on behalf of a foreign-based university.
The group claimed that it was opening nominations for the honorary doctorate to celebrate and honour the contributions of outstanding individuals for their extraordinary and humanitarian work at national and international levels; and also to those who had made major contributions to the university’s purpose and mission.
It claimed that recipients of the doctorate can use the title of Dr and PhD (honoris causa). Honoris Causa stands for the “sake of honor”.
The doctorates are “conferred” for social work, entrepreneurship and business administration.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) head of research team on crime and policing, Assoc Prof Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy, told theSun doctorate mills here and overseas are cashing in by offering fake awards.
“They are no better than any other criminal out there and are akin to fraudsters,” said the criminologist.
“It is getting out of hand and impacts those who legitimately earned it. There are many non-accredited institutions offering bogus doctorates for a fee or donations.
“Those who hold honorary doctorates should not use the title in their names. This is the professional conduct in practice. It is so wrong for them to affix the ‘Dr’ to their names.”
Sundramoorthy said the awarding of a legitimate honorary doctorate can only be done by nomination by a recognised university and is not applied for by any party keen on it.
He said stringent and rigorous vetting is conducted by a university prior to deciding on a recipient of honorary doctorate.
“Several of these bogus doctorate holders carry themselves very well and get away with it. We should not go by their word but carry out due diligence by examining their academic qualifications,” he said.
Sundramoorthy, who is a four-term president of USM’s Association of Academic and Administrative Staff, said there were also those who claimed to be graduates from prestigious universities such as Cambridge and Oxford after attending short “executive courses” offered by these institutions.
theSun called a contact number given in the email and was greeted by a man who claimed to be a Datuk.
Asked if the doctorates were recognised by the academia, the man said “no award was recognised” and it was similar to the honorific ones given by states.
“This is an honorary award. To get a real doctorate, you need to earn it by doing a thesis. I will send you the nominee application form.
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Send me your profile and application. I will look into it and try to make adjustments to have it approved,” he said.
When asked if there was a fee, the man said that it would cost at least RM8,000, which included a conferment ceremony.
An application form, which was received later, required a nominee to fill up their particulars and attach a photo. No proof of their education background such as copies of degree certificates were mentioned in the form.
Professor of Communications at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Prof Datuk Seri Dr Syed Arabi Idid told theSun that those who buy degrees and doctorates are cheats.
“It does not affect the academia as we never find them presenting papers (journals) from any research,” he said.
“Earning and buying are two different things. For the latter, one needs only to open his pocket and take out a sum of money, then have his name printed on a degree. No knowledge is gained. Those who buy these papers will not be able to tell stories of their campus life.”
