Clerical error by university almost ruins Bahraini man's life

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A Bahraini man’s life was almost ruined when a university from where he supposedly earned his degree told the Education Ministry that he did not exist in their records and that his degree is fake.

Believing this, a Bahrain court then awarded the 30-year-old a six-month jail term on charges of forging degree certificates, rendering him the shock of his life. However, the man stood his ground and fought before the court to prove innocence.

Further investigation proved that the real culprit was a clerical mistake by the university. His ordeal started with the man approaching the Ministry of Education to attest his degree certificate.

Following usual procedures, the ministry got in touch with the university to confirm the man’s degree.

The university, however, after checking their records, concluded that the certificates were fake. They also told the ministry that he never joined their classes. Based on the report, the ministry pressed charges against the man for forgery and fraud, with the public prosecution putting him on trial before a competent court.

However, the man stood his ground and approached the university to recheck the records. Further investigation resulted in spotting the error in the entries and proved that man had graduated from there.

The university then recommunicated with the ministry to admit its error, leading to his acquittal by the High Criminal Court. The defendant, according to records, joined the university in 2011 and graduated in 2015 with a BSc degree in mechanical engineering