SURVEY: Do you know anyone who has/is using a fake degree in Thailand?

[Scott]

There was a recent thread about an organization that was advertising fake degrees.    Although this was geared primarily toward Thais, foreigners using a fake degree has been a problem in the past.   Do you think the use of fake degrees is a big problem in Thailand?   Do you know who has or is using a fake degree in Thailand?

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.  

 

Here is the original thread:  

 

[Credo]

Most of the people I know who have fake degrees, used them for teaching, although a few used them to get jobs in the private sector as well.   I would say it is pretty rampant.   I don't know any Thais that have a fake degree, but I do know one girl, who just paid the tuition every term and was given the grades without actually going to class.   I am not sure how that worked, but she was technically enrolled.   

[lemonjelly]

You want names? Have you ever heard of defamation laws?
How about a "do you know anyone using drugs, feel free to comment" thread.
You're off your head, seriously.


Sent from my twisted mind using Thaivisa Connect

[simon43]

You want names?

 

Are you a teacher?  Your comprehension of Scott's post seems a little 'off'.  He didn't ask for names, only whether you knew anyone using a fake degree.

 

For my part, I have never met any teacher who confessed to using a fake degree.  It isn't my business to check on the teaching credentials of my colleagues - that's a task for the school administration and recruiters.

[Minnehaha]

more than a few politicians and celebrities have 'fake' degrees. I dont mean honorary degrees. 

 

[Strange]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

Are you a teacher?  Your comprehension of Scott's post seems a little 'off'.  He didn't ask for names, only whether you knew anyone using a fake degree.

 

For my part, I have never met any teacher who confessed to using a fake degree.  It isn't my business to check on the teaching credentials of my colleagues - that's a task for the school administration and recruiters.

 

I know what you mean, but the question is a bit.... I dunno... 

 

"Do you know anyone breaking the law?"

 

Its a hell of a question imho. 

 

On 12/10/2016 at 8:27 AM, Scott said:

Do you know who has or is using a fake degree in Thailand?

 

Pretty damn specific and a bit loaded even if the intentions are for simple discussion. 

[Old Croc]

I know of someone who purchased his fake degree in Thailand and used it successfully elsewhere in Asia for some years.

[recom273]

I have worked with guys for years who in the past year changed jobs and suddenly ask me questions about teachers waivers, etc .. They say they don't have transcripts - as they are over 40, I can understand that - but it becomes obvious that for the last few years they have been lording their fake degrees about and now they are starting to come unstuck.

 

I also had a conversation with the asst director of a prominent secondary school who says she can spot every fake degree and usually lets them slide if she takes to the person, because she needs the teachers.

 

Without entering into another discussion, from where I stand - conditions are getting worse, pay has remained the same for over 10 years, and there are more and more vacancies every term.

 

 

[ChangMaiSausage]

Rampant in most countries, Companies are now asking to see the check sheets along with the qualification, apparently this is harder to copy.     

[Strange]

1 minute ago, recom273 said:

I also had a conversation with the asst director of a prominent secondary school who says she can spot every fake degree and usually lets them slide if she takes to the person, because she needs the teachers.

 

Because she needs the teachers for a rate that will only attract unqualified candidates. They want degreed expats but don't want to pay for it. Your assistant director is the root cause of the entire issue. 

[Strange]

Just now, ChangMaiSausage said:

Rampant in most countries, Companies are now asking to see the check sheets along with the qualification, apparently this is harder to copy.     

 

Rampant in most countries? No its not. Not by a long shot. 

[Sooo Upto Me]

7 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

You want names? Have you ever heard of defamation laws?
How about a "do you know anyone using drugs, feel free to comment" thread.
You're off your head, seriously.


Sent from my twisted mind using Thaivisa Connect

Why is he,? Nothing wrong with enquiring.

 

[al007]

I thought all degrees in Thailand were at best sub standard compared to world scales

 

Also it is generally well understood by students that they will not be failed if they can oil the wheels with some readies, or other favors

 

So their is no incentive to work hard

 

SO THERE IS LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REAL AND THE FAKE, and sometimes the fake may be better than the real

 

So which do you prefer !

[ThailandLOS]

53 minutes ago, al007 said:

I thought all degrees in Thailand were at best sub standard compared to world scales

 

Not for all universities, but yes, generally the standard is quite low from experience. You need to know the good ones, and there are a few.

 

Some of the people I've interviewed would have done themselves a favor & saved time by purchasing a fake diploma instead of wasting X nr of years in uni learning nothing. It's not as much about the students as the education system as whole. Some are extremely motivated/talented and have the ability to pick up things on their own.

Edited December 11, 2016 by ThailandLOS

[jwest10]

10 hours ago, Credo said:

Most of the people I know who have fake degrees, used them for teaching, although a few used them to get jobs in the private sector as well.   I would say it is pretty rampant.   I don't know any Thais that have a fake degree, but I do know one girl, who just paid the tuition every term and was given the grades without actually going to class.   I am not sure how that worked, but she was technically enrolled.   

Not knowing for certain, but I would think that there are substantial numbers both Thai and otherwise who have fake degrees , or even none whatsoever.

Even the ones who have valid degrees and slightly off topic, but they teach English to their students.
Yes know of many instances whereby students have asked a Native Speaker, could you explain the English my Thai teacher has just taught me!!!

Edited December 11, 2016 by jwest10

[Honthy]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Are you a teacher?  Your comprehension of Scott's post seems a little 'off'.  He didn't ask for names, only whether you knew anyone using a fake degree.

 

For my part, I have never met any teacher who confessed to using a fake degree.  It isn't my business to check on the teaching credentials of my colleagues - that's a task for the school administration and recruiters.

 

 

I was working for a teacher placement agency.....Most of the online degrees were fake. Especially  those came from a big teacher exporter country. They are cheap. I hope you know who they are.

TEFL  online is practically untraceable, some of them were issued next day. Some degrees refers real schools, but they have never launched online classes.

I think, it is our interest to clear the market from these fakes, just to give the fame of real diplomas they deserve. I would agree that a diploma makes a teacher to pedagogue  but I quite positive that a teacher should be straight. As we consider alcoholism to reprehensible the same way we have to think about falsehood diplomas. 

How can a teacher stand in front of your students when they catch you "mau"  or they catch out him in a lie?

 

It is about forged Teaching diplomas, of course, everyone would be upset when a pilot, a doctor or similar would "help" him, without knowledge. Maybe it is a big word, but a teacher cultivates the brain and the soul of the students. Equally important as being dentist, advocate, or else .Let give the fame of teaching back.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Honthy

[Khon Kaen Dave]

The answer is yes,i know a few guys who are doing that thing,but not all of them are teachers.I really couldnt bring myself to tell anybody anything.Its their problem,and if they get caught,so be it,but i woudnt help out in grassing.Anyway,i dont see this survey as  feasible.What is it going to achieve if you dont have names?What will it prove?

[sandemara]

Having worked for 5 years at a supposedly top 10 uni here I can confidently say that at least 80% of degrees issued by Thai unis are "fake".  Corruption operating in many different ways and at different levels has eroded any reasonable standard of academic achievement from most institutions. While it isn't fair to students, most take advantage because they have few options and lots of external pressures to "succeed" - i.e. get a degree even if it doesn't signify any reasonable standard of academic diligence.  One very large problem is that, in the main, the education industry in Thailand is not subject to industrial or employment regulations. It's open slather on abuse of employees, contract or otherwise, especially those from overseas.

[portly]

Most of them 

Easier than going to university.

Leaves more time for staring at smart phones.

[phantomfiddler]

I once had someone borrow my real degree from one of U.K.s best engineering universities, and I believe he somehow used it to get a job in the Middle East. Thinking realistically, one actually uses a very small proportion of what one has learned at a good university, but the possession of the piece of paper is an incredibly important and necessary key to obtaining work, and once the position has been secured then it all boils down to common sense.

[dentonian]

Wasn't there a recent story about Thai English teachers being tested on English reading, writing speaking and listening and 95% failed.

 

Genuine degrees.

Fake people.

 

Most English native speaking teachers I know don't have any kind of degree or qualification.

The schools employ them because they are better teachers than the Thais and they can get away with it.

Edited December 11, 2016 by dentonian

[smotherb]

14 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

You want names? Have you ever heard of defamation laws?
How about a "do you know anyone using drugs, feel free to comment" thread.
You're off your head, seriously.


Sent from my twisted mind using Thaivisa Connect

 

   

How about any murderers, rapists, or lese majesters--but I don't remember any particulars being asked.

[smotherb]

9 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Are you a teacher?  Your comprehension of Scott's post seems a little 'off'.  He didn't ask for names, only whether you knew anyone using a fake degree.

 

For my part, I have never met any teacher who confessed to using a fake degree.  It isn't my business to check on the teaching credentials of my colleagues - that's a task for the school administration and recruiters.

False degrees have been a problem since jobs required degrees. I have lived and worked in Asia for 50 years—next March—always in positions which required a degree and always with an American or European company. In that time, I knew of many who were accused, and even several who admitted it; but broadcasting the fact you have no degree when it is required is a faux pas many try not to make. However, since these violations were with Western MNC firms; common sense must tell us that it is certainly possible for fake degrees to be used here in Thailand.

I just looked up an old acquaintance who made his living writing about fake degrees, Dr. John Bear—looked-up a youtube video of his and found it was no longer available—hmmm, but you can research his work yourselves: 

Fake College Degrees: Diplomas Mills - Guest: Dr. John Bear ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RjrAb9v1pQ

2 Nov 2013 ... We will be joined by expert, Dr. John Bear, co-author of "Degree Mills: The Billion -dollar Industry That Has Sold over a Million Fake Diplomas.

 

But I digress, we are talking of Thailand. I am an educator among my three careers; I have talked with many English teachers and their teaching colleagues in the last ten years here in Thailand. I have no proof of who has or does not have degrees, but rumors of those without degrees and discussions of teaching without degrees, agencies that will hire you without really checking for a degree, and where to obtain fake degrees is commonplace.  

[greenchair]

7 hours ago, recom273 said:

I have worked with guys for years who in the past year changed jobs and suddenly ask me questions about teachers waivers, etc .. They say they don't have transcripts - as they are over 40, I can understand that - but it becomes obvious that for the last few years they have been lording their fake degrees about and now they are starting to come unstuck.

 

I also had a conversation with the asst director of a prominent secondary school who says she can spot every fake degree and usually lets them slide if she takes to the person, because she needs the teachers.

 

Without entering into another discussion, from where I stand - conditions are getting worse, pay has remained the same for over 10 years, and there are more and more vacancies every term.

 

 

Actually pays have remained the same for 20 years. It's going to take them a while to realise, hiring non native speakers will get the same result as thai English teachers get. 

[smotherb]

12 hours ago, recom273 said:

I have worked with guys for years who in the past year changed jobs and suddenly ask me questions about teachers waivers, etc .. They say they don't have transcripts - as they are over 40, I can understand that - but it becomes obvious that for the last few years they have been lording their fake degrees about and now they are starting to come unstuck.

 

I also had a conversation with the asst director of a prominent secondary school who says she can spot every fake degree and usually lets them slide if she takes to the person, because she needs the teachers.

 

Without entering into another discussion, from where I stand - conditions are getting worse, pay has remained the same for over 10 years, and there are more and more vacancies every term.

 

 

No transcripts if over 40; please.  I am 71, my transcripts go back to 1963 and they are not etched in stone. I've seen my second step-father's transcripts from Duke University from 1937-40.

 

There was an older English NES teacher here who preferred to be called professor because he claimed a master's degree. We were discussing transcripts one day and he looked perplexed, he said he never had any transcripts. Transcripts are called the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in Europe---there has to be some way to verify the courses taken and grades made for a student. It is an historical record of that student's attendance at university.

[Slip]

14 minutes ago, smotherb said:

No transcripts if over 40; please.  I am 71, my transcripts go back to 1963 and they are not etched in stone. I've seen my second step-father's transcripts from Duke University from 1937-40.

 

There was an older English NES teacher here who preferred to be called professor because he claimed a master's degree. We were discussing transcripts one day and he looked perplexed, he said he never had any transcripts. Transcripts are called the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in Europe---there has to be some way to verify the courses taken and grades made for a student. It is an historical record of that student's attendance at university.

 

 

What is your point?  I am 46 and graduated in the UK, hence no transcripts.  'Duke' sounds like one of those American places who churn out paper like a mill.  The ECTS system you refer to may be a European thing, but it isn't a UK one.  No wonder the old professor looked confused, but being English he wanted to save your blushes no doubt. How about a bit more research before making yourself look like an arse?  You are a graduate after all and you can prove it.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Slip

[Scott]

Moved to the Thailand News Section.   The topic is not specific to teachers.  

[Johnniey]

46 minutes ago, smotherb said:

No transcripts if over 40; please.  I am 71, my transcripts go back to 1963 and they are not etched in stone. I've seen my second step-father's transcripts from Duke University from 1937-40.

 

There was an older English NES teacher here who preferred to be called professor because he claimed a master's degree. We were discussing transcripts one day and he looked perplexed, he said he never had any transcripts. Transcripts are called the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in Europe---there has to be some way to verify the courses taken and grades made for a student. It is an historical record of that student's attendance at university.

No transcripts in the UK before 1995.

 

 

 

[Johnniey]

 

 

What about buying a degree from a Thai university, is that OK? There have been many where 30-50k could buy a Master's degree.

$50k to become a doctor which is scary.

 

 

 

 

[Johnniey]

38 minutes ago, Slip said:

 

 

What is your point?  I am 46 and graduated in the UK, hence no transcripts.  'Duke' sounds like one of those American places who churn out paper like a mill.  The ECTS system you refer to may be a European thing, but it isn't a UK one.  No wonder the old professor looked confused, but being English he wanted to save your blushes no doubt. How about a bit more research before making yourself look like an arse?  You are a graduate after all and you can prove it.

lol