Academic cheaters get exposed online, face consequences
Global Times
1523705759000

China's education watchdog says it will expose people who fake their academic degrees earned overseas by posting their names online.

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(Photo: chinaqw.com)

The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) under Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on April 8 that it will punish dishonest behavior by publicizing those found lying about their academic credentials, the news website chinaqw.com reported on Friday.

The CSCSE is a public organization that mainly engages in international education services and supports students who undertake international exchanges and cooperation.

In China, Chinese citizens and foreigners, with an overseas degree can have their certificates authenticated by the CSCSE, so that their foreign education background is recognized by education institutes, employers and other institutes in the country.

The Global Times found on Friday that the CSCSE website has posted a blacklist containing 202 names. They claimed to have graduated from overseas universities but were found to have submitted fake, fabricated or invalid materials while applying for credentials authentication. Those who had received authenticated certificates have had them revoked.

Another 72 people were given a dishonest record for providing fake degree certificates, which could result in them being placed on the country's list of those who are not creditworthy. People on that list face serious consequences in their ability to access certain services. 

More than 9 million Chinese have been denied air transportation and over 3 million have been prohibited from buying soft sleeper train and bullet train tickets due to their poor credit performance, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China started to establish a social credit system in 2014 and an open national credit information online platform is in place where honest people and enterprises are honored, while poor credit performers are blacklisted.