The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) treats the various types of academic qualifications differently, according to an infographic explaining this released by the ministry on Monday.
In Parliament yesterday, the Workers’ Party’s Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam asked the ministry about the checks that are done when processing S Pass and Employment Pass applications.
Mr Giam’s question comes in light of the recent case of Nisha Padmanabhan, who had submitted a Masters’ degree from a known degree mill in her resume for a job application with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, and several other similar cases involving employees, including foreigners, of various companies holding “fake” degrees.
Mr Lim Swee Say, the MOM Minister, released an infographic explaining what each degree was and the measures which the Government will take with regards to each one.
For example, anyone found with a “forged degree” will be barred for life from working in Singapore; while one who posseses a degree from a “degree mill” will not be barred but his unaccredited degree “will be disregarded” in the authorities’ consideration of his employment pass application.
Mr Lim “said that to detect forged qualifications, his ministry conducts internal database checks, as well as external checks through third-party screening agencies, direct verifications with the issuing institutions, and by requiring the employer to show proof that they have verified that the submitted qualifications are genuine.” (Straits Times)
He emphasised that the primary responsibility lies with employers to ensure the authenticity and quality of the academic qualifications of the foreigners they wish to hire.
Here is the infographic released by the ministry:
