Edwin Nuwagaba
27 October 2008
Kampala — A criminal gang in Kampala is selling fake degree transcripts from Makerere University at Shs250,000, a Daily Monitor investigation can reveal.
While the trade in fake transcripts has been going on for many months, the forgery has become so sophisticated that the university cannot distinguish the fake transcripts they issue from genuine ones.
Following earlier reports of its transcripts being forged, Makerere set up an office earlier in the year to help employers vet documents submitted by prospective employees. However, the racket, which has contacts within the university, issues 'fool-proof' transcripts that the office cannot identify as being forged, leaving thousands of employers vulnerable to applicants getting jobs for which they are not qualified.
In an effort to expose the loopholes in the verification process, Daily Monitor paid a racket member Shs250,000 for a fake transcript which came with a certified copy. When Daily Monitor submitted the fake transcript to the university for verification, it was certified as a genuine transcript.
The Academic Registrar at Makerere University, Mr Amos Olal-Odur, told Daily Monitor he was happy that the newspaper had exposed the racket. "That is how I was able to crack down on premature entrances because someone like you volunteered information," Mr Odur said. "There must be somebody in the printer who gives out blanks."
The Assistant Academic Registrar, Mr James Okello, denied that fake transcripts could be authenticated by the university. "There is no way," he said by telephone. "Our process is so meticulous. First of all when you get a transcript you need to have a file. When you come for verification you have to present your original copies and it will be crosschecked with your bio-data including your photograph in your file."
However, our investigations reveal loopholes in the process that allow fake transcripts to go undetected or authenticated as being genuine. These developments will raise new questions about the quality of academic record keeping and processing at the country's largest and oldest university.
After an increase in the student population increased delays in issuing of transcripts, the Academic Registrar's office contracted a local firm, ICT Consults Ltd., to automate its transcript issuance processes, reducing the waiting time from an average of three months to less than two weeks.
The speed in giving out transcripts, however, has not been matched by the accuracy of the verification processes. At least 4000 students graduate from Makerere each year. Daily Monitor's investigations reveal that blank, pre-signed transcript papers are sent to the university printery where student details and results are printed onto them. Mr Olal-Odur said the criminal gang might be exploiting this loophole.
"That is where the trick is; it could be possible that someone in the printer gives out blank transcripts and deals with someone in the verifying office," Mr Olal-Odur said. "I know that there are two officials in the verifying office and when I return [from leave] I will deal with them. I knew that people downtown were faking our transcripts but I did not know that our staff was involved."
Some employers interviewed said they had registered an increase in fake transcripts presented. Mr Michael Ssekadde, the human resource development manager at MTN Uganda said: "This year alone there have been five cases which were open. Recently somebody brought papers which were forged, but they looked genuine; the paper quality is the same as the original and even the stamps. Apparently we have been told that these transcripts are forged from Wandegeya."
He added: "In most cases when one comes for interviews they have to present certified copies from issuing authorities. After this we do background reference checks with the universities from where these people have been. If we didn't have these checks we would be in big trouble."
Our investigations reveal that the problem is not limited to Makerere University; documents from other universities, too, are vulnerable.
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I still think Makerere University must have a software , just on the certificate they could include some Id. # and the whole data can be put on the internet or access to the internet(makerere university is very big univeristy and before 1973 , it was one of the best university amount east africa.if i m not wrong. why I m suggesting many institutitions have done this and they are fine.