Wednesday 6 October 2010

Why would people falsify documents?

I think I mentioned before that I receive over 300 emails a day. About 50% of these emails come from disparate people looking for jobs, Nigerian crocks, real estate companies and other junk mail from china or forwards from friends. The other 50% is real mail from schools and students. So my first task is to separate the mail and delete the unwanted to get on with the rest of the urgent replies. Some emails I have to flag as I need to find out answers but some I can clear very quickly as I already know what to do.

Anyway, I received an email, which I assumed it was junk, so you know what happened to it, then after two days a similar one came, again the delete button was pressed. But when I got it as a forward insisting on a reply, I opened it, checked the attachment and not knowing what the person wants, I replied to say that I had deleted the email as I didn't know what they wanted. In a flash of a second they replied saying that I should confirm that the certificate that was attached in their first emil was issued by us, and that I need to certify it. So I looked again at the attachment with horror this time, to see how on earth I issued a certificate to a person? This doesn't make any sense as first we do not teach any thing, and also we are not certified to issue certificates. So I looked closely and noticed that our address was somehow showing at the bottom of the so called certificate! Weird really, as his is not even the way we write our address, this must have been copied from an advertisement or a flier that we distribute regularly.

I replied to them, saying that we are not allowed to issue certificates nor are we certified to teach degrees. And that they need to talk to the school directly. They asked me to give them the name of the school. Now I am going to change my name to Google! So of course you would guess my reply to her. Then again she emailed me saying if I had ever met this person who had falsified her document? I said no, but just to make sure I ran a search on our database to ensure that I am saying the truth.

The real worry is, the company this person had given her certificate to had actually enquired about it, but do all companies actually ask? I am not sure about this, as I for one assume that people are telling the truth, why would anyone make up a story about graduation, wouldn't it be found later on if he or she cannot perform the job they are applying for? What about people who pay others to attend exams on their behalf, or people who ask others to write their assignments and give them money for it, and those that ask us to write their PHD proposal for them or their personal statements, etc. All of this is apparently a done thing.

Falsifying a document for a typist is ok as no one will be harmed by slow typists, but for doctors, financiers, accountants, engineers and all the other disciplines that by not knowing how to perform the tasks one can actually kill others. Is money that important so we would do anything to get it without any consideration to the truth? What happened to humanity? What happened to being honest no matter what? What is the problem if one had actually gone to a school and had actually graduated, why would one spend all of this money to obtain shady certificates?

Like everything else. Life is becoming very different to the one we know, what do you think we should do to correct it, everyday I find these issues and thank my god for the person who is me, I hate lies, I hate pretence and I hate to receive anything if I am not entitled to it. And I really hope that I had instilled these characteristics in my children, as if I hear that they had cheated in their exams I am not sure which nerve in my brain is going to explode.

Hope none of you is harmed by a non-certificate-holder dentist.

1 comment:

  1. One compelling reason would be the fact that a fake certificate costs virtually nothing, and could be photoshopped on a personal computer at no cost, in the hopes of getting employed and making a living. Whereas I'm sure you are aware of the costs of enrolling at a high-class institution. Having a respectable certificate is the only way you can get a job these days, and if one cannot support him/herself to study at a respectable university, one will never be able to get a job that pays for a proper living. The poor will always pay a higher price, as they do not always have the opportunities that others do, and education is just an example. Life isn't fair, and sometimes cheating is the desperate way to TRY to balance the scales a bit.
    I'm not saying it is the right thing to do, but it is justifiable in some (not all) cases.

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