British university under investigation for fake degrees

A British university with links to foreign educational institutions in Israel, India, Greece and other countries is being investigated by police for allegedly selling foreign students bogus degrees in exchange for cash.

The investigation is currently confined to Israel where local police are examining allegations that degrees were issued to students who did not sit for any exams or complete any assignments.

In one remote village alone some 2,500 degrees are believed to have been given to students of Arab Druze origin.

At its peak the University of Humberside, formerly Hull Polytechnic, had some 4,000 students registered in overseas courses with most of them from Israel. Links were also established with educational centres in other countries, including a business studies school in Delhi.

In Israel  fraud squad officers have arrested four managers of the university's local partnership organisation, saying they believe one member of staff in Britain is involved.

Police in Israel said branches of the university had been set up all over the country.

The University of Humberside gained university status in 1992 and merged with the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside four years later. It is now known as the University of Lincoln.

In 1995 it set up a partnership in Israel, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in education and business.

Courses were run by the local centre, while university staff made regular visits for the purposes of moderation, invigilation and staff development.

The recruitment of students in Israel was stopped in 1999 following concerns and suspicions over fraudulent activities at the campus branches.

The university informed the Higher Education Council in Israel that all student recruitment would cease with immediate effect.

UK -based university spokesman Jez Ashberry said, "We have seen the last of our students through their studies and no longer have any enrolled in Israel.

"In total, 4,965 students in Israel were awarded degrees from this university. University regulations were applied to these students and they all received a legitimate award.

"Extra measures were put in place to ensure the probity of these qualifications. As a result of these measures, we identified fraudulent activities and took immediate action.

"This university has fully supported the police investigation in Israel. A year ago we provided a list of names of those 4,965 students who received our awards to the police in the UK, who passed the information to the police authorities in Israel. However, we have no way of knowing how many fraudulent degree certificates are in circulation in Israel.

"We are not aware that any past or current member of our staff in the UK is involved in any way in alleged fraudulent activities."

 Ashberry added,  "We still have around 2,000 students overseas who are completing their courses."