"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination." -Nelson Mandela
While I note the exuberance of government infused into the Jihad against Fake Degrees in Sierra Leone following the pre-emptive strikes of Dr. John Lahai aimed at restoring the lost academic laurels of a country once acclaimed as the Athens of West Africa, I also painstakingly note with precision the wrong approach used by the government to weed out all fake degree holders in the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies, hence amounting to an effort in futility.
It's now an open secret that there are a plethora of fake degree holders in almost all institutions and organizations in Sierra Leone. It’s also an open secret that we have a chunk of qualified graduates seeking to be employed, yet the available jobs are graciously being occupied by "Yea Dominion Yeas".
The luxuries and affluence displayed by these fake degree holders would give you a reason to regret spending donkey years pursuing a decent career, burning the midnight fat and candles; thanks to Dr. Lahai for adding relevance to President Bio’s flagship legacy of free quality education.
In the words of Nelson Mandela, "the power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success." It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation. "It further resonates with one of his powerful quotes "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Any attempt to dilute the quality of education will be construed as a perfect opportunity to provide a safe academic haven for mediocrity. Jokingly, someone told me that the search for fake degree holders methodology employed by the government, like the one employed by the former regime in weeding out ghost teachers, will end up being an effort in futility-like Ghost Teachers, like Fake Degree holders.
Of relevance in recent days is the fact that I have been privileged to witness the vetting of certificates in some MDA’s and intuitively I note the process, save for a few, is flawed and will end up chasing ghosts.
For the records, the vetting process appears to be a complete waste of government resources, putting into cognizance the fact that sober human resources managers should have detailed information about their staff, which should be kept in their files or database. Instead of asking all staff to present their certificates, why not just look into their files and weed them out?
I also noticed that the majority of the panels were fully comprised of staff who can easily protect their own, emphasizing the need for an independent personality to be a part of the process. This will lend credence to the process rather than having staff conduct the verification all by themselves.
I also noted with keen interest the impeccable fact that most Human Resources Managers, either out of experience or compromise, can’t discern between original and fake certificates. Hence, those with fake certificates from our institutions, albeit surreptitiously acquired, are spared.
Conspicuously, a handful of present officeholders with first degrees are without WASSCE certificates yet relished the notion of systems failure in our tertiary institutions to acquire first degrees.
WAYFORWARD
Without being tagged biased, I, to a greater extent appreciate the Njala Model of vetting where emphases are not only put on Dominion Christian University or AGU graduates, the Administration is painstakingly taking its time to scan originals of all certificates which after the entire vetting process will be sent to all institutions across the globe where they were deemed to have been acquired. With this strategy, there is a high probability that the process would yield dividends.
While the contention about people in the Public Service or Civil Service with no WASSCE Results/FAKE WASSCE is now rife, the government should consider boxing below the belt to demand O’LEVEL or WASSCE certificates as a requirement for vetting if they are ready to sanitize the system- the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
With these incremental developments being added and a possible extension of timelines for vetting academic credentials, I am certain that this government like Tanzania will go down in history as one which restored the glories of the past by sanitizing what appears to have been an academic floodgate or tsunami in a country once known as the Oxford of the West.
In the words of President Julius Maada Bio, "Quality education comes with a price" and in my own words, "it hurts and pays to be educated."
© AMB. JONATHAN HINDOLO KURABU, D CATALYST
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