Gladys Boss: Fake degree holders should be allowed to resign under amnesty

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss suggests that the government give amnesty to holders of fake academic certificates serving in public offices under the condition that they resign.

This comes as the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) continue to weed out public officers with fake academic credentials.

Boss says the fight against fake academic papers in the public service will be best dealt with if the government allows public officials without authentic credentials to resign without fear that anyone will “come after them”.

The National Assembly deputy speaker told Citizen TV’s Daybreak program on Tuesday that anyone who does not step down under the amnesty should then face the law.

“Let us have an amnesty where anyone with a fake degree or certificate is given an opportunity to resign and no one will come after them,” Boss said.

“If you remain in office and are found to have a fake degree, then you are charged and recovery proceedings can be done to them. That way, we will clean the system neatly.”

She nonetheless maintained that forging academic papers is criminal, saying “If you acquire a fake degree… that is fraud; it is a criminal offence and there are no two ways about it. Whether you go on to acquire other legitimate degrees later, that does not make the criminal offence you committed right.”

Boss suggested that a similar platform to the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) which maintains primary and secondary school student and institution data be introduced for universities to curb fake certificates and impersonation.

She also said education institutions should have digital platforms where employers can verify that a job candidate studied there.

The PSC in February said it conducted an authentication exercise on academic credentials and found that 2,000 public officers secured jobs, promotions and re-designations using fake academic papers.