Search Page

Damascus University recently issued its first digitally enhanced diplomas, part of an initiative to combat the use of forged diplomas by students wanting to claim they graduated from the country’s oldest institution of higher education. Reports have surfaced of diploma-forging rackets in Turkey and in Persian Gulf countries, as Syrian refugees who have fled their country’s brutal war seek to boost their qualifications in order to gain access to educational or work opportunities, either in the region or beyond.

The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education last week slammed the parents for paying Form One entrance examination fees saying they did that at their own peril as the Government has set an enrolment date for all the schools in the country. He said the entrance exams were banned long back by his ministry and have remained illegal and should not be left to continue. Enrolment of Form One students for next year started yesterday with parents expected to use their children's Grade Seven results.

Because obtaining any education is seen as the main goal by most Chinese, the new private universities which have appeared in almost every major province are seen like an opportunity to lower Chinese University Examinations scores to have access to superior education.

Despite a recent report from the government indicated that bribes paid in state universities total as much as 20 million lari ($10.9 million) per year, the plans to introduce national tests for university admission to make a more "fair" system with equal access and less corruption might be put on the shelves due to budget problems. According to Tbilisi State University only 20 % of the university's students managed to pass the school's entrance exams without paying bribes.