In the media

More than 40 fraudulent websites have been shut down in a major crackdown on the sale of fake degrees. The sites closed included those selling authentic-looking certificates using the names of real British universities. Others were providers offering distance learning courses but were not valid UK degree awarding bodies. New graduates have been asked not to take photographs with their real degree certificates in case they inadvertently aid fraudsters.

Public registers of individuals claiming false qualifications, as well as institutions offering these, should be established, the SA Qualifications Authority. The draft national policy, which is now available for public comment for the next 30 days, outlines the creation of these registers defining what is meant by misrepresented qualifications, outlining the process for how they will be dealt with, and detailing the various roles and responsibilities expected. Ultimately, only those found legally culpable of qualification fraud would be included on registers.

The head of an exam board is warning that undetected qualifications fraud in the security industry is becoming a "risk to public safety". When it applies to security staff, he says, such fraud is a "significant threat to public safety and wellbeing". Regulation is more focused on trying to prevent academic malpractice, but it is not adequately equipped to take on systematic, deliberate fraud. He is calling for an expert panel to be set up to try to establish the extent of qualifications fraud, particularly in areas of security and public risk.

Several Egyptian universities have changed their examination systems in an attempt to curb mass cheating. Academic institutions in the country have in recent years complained about widespread cheating, blaming it on a test system based on rote learning and the large numbers of students admitted into universities each year. In a bid to improve the situation, higher education authorities have recently announced the replacement of the traditional exam system with another based on multiple-choice questions.

According to a confidential report, Kenya’s universities are facing serious management challenges resulting in admission flaws, inadequate staffing, and low standards of examination administration, supervision and research. The report also shows that some institutions cut corners to increase admissions in order to seal budgetary gaps, allow students to graduate within months, or admit students to unaccredited programmes from which they are then allowed to graduate. After returning their reports with factual corrections done, the institutions in question will have 30 days to issue corrective roadmap.

The ministry of higher education and scientific research has sent a written notice to all university presidents, criticising them for non-compliance with a July 2016 ministerial decree which criminalised plagiarism, and urging them to deal with all irregularities in accordance with the rules. The instruction raises the possibility of past abuses which may have been overlooked by vice-chancellors, including the inappropriate appointment of individuals to examinations and theses adjudication boards. The letter constitutes an unprecedented move against a scourge that academics suggest is becoming “common practice” in universities.

Lecturers in universities and colleges as well as teachers in public and private schools who are found guilty of abusing students risk having their degrees and diplomas cancelled by the Government to curb rampant abuse, especially of female learners. The Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development said there was an urgent need to curb the surge in sexual abuse of learners in schools, colleges and universities. Punishments such as imprisonment or expulsion from work was not enough since perpetrators always ended up teaching elsewhere using their diplomas or degrees.

Government officials are waging a twitter battle with parents who tweet questions from national tests being taken by primary pupils in England. The Department for Education wants any information on the content of Sats papers removed as pupils take the tests at various times over two weeks. Officials have been messaging parents since Monday asking them to remove tweets revealing question details. The DfE said it wanted to clamp down on cheating.

The entrance exam at Rangsit University has been canceled after students were caught using wireless spy cameras in eyeglasses to capture exam questions and receive responses through linked smartwatches. Similar devices like Cheating Watch can store PDF, Word, and other documents or Invisible Watch displays nothing but cheat notes become visible when viewed with special glasses. In an attempt to eliminate the problem of differentiating between watches during examinations, some Australian universities have implemented bans on all wristwatches.

For a small fee, platforms provide university qualifications, from bachelor's to doctorate degrees. "We have seen this trend return over the past three years, even though sites from the early 2000s which sold fake diplomas had been gradually disappearing," acknowledges the founder of VerifDiploma, which verifies the authenticity of job candidates’ diplomas on behalf of Human resources services. Each year, his company checks 50,000 applications. Of these, 8% contain false diplomas.