PETALING JAYA: Stern action will be taken against any public universities and private higher education institutions or individuals involved in the sale of academic certificates, says the Higher Education Ministry.
“There are monitoring and regulatory acts carried out by the Department of Higher Education (JPT) at the ministry level, through inspections on private higher education institutions.
“This is in accordance with the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) related to the issuance of fake certificates.
“Additionally, the ministry has a standard operating procedure in place to ensure the authenticity of academic certificates for verification purposes by the public,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 1).
The Higher Education Ministry was responding to a report by a Malay daily about the sale of fake certificates online, ranging from schools to higher education levels.
The Higher Education Ministry also said that previous cases of academic certificate fraud have been successfully solved following public complaints.
“These cases involve fraud syndicates who deceive victims by using the names of the implicated institutions.
“Police reports will also be made to ensure that these fraud syndicates can be curbed,” the statement read.
The Higher Education Ministry said the public can check the qualifications and information related to recipients of honorary and doctoral degrees through the GREaT KPT portal via https://dohe.mohe.gov.my/award/
“The public is also advised to remain vigilant for fraud schemes and the sale of academic certificates.
“The ministry remains committed to ensuring that the higher education system is not tainted and does not break the law,” it added.
