PUTRAJAYA, Aug 1 — The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) will be making a police report on the alleged sale of academic certificates from school to higher education levels as reported by a local newspaper yesterday.

Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said the move reflects the seriousness of KPT which will not compromise in taking strict action against any public higher education institution (IPTA), private higher education institution (IPTS) or individual found to be involved.

"I would like to remind IPTA and IPTS not to allow this kind of activity to continue because it will confuse the public and damage the image of the institution of university.

"KPT will continue to be committed to ensuring that the higher education system is not marred by such illegal activities,” he said in a statement here today.

The media reported syndicates selling fake academic certificates online which were openly promoted on social media at between RM1,500 and RM4,000.

The scam allegedly targets individuals who are desperate to have academic qualifications for the purpose of finding a job.

Zambry said there have been several cases of academic certificate fraud that have been successfully unraveled before through public complaints involving fraud syndicates by deceiving victims using the name of higher education institutions.

He said that continuous monitoring and regulating are being conducted by the Department of Higher Education on IPTS in accordance with the Private Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) related to the issuance of fake certificates.

In addition, he said, KPT has a standard operating procedure (SOP) that is implemented to ensure the validity of academic certificates for the purpose of verification by the public.

He advised the public to be alert and be careful with the tricks of the fraud syndicate and the sale of academic certificates.

The public can check the qualifications and information regarding recipients of Honorary Degrees and Doctoral Degrees on the KPT GREaT portal via link https://dohe.mohe.gov.my/award/. — Bernama