Forging academic qualifications can lead to jail terms of as long as three years, alongside penalties reaching AED 30,000, according to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which disclosed the figures on Monday.
Multiple individuals have already faced conviction over fake credentials, the ministry noted, drawing on court rulings that combined incarceration with monetary penalties at those maximum levels.
Officials emphasized that the ministry devotes considerable resources to confirming that degrees and certificates from higher education providers are genuine. Anything that threatens the trustworthiness of academic records, the ministry cautioned, falls outside what authorities are willing to accept, and it signaled a firm stance against such conduct.
Where wrongdoing points to a possible crime, the matter is passed along to the appropriate legal bodies for prosecution, the ministry explained.
Members of the public were encouraged to secure and confirm their credentials strictly through approved and lawful means.
Set against the volume of qualifications the ministry examines and clears annually, confirmed instances of credential forgery in the country stay rare and confined to a small number of situations, the statement said.
