To what Degree are you qualified?

There is a curious thing going on in the academic world. It could spread like a cancer into other realms. It is called ‘equivalency’. There seems to be a problem with the credibility of some peoples’ academic records and doubt about the validity of some degrees. Therefore degrees which have been through onerous attestation procedures are now being called in for scrutiny by the Ministry of Higher Education where they are judged as to whether they are equivalent to UAE standards. This may seem like a joke but it has deadly serious consequences. The idea that we verify that the degree is a real degree and actually worth the paper it is written on is of course a good idea. Attestation, after all, only says that the copy is a real copy of the original document, it doesn’t actually validate the document at all.

The problem here is the process of determining the equivalency has been extended to a ludicrous extent. Not only does the original certificate and an attested degree have to be supplied, but also the transcript of that degree (also attested) and all the preceding certificates right down to, get this, your high school cert. Yes, you need to find your original high school leaving certificate,  and submit it together with your other degrees all the way up to your PhD! But wait there is more, you need passport copies of entry and exit stamps showing you were in said country when you did the study, and you need copies of your Abstract, and CV. Woe betide you if you did a degree in a different language because you will need the transcript and degree translated into English or Arabic. There are a set of countries that are privileged to be exempt from a further requirement to have a letter from the embassy to verify the interaction between you and the universities issuing your degrees, and asserting that the institutions are credible. Of course you pay for all of this and if you don’t have all the documents you will be refused equivalency, which could cost you your job! So far everyone I know that has visited the Ministry to seek clarification has come back with a slightly different story… That doesn't bode well.

Unfortunately there are more issues, according to the Ministry, online and distance and even part time courses may not be recognised here in the UAE for equivalency, so your highest degree may no longer be accepted by your institution which could have ramifications for your salary!  If you are one of many who are studying for a PhD while working here in the UAE, the chances are it is with a university that is based overseas. Better check carefully because that may well mean that the course of study is not recognized for equivalency by the Ministry unless you spend a certain number of hours physically in the country of the host university engaged in running the courses! 

Now so far, I only see this happening in certain academic institutions, but it could easily become a more widespread requirement just as the farce of attestation has.

You can find details of the procedures for ‘equivalency’ here and the main website is https://www.mohesr.gov.ae/en/  The details and requirements are spread over a number of areas in the site and are typically inscrutable.  Good luck. My journey down this tortuous path has not yet begun as in an act of pure bureaucratic brilliance, my HR department has lost all my attested documents so I have to go right back to the beginning. It will be a while before I finally get myself to the stage of being able to even consider the Ministry, however, I'm not sure there is much point since there is no way I can find my high school certificates from a few decades back into last century... and I'm sorry guy but I just don't have my old passports either.