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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

MoHE certification must for jobs in Oman

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MUSCAT, March 11 - To ensure that only eligible candidates get jobs, the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has reiterated the need for qualification equivalency certificates in the Sultanate.


This is in addition to the current attestation of educational certificates from the respective embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


According to a senior official at the Education Ministry, introduction of a law for mandatory equivalency certificate attestation has cut the use of fake certificates to a large extent in the Sultanate by both foreigners and citizens alike.


“Both the government and private sectors must make it mandatory that educational certificates are verified and attested by the ministries concerned before providing them with jobs,” said an official in the Equivalency of the Qualifications and Recognition Department.


Students who wish to continue their study abroad must obtain the ministry’s approval before pursuing studies as well, said the official.


Qualification equivalency is an attestation to confirm that a certificate is academically equal to the sanctioned certificates of Oman.


The law states, “Those who are aspiring to get employed in Oman, both in the public and private sectors, should get their qualification equalised by the ministry. Students who wish to continue their study abroad must get the ministry’s approval before pursuing the study.”


The Equivalency of the Qualifications and Recognition Department is the competent authority to deal with academic qualifications issued outside the Sultanate from different countries of the world.


“This attestation grants equal certification privileges to persons certified in the state and may be issued an equivalent certificate in this state upon terms and conditions determined by the department,” the official said.


The official said the procedure will ensure that job positions are filled by candidates with the requisite skills. Following introduction of the new attestation system, a large number of fake certificates were detected.


“For Omani students, this will protect them from falling victim to fake universities abroad, which offer tailor-made weekend degrees,” the official said.


Students can cross-check with the website of the ministry for the list of international universities and institutions recommended by the ministry. In a recent disclosure note, an official at the prosecution department said that authorities had uncovered 1,200 cases between 2010 and 2016, where people tried to use forged documents.


Article 183 of the Omani Penal Code states that cases where


people deal in or forge official documents “shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than three years, and not more than five years for those who use false official papers knowing that they are false.”


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