Views /Editor-in-Chief

There are several problems plaguing the local job market and they are complicated and interconnected. They pose severe challenges to efforts for reforms.
There are wage disparities in the public and mixed sectors. Salaries of male employees are different from those of their female colleagues in all sectors.
There are huge differences in the salaries of citizens and expatriates, especially in the private sector. Fixing working hours is another problem.
But we are facing a big problem of forged certificates and degrees from graduates to PhDs. Fake degrees have literally invaded the local market and hardly any sector is safe from this threat.
This is a threat not only to the job market, but to the safety of an individual. The action taken to curb this menace has been limited and without much impact. The issue is not being addressed with the seriousness it deserves, considering its economic and social implications.
So far, there is no clear or specific punishment for those found involved in forgeries. There are no clear-cut rules to prosecute, imprison or deport the offenders and blacklist their names to ban their entry into the country forever.
In the engineering sector, for example, there should be a blacklist (of citizens and expatriates) with forged degrees and they should be banned from practice.
Accountants caught with fake degrees should be referred to the investigating agencies and public prosecution. The medical sector should also have some ways to announce the names of those involved in the forgery.
The ministries and authorities concerned should do their best to evaluate the degrees and formulate the necessary mechanisms to check the authenticity of documents. Anyone found guilty should be referred to the Ministry of Interior for appropriate action. The perpetrators should not be allowed to leave the country and come back with another forged degree. Erring expatriates should be deported and blacklisted so that they cannot come back.
In short, much more needs to be done to prevent those holding forged certificates and degrees from reaching the job market. The Ministry of Education must take the lead in this and eradicate this problem. But unfortunately, they are yet to take notice. There is no action, discussion or creation of awareness on a malaise that is growing, threatening the very foundation of our education.
The Peninsula