PhDs must now register with MQA

The Star reported today that the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) will soon require PhD holders to 'register' with them in view of the increasing number of people who "buy" their PhDs. Thanks to one of our readers, Ellie, for alerting us of this article.

Malaysian Accreditation Board (LAN) chairman and chief executive officer Prof Datuk Mohamed Salleh Mohamed Yasin said the move was necessary in view of the increasing number of people who buy or forge PhD qualifications.

He added that LAN would not recognise PhDs that had been bought (usually for about RM30,000) and those earned through online distance learning courses.

I think this is a good first step by the MQA especially given the complaints and Tony and myself have made in regards to "dubious" PhDs.

I just have a few clarification questions for MQA.

Firstly, what incentives or dis-incentives will it have to entice / force PhD holders to register themselves with MQA? Does it have the legal jurisdication to 'fine' those who do not register with them?

Secondly, what 'proof' will the MQA ask for from PhD holders if and when they register with the MQA? Will a certificate do? Will the MQA try to verify with the universities that these certificates are genuine? Given the fact that some of these certificates can be as easily 'forged' as they are 'bought', perhaps at a cheaper rate. If the MQA does not have a relatively rigorous method of ensuring that these certificates / qualifications are indeed genuine, then the registration process does not have any credibility.

Thirdly, what will the MQA do once these (or at least some of these) PhD holders have registered with them? Will they make the information public? Will be open it only to subscribers? By making such a database public, the MQA actually incentives those with genuine PhDs to register with them since there will be a public avenue where the 'genuine'ness of these PhDs can be verified. Even if it is open only to certain subscriber groups e.g. private and public universities, professional bodies, headhunting firms, PhD holders from 'genuine' universities would want to have their names registered with the MQA. Hence, it is key that the MQA thinks through what it will do with this database and how it is going to use it to incentivize PhD holders to register with it. I would probably recommend the private subscription model.

Fourthly, if the issue of 'bought' PhDs is becoming all too common in Malaysia, shouldn't the MQA or the MOHE (of which the MQA is part of) publicize some of the more commonly 'bought' PhDs that are in current circulation in Malaysia including those from the International Irish University and Newport, just to name two? It wouldn't be too difficult for MQA to list some of these universities on their website (which I couldn't find) or the website of MOHE. Indeed, if there were really serious about cracking down on this phenomenon, it could easily 'out' a few people who have obtained some of these dubious PhDs, many of them listed in this blog, to dissuade others from obtaining their PhDs from these same sources.

Or maybe, MQA is afraid of offending certain bigwigs who have either gotten their qualifications from some of these dubious universities (including the head of Putera UMNO who obtained his MBA from Preston University in Wymoing) or have presided over official functions organized by some of these universities (Kayveas and the International Irish University)?