By: Mohamed M. Sesay
After it was tabled in the house by the Chairman of the Special Select Committee on Fake Academic Credentials Hon. Dr Kandeh Yumkella, the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, has enacted five years imprisonment as one of the penalties for any person who falsely or fraudulently) claims to hold a qualification (certificate, diploma, degree) from a Tertiary Education Commission accredited institution or, from a lawfully recognized foreign institution by the Tertiary Education Commission; commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years.
The House of Parliament also debated and passed into law that any person who knowingly supports anyone or tertiary and/or higher institution to produce false qualification or falsely transfer grades for qualification either in transcripts or for class examination, or provide an environment for others to falsely take national or tertiary and/or higher educational institution examinations for qualification, or advertise and/or publish in the media, information for any institution that is `unaccredited, or d) serve as a Board Member, Lecturer, or Staff of an unaccredited institution and failing to inspect the registration and accreditation certificates and/or vetting such documents from the Tertiary Education Commission for their authenticity, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years and to a fine of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand (NLe 150,000) New Leones.
It is also embedded that a person who uses another person’s qualification to seek employment, admission to any learning institution and b) or use it to his/her own advantage and benefit of any kind commits an offence and is liable to a conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years. equally so, an academic institution wherein, it’s proprietor, proxy, and/or board members offer a qualification or part qualification when the institution is not accredited by the Tertiary Education Commission, or; A foreign Academic Institution, its proprietor, proxy, and/or board members (local and/or international or merger institution- offering qualifications, falsely claiming to be registered and/or accredited as an educational institution to serve that purpose from its home country and by the Tertiary Education Commission of Sierra Leone, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or to a fine of Five Hundred Thousand (NLe 500,000).
The new legislation also notes that a Tertiary and Higher Educational Institution that knowingly fails to comply with instructions, disciplinary actions, and/or advice from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and/or fails to renew registration after two months of the expiration of its previous registration, Commits an offence and is liable to a fine of One Hundred Thousand (NLe 100,000) Provided that, the offence involves: (a) Operating an institution after being rejected and informed by the Tertiary Education Commission to wait after two years to re-apply for accreditation; (b) Obstructing a person authorized by the Tertiary Education Commission to take information; (c) Making a false declaration in an application for accreditation; (d) Failing to renew registration and continuing to operate after two months of the expiration of the previous registration, commits an offence and is liable to a fine of Two Hundred Thousand Leones (NlLe 200,000) New Leones and shall cease its operation for the next 5 years and or both.
“An Employing Institution who knowingly fails to vet an academic qualification and subsequently offers a job opportunity or compensation, reward, promotion, and any other related advantage, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years and/or to a fine of One Hundred Thousand (NLe 100,000) New Leones and or both”, it concludes.