Egypt's new education minister's 'fake PhD' sparks mistrust, concern over vetting process

Recent accusations facing Egypt's newly appointed education minister over allegedly faking his academic credentials have raised concerns about the vetting process of state officials before their appointment.

Since he was first named the education minister earlier last week following a cabinet reshuffle, Mohamed Abdel-Latif has come under the spotlight after local fact-checkers refuted his education-related PhD and master's degrees.

Investigative reports run by two outlets alleged that the US-based Cardiff City University where Abdel-Latif reportedly acquired his PhD is an unaccredited institution offers fake degrees in return for money. A PhD degree costs US$10,000 as per the official website of the alleged university. 

Cardiff City University's website displays a picture of the building similar to that of the UK-based Trinity College, an affiliate of Cambridge University. 

On the other hand, Lawrence University, from which Abdel-Latif reportedly received a master's degree in educational development, does not mention on its official website nor on its social media accounts any reference to graduate studies.

Neither any of the two universities have any known US-based campus or elsewhere.

According to the curriculum vitae posted by government agencies online as he was sworn in as a minister, Abdel-Latif previously acquired a high school diploma from the US, and a college degree in tourism and hospitality, providing no school names or graduation years.

Before being named as the new education minister in the latest cabinet reshuffle, Abdel-Latif worked as the CEO of a chain of private and international schools owned by his mother, veteran education expert Nermien Ismail.  Ismail herself is the daughter of late Defence Minister Field Marshal Ahmed Ismail who served during the tenure of late President Anwar Sadat.   

Speaking to The New Arab on condition of anonymity, a source who worked for a while close to Abdel-Latif said that the minister has never set foot in a classroom and have the qualifications to run education in the Arab World's most populous country.

"He is capable of efficiently running a team and deriving results, as well as setting goals and strategies and achieving them, however. He has acquired experience for over two decades working with his mother, running her chain," the source said.

"At the end of the day, a ministerial position in Egypt is a political post where a minister executes an already set plan with no actual input on his or her part. We are talking here about the most inefficient state institution in the country, known for failing Egyptians for decades," the source added.

Meanwhile, another source inside the education minister's office, requesting anonymity due to the subject's sensitivity, told TNA that "the information that came up after Abdel-Latif had been named a minister has, indeed, cornered the government."

"It gave an impression that the state did not have the right tools to run background checks on officials before they are selected to fill posts, depending, mainly, on hearsay or their reputation in their fields of speciality," the source said.

The allegations prompted lawyer Amr Abdel-Salam to file an official complaint before the prosecutor-general's office that called for conducting an official investigation into the alleged forgery of Abdel-Lattif's academic degrees.

The move was followed by a motion presented by MP Faridi El-Bayadi before the lower-house of the parliament that also demanded proof of the minister's credentials.

In his defence, two days after he was sworn in on 3 July, Abdel-Latif told Egyptian eXtra news TV channel in a live phone interview that he had acquired his PhD remotely via distance learning tools for the sake of knowledge acquisition not to seek an academic teaching position. ⁠

Prominent political sociologist Dr Said Sadek opined that "the current situation has ignited a state of mistrust, undermining public confidence between the government and the people due to its unjustified choices."

"The fact that the pro-government parliament made such a move may imply a state of embarrassment. Even if the minister is fired or forced to resign, the damage is done…which adds to the growing public disappointment in h the government's [performance], inflicting further damage to its declining credibility," Sadek told TNA.