Officials caught using fake high school diplomas in Vietnam

Jun 8, 2011, 5:07 GMT

Hanoi - Dozens of government officials in Vietnam have been caught using fake high school graduation diplomas, local media reported Wednesday.

The officials, all members of district and commune offices in An Giang province, were caught during screening in the run-up to the National Assembly election last month, Tuoi Tre newspaper said Wednesday.

The officials admitted using fake certificates, and some confessed having the diplomas after repeatedly failing their end-of-year exams.

Local authorities will take severe disciplinary action against the officials, the report quoted Nguyen Van Thanh, secretary of the district party commission, as saying.

District authorities are also investigating the case of a commune chairman who allegedly obtained his high school diploma by asking someone else to take his high school graduation exam.

Despite regular police raids, fake certificates are readily available on the black market. Last week, the owner of a photocopy shop in Hanoi was busted for selling fake foreign-language certificates, bachelor and masters degrees, all with authentic-looking official stamps.

Business in forged dissertations is currently booming in the run up to university deadlines. Some shops are selling fake high school certificates for around 15 dollars each.