National Member of Parliament MP Francisco Branco urges the Ministry of Education (ME) to assess all the qualifications obtained by Timorese who studied overseas because some universities offer fake Master and Doctorate diplomas.
The MP added that some universities in Indonesia for instance awards fake undergraduate diplomas so the Ministry of Education needs to make an assessment of this situation.
“We should assess Doctorate and Master Degrees attained in Indonesia,” said MP Branco at the National Parliament, in Dili.
He added he doubts the ability and knowledge of Timorese with undergraduate, Master and Doctorate Degrees.
“People have doubts about their abilities,” said MP Branco.
In response to the issue General Director of Cooperative Services of the Ministry of Education (ME) Antoninho Pires said experts will look into the issue.
“We will look at the level of accreditation of the Universities – A, B or C – and also at Diplomas themselves. There is a difference in coding between the original and the fake diplomas,” said Director Pires.
He added that it usually takes two years to complete a Master’s Degree and four years to get a Doctorate and that an undergraduate degree can take four or five years.
“We should investigate especially if a student started university in 2012 and was awarded his or her diploma in 2013,” said Director Pires.
