KUWAIT CITY, July 6: State authorities, including the Civil Service Bureau and the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, are taking decisive steps to combat the issue of forged academic certificates. This initiative targets both secondary school certificates and higher education degrees such as bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees. Concerns have arisen regarding the financial burden on the state budget from paying allowances to holders of these fraudulent certificates and the mechanisms for recovering these funds once the forgeries are confirmed.

The crackdown began with a comprehensive review of academic qualifications and certificates of all ministry employees who obtained them since 2000. Recently, Minister of Education Dr. Adel Al-Adwani referred certificates issued by Arab and Gulf countries to the Public Prosecution after revoking their equivalencies.

According to information obtained by a local daily, employees found to have submitted false academic certificates will be required to repay all funds received based on these fraudulent credentials. These individuals will also face judicial proceedings.

The financial implications are as follows:

• A fraudulent doctorate holder among teaching staff would owe 4,800 dinars annually, as they received a certificate allowance of 400 dinars per month.
• A fraudulent master's degree holder among teachers would owe 2,400 dinars annually, based on an allowance of 200 dinars per month.
• Administrative employees with a fraudulent doctorate would owe 1,800 dinars per year, with a monthly debt of 150 dinars.
• Administrative employees with a fraudulent master's degree would owe 900 dinars annually, receiving 75 dinars per month.

Funds obtained through fraudulent bachelor's degrees and incorrect secondary school certificates will also be recovered, and all legal and judicial measures will be enforced.

When the Ministry of Higher Education cancels any equivalency for foreign academic degrees or proves the forgery of a local degree, the employee's data will be immediately withdrawn from the system, allowances will be halted, and debts will be calculated from the date of initial disbursement. The case will then be referred to the Public Prosecution for further investigation and legal action.