Falsifying educational backgrounds is one of the deceitful ways to secure a desired job position. This results in organizations hiring employees whose abilities are mismatched or whose qualifications don’t align with the job requirements, causing various damages to the organization. Therefore, nowadays, there’s a practice of checking an employee’s background before they are hired. This ensures that the organization is aware of their history, be it their educational background, criminal records, or work history. Organizations can then hire employees that fit their needs. So, how can we address the falsification of educational backgrounds? In this article, we’ve compiled ways to verify an employee’s educational background, enabling organizations to safeguard against mismatched hires and to recruit genuinely skilled and trustworthy individuals
Risks of not verifying educational backgrounds before hiring applicants:
Nowadays, document forgery exists in many forms. One of them is the falsification of educational backgrounds to secure a desired job position. Hiring an employee who has falsified their educational background can have direct and indirect negative consequences for the organization, as follows:
1. Employing individuals who don’t meet qualifications
Hiring individuals who have falsified their educational backgrounds can adversely impact an organization in terms of performance. This is because the organization will end up with employees who don’t possess the required qualifications, leading to substandard work or work that doesn’t meet the standards of the job role. This is especially critical for specialized job positions like doctors, nurses, or engineers that demand specific knowledge and understanding. Employing someone without the genuine knowledge and understanding can result in severe damages to the organization or its clients
2. Organizational Reputation Damage
In addition to the adverse effects on the workflow due to hiring employees with falsified educational credentials, this can also damage the organization as a whole. There’s a chance that such deceitful employees will make mistakes due to their inadequate professional knowledge and skills, leading to subpar results. This can, in turn, tarnish the organization’s reputation, revenue, and trustworthiness.
3. Coordination Issues with Colleagues
Some job positions, besides requiring specialized knowledge and skills, also demand effective communication and coordination with colleagues. Employees who have falsified their educational backgrounds might not be able to coordinate effectively with their peers, leading to operational issues within the team.
4. Unnecessary Time and Cost Overruns
Another drawback of hiring individuals with fabricated educational credentials is the unnecessary expenditure of both time and money. The organization loses out on the opportunity to hire a genuinely qualified individual and also incurs the costs of monthly salaries for these deceitful hires. The quality of work delivered might not meet the expected standards, considering these hires lack genuine experience.
Punishment for Falsifying Educational History
Falsifying educational history is a legal offense, considered as document forgery. This involves adding, modifying, or deleting text, forging stamps or signatures, leading others to misunderstand or mistakenly believe that it is a genuine document. The offense of document forgery can be divided into 2 cases as follows:
Offense of Document Forgery:
- Penal Code Section 264: Anyone who produces a completely forged document, or falsifies any part of a document, by cutting off text or making alterations, will be punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years, or a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.
- Penal Code Section 265: Anyone who forges a legal document or an official document will be punishable by imprisonment of 6 months to 5 years, or a fine ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 baht.
- Penal Code Section 266: In the case where the forged document is an official legal document, such as a land title deed or will, the offender will be punishable by imprisonment of 1 to 10 years, or a fine ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 baht.
- Penal Code Section 267: Providing false information to an officer, resulting in the recording of false information in an official document, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years, or a fine of up to 600,000 baht, or both.
Offense of Using Forged Documents:
- Penal Code Section 268: Any person using a forged document will be subjected to the same punishment as the person who creates the forged document, according to the type of document used, as per Sections 264, 265, 266, and 267.
Handling Forgery of Academic Records
The HEDD (Higher Education Degree Datacheck) website, a service provider that verifies qualifications of graduates, has revealed methods to check whether a degree certificate is genuine or counterfeit. The methods are as follows:
1. Degree Format
The first step to verify the authenticity of a degree is to look at the characteristics of the seal or signature on the degree. Generally, the signature of the issuer will be hand-written using a pen. If it’s a counterfeit degree, the signature may be a print from a printer. Additionally, one should check if the embossed emblem matches the official emblem of the university. This can be verified via the university’s official website or by contacting the university directly.
2. University Address
Another way to detect a counterfeit degree is to look for mistakes or missing words. Sometimes counterfeit documents might have incorrect details compared to what should be on the actual degree or might use terms that are grammatically incorrect. A good preventive measure is for organizations to compare the language between genuine and fake degrees, which may reveal anomalies.
3. Unusual Language Use
Beyond checking for language mistakes, another method to verify the authenticity of a degree is to check the university’s address. This can easily be done by searching the given address and postal code of the university to find its actual location. Sometimes, the address on the document might be of a completely unrelated place, like a row of buildings or a parking lot, for example.
4. University Address
Verifying educational backgrounds can be time-consuming and involve complex procedures. Organizations can opt to use professional background verification services. One such service is “APPMAN BACKGROUND CHECKER”, which verifies educational backgrounds by checking with the student affairs registration department and obtaining direct certification from universities. Additionally, they can also verify criminal records, employment history, and personal bankruptcy records. Using digital methods, organizations can receive results swiftly, ensuring that they hire trustworthy and qualified staff.
Summary
It’s clear that forging educational credentials during job applications has detrimental effects on organizations, both directly and indirectly. Such actions can tarnish the organization’s reputation and result in subpar performance. Therefore, verifying educational backgrounds is crucial to ensure that organizations hire employees who meet their requirements and can deliver quality work up to the standards.
