Top education officials have unrecognised PhDs

As many as nine senior Saudi officials in the department of education in Riyadh are holding PhD degrees from universities not recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Al-Hayat newspaper reported last Sunday, quoting a department source, reports the Saudi Gazette.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said all senior officials had obtained their PhD degrees from Columbus university in the US, which is not recognised by the ministry. He said senior officials were using the prefix ‘Dr’ when signing official paperwork.

Mohammed Al-Dikhaini, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said the ministry had been following up the issue of unrecognised certificates for many years. He added that it would prevent holders of such certificates from benefiting professionally.
Full report on the Saudi Gazette site