I, as well as others, was unfair to  the Ministry of Higher Education when it failed to accredit the graduation certificates issued by foreign universities. After contacting one of the officials of the ministry the following was relayed: ‘The famous and ancient name of a university such as the American Harvard, British Oxford, and the French Insead ‘does not mean that the certificates issued by them are considered valid and automatically recognized’.

 Within every university, there are a number of colleges and specializations, however recognition of the mother university does not mean automatic recognition of all the colleges that are affiliated to it, either because the college is new, or because it does not follow the standards in granting its certificates.

 All of these mean the necessity of deliberation before pointing a finger at the Ministry of Higher Education for failure to recognize the degrees of well-known international universities, without knowing in advance the reasons for the refusal, and the rest of the details ... which are sometimes fatal.

The Ministry of Higher Education is not the government agency that issues accreditation lists or recognition of university degrees, rather the National Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education which was established in 2010, does so.

 The goal of the Authority is to improve the level of programs of higher education institutions in the country, and to define higher education institutions in other countries, in which the certificates of those who graduate may be accredited, through continuous evaluation processes for these institutions and their programs, in accordance with the standards of international accreditation bodies to reach quality control Higher Education.

Some also complain about the delay caused by the higher education authorities in accrediting their degrees, despite their issuance by accredited bodies, and this is often an inaccurate or true ‘claim’, as the applicant for accreditation sometimes calculates the period from the date of submitting the application until obtaining the approval.

 However, it often happens, when receiving an application to accredit a PhD, for example, the Master’s degree is not attached to it, or it is not certified, so the approval of the doctorate is delayed until the Master’s is submitted, or a replacement for it is made available or the high school diploma is obtained, so the applicant considers it within the delay period.

 Some also believe that the mere fact that a government agency, such as major state companies, to send students to a university to obtain higher degrees, is sufficient for these universities to be recognized, and therefore the Ministry of Higher Education is obligated to certify and equate the certificates issued by them.

However, this includes prejudice against the Ministry of Higher Education. The regulations require everyone who wishes to receive university or higher education abroad, to check with the National Authority for Academic Accreditation or Higher Education before joining that body, and obtain its prior approval.

 Not knowing this matter by those who enroll in foreign universities is not an excuse. We write all this to show everyone the need to cooperate with the Ministry, and to contact it before joining any university, even if its name fills the world.

 e-mail: [email protected]

By Ahmad alsarraf