Threat of bogus degrees

Fake lawyers are bad for the legal system, fake engineers may be the reason why some structures are crumbling, and fake doctors are a menace to society itself. The threat of unqualified people getting degrees and jobs as professionals is too serious a matter to jest about. The Bar Council of India chairman was probably only handing out a warning when he said recently that he suspects every third lawyer in the country is practising with a bogus degree.

The greatest danger to the country is from the fakes who have got embedded in the system after bribing their way through exams or by simply purchasing a degree. There is no mechanism to regulate the entry of millions of graduates every year into various professions, and not all of them have an entrance test. The damage fakes do depends on how crucial the profession is. Those contributing the most to the danger are fly-by-night institutes issuing bogus certificates.

The need to get a national register of graduates going is urgent. This system to authenticate degrees must be funded by the government and supported by all universities. This database should be the point of reference for any employer or authority handing out a licence to practice a profession. Unless a foolproof mechanism is in place, it will be impossible to flush out fakes. When we can spend billions on a national data bank of identities, why not cover this crucial area of authenticating professionals?