The Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research summoned its cultural attaché in Beirut on Thursday as part of an investigation into the issuance of fake degrees by Lebanese private universities for hundreds of Iraqis, including lawmakers, in a move that prompted the Lebanese Ministry of Education to open its own investigation.
According to anonymous Iraqi academic sources, at least three private universities are involved in this issue, having particularly benefited from the remote learning period due to COVID-19 measures, issuing higher education degrees collectively to Iraqis who never traveled to Lebanon. Many Iraqi lawmakers and officials exploited this situation to obtain doctoral and master's degrees from these three Lebanese universities, as Iraqi students generally seek higher degrees to increase their chances of securing government jobs.
Iraqi Ministry spokesperson Haidar Al-Aboudi confirmed, "The cultural attaché in Lebanon, Hashim Al-Shammari, was summoned to Baghdad for investigation." He added that the attaché's role is to monitor the movement of students outside Iraq, oversee their affairs, track their numbers, and support them in procedures and facilities. He is also responsible for cultural exchange, which is why this matter falls within his duties and is therefore subject to inquiry.
Al-Aboudi clarified that "the Ministry of Education has issued a decision to suspend the acceptance of certificates from the three Lebanese universities due to their failure to adhere to academic rigor." An Iraqi official noted that a master's thesis was sold for five thousand dollars, while a doctoral thesis was sold for ten thousand dollars through offices in Baghdad and Beirut.
Lebanese media reported that one of the involved institutions is the Islamic University tied to the Supreme Shiite Council, which has dismissed its president and four department heads, appointing a new president on Wednesday. The Civil Service Bureau has initiated an investigation into the matter in Lebanon.
The Iraqi official mentioned that "the figure circulated in the media refers to 27,000 forged or sold degrees issued in an unacademic context, and this information has not been addressed by the Lebanese or Iraqi Ministry of Education." He pointed out that Iraqis are enrolled in 14 universities in Lebanon, but the number of students at the three universities totals 6,000 out of 13,800 Iraqi students.
Lebanon has 36 private universities, alongside prestigious institutions, some of which were established more than a century ago, such as the American University of Beirut or Saint Joseph University. The government permitted the opening of many academic institutions after the end of the civil war in 1990.
