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Sammy Heung

A university in Macau will expel 24 students who enrolled using fake Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) credentials, with the case also triggering a police investigation in the financial hub.
Hong Kong’s education minister, Christine Choi Yuk-lin, said on Saturday the bogus applications were “outrageous”, as she warned of serious consequences for anyone caught breaking laws.
“Using a fake document is a serious crime, which can result in the maximum penalty of a 14-year jail sentence,” she told a radio programme.
Choi said the Macau University of Science and Technology had contacted authorities in Hong Kong to check the authenticity of the DSE certificates submitted by about 20 students.
“Upon their suspicion, they sought verification from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA),” she said.
The minister said the organisation had found that all of the DSE certificates in the cases were fake, calling the findings “outrageous”.
Choi said examination authorities had already filed a police report.
“There is a price to pay for using these fake instruments,” she said, urging universities to contact the HKEAA if they had any doubts.
The cases also appeared to be the first reported instances in recent years of people using fake DSE qualifications to apply for universities outside Hong Kong.
According to the Education and Youth Development Bureau of Macau, the university will expel the 24 people who were found to have used the fake documents and hold them accountable.

The bureau noted that Hong Kong police were now looking into the case and said it would maintain communications with the force in Macau as well.
Other universities in Macau had not found other cases after stepping up checks, it said.
The HKEAA said it would help tertiary education institutions and other organisations to verify exam results, adding it could also print out DSE scores for anyone who previously sat the assessments.
Hong Kong police confirmed they received the report last Monday and had classified the case as a request for investigation. No one has been arrested so far, the force added.
Last month, a mainland Chinese student was sentenced to 17 weeks in prison for submitting a fake certificate from an Ivy League university in the United States and making false representations to immigration officers to get into the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The Post earlier found that by inputting “promised acceptance” on e-commerce platform Taobao, the search results included websites claiming to offer “special direct channels” guaranteeing offers from universities in Hong Kong and overseas.
Some sellers claimed no language tests or university entrance exams were required, while candidates with “ultra low” grade point averages were promised admission.
In July, HKU’s business school said that about 30 master’s degree students had been discovered to be using fake documents to enrol. It added that the figure was expected to grow to 80 or even 100.
An investigation was launched after the school found some students had secured places with the help of agencies that forged academic qualifications.
Choi said that universities had stepped up their efforts to spot bogus credentials after the cases came to light.
“The gatekeeping of our institutions has been extremely strict. A large number of such cases were caught because there were many applications and we are very strict in screening them,” she said.
“The institutions have reported such cases and those involved have been apprehended by police.”

Choi warned that those who wished to study in Hong Kong should not break the law.
“The consequences are very serious and it is a criminal offence,” she said.
The minister urged students never to trust intermediary agents claiming that local universities offered so-called “internal quotas”.
“Hong Kong is a very honest and clean society. All the staff who are in charge of student admission understand the rules,” she said.
“There will never be situations where the staff pretended they did not notice these fake documents.”
She added that the government had been in close contact with the relevant mainland authorities and had shared details about the situation with them.
Under Hong Kong’s Crimes Ordinance, anyone found guilty of using a false instrument can face a maximum of 14 years in jail.
Choi also discussed on Saturday the coming second meeting of a task force overseeing the establishment of Hong Kong’s third medical school. The meeting will take place later this month.
She said the meeting would involve setting a “fair and transparent” criteria for interested universities, which would then be sent to the institutions so they could revise their proposals and resubmit them.
One of the goals of the new school would be to cultivate research talent, including areas such as artificial intelligence and medical engineering, she said.
Choi said that while there was high demand locally for teaching staff and students, the city’s medical schools should adhere to positive competition and look at how to complement each other.


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Education in Hong Kong

University in Macau to expel 24 students who used fake Hong Kong DSE credentials

The Diploma of Secondary Education refers to Hong Kong’s university entrance examination. Photo: Dickson Lee

Education chief Christine Choi has urged students to follow the law. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority has said it will work with organisations to verify applicants’ qualifications. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong to take hard line against suppliers of fake credentials for university applicants

Loke Yew Hall of the University of Hong Kong at Pok Fu Lam. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chief Executive John Lee revealed the “Study in Hong Kong” campaign during his policy address last week. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong warns students over using fake credentials to enter universities

The University of Hong Kong campus in Pokfulam. Its business school said in July about 30 master’s degree students had been caught using fake documents for their enrolment. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Education

Hong Kong education chief Christine Choi says use of bogus university entrance exam certificates ‘outrageous’


Hong Kong education chief Christine Choi says use of bogus university entrance exam certificates ‘outrageous’.


Crime in Hong Kong

Macau

HKDSE - Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education

Universities in Hong Kong