YÖK issues warning regarding 'diploma forgery'

The Council of Higher Education issued a written statement regarding the "diploma forgery" issue that has appeared in some media outlets.

The statement included the following: "The Council of Higher Education meticulously investigates all kinds of allegations and reports regarding diploma and equivalency forgery and, in cases it deems necessary, reports said forgeries to judicial and administrative authorities for the initiation of legal proceedings."

The statement, which provided information that "instructions have been given to the Presidency of the Higher Education Supervisory Board to investigate every claim regarding the issues brought to the agenda in the finest detail, and administrative and disciplinary penalties are applied when necessary based on the findings," also noted that judicial authorities are informed about forgeries that have been identified, as they constitute criminal cases.

The statement further noted that YÖK, which ensures that the information of students graduating from higher education institutions is transferred to YÖKSİS to prevent potential forgeries, provides all institutions and organizations with the opportunity to verify documents via the e-Government portal (Higher Education Graduate Document Verification), and that QR-coded e-Equivalency documents issued by the Council can also be verified through the "equivalency inquiry" screen in YÖKSİS.