Over the past couple of days, the chatter around Phnom Penh's local coffee shops has been all about the Ministry of Education finally putting its foot down. It turns out someone actually had the nerve to forge official ministry documents just to "verify" an unaccredited foreign PhD. Armed with these bogus papers, they were applying for thesis supervisor positions at local universities and trying to clear other official paperwork.
The ministry quickly stepped in to clear the air, issuing a firm warning that any document with mismatched formatting, content, signatures, or official seals will not be recognized. On top of that, anyone caught using forged papers will be handed straight over to the police.
Under local regulations, any doctorate earned abroad must be vetted and evaluated by the Ministry of Education before it can be used in Cambodia. This is especially true for degrees completed through online courses—the ministry has to verify whether the diploma is genuine and whether the overseas institution is properly accredited. Education officials have also put universities on notice, urging them to screen their own faculty and ensure every lecturer holding a PhD actually earned it.
Degree fraud has been a recurring issue locally. A recent case highlighted by local media involved a man named Norn Seiha, who forged a civil engineering degree from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC). Posing as a qualified engineer, he went as far as setting up a company and taking on construction projects. ITC quickly issued a public disclaimer confirming he had never studied at the institute and urged authorities to deal with him severely.
The Ministry of Education is once again reminding the public not to take chances with fake credentials, asking anyone who spots a suspicious diploma or certificate to report it to officials immediately.
