By James McAllister

IT is a fact, Irfaan Ali is a clear and present danger to the young people of Guyana. It is a fact, Irfaan Ali could create a barrier for young professionals, and current and future students of the University of Guyana. It is a fact, if Irfaan Ali becomes President, instantly and automatically the future of our young people will be in peril.
Irfaan Ali is currently embroiled in a controversy about his degrees. Irfaan Ali claims to have a PhD. He claims to have a Master’s Degree. He alleges that he has a bachelor’s degree, but these are all mysteries.

I met Irfaan Ali when he was serving as clerk to the Depressed Communities Committee that was appointed by PNCR Leader Desmond Hoyte, and then President Janet Jagan. The committee functioned out of the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry assigned Irfaan Ali as a liaison to the committee. At that time Irfaan Ali presented himself as the holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Guyana. According to him, he was not just holding a degree, he graduated at the top of his class with a 4.0 GPA. He could not stop talking about his academic achievements.

It now appears 20 years later, Irfaan Ali has forgotten his perfect degree. He now has a perfect degree from the University of Uitvlugt. The only difference is, the University of Uitvlugt does not exist. It is fraud to claim to have a degree from a non-existent university, and this is what imperils the future of young Guyanese.

At the moment, graduates from academic institutions in Guyana who wish to pursue studies at a university in the United States, must submit their degrees to the World Education Services (WES), or a similar evaluation agency. WES then sends to the institution in Guyana for verification in the form of a detailed transcript. WES relies on the integrity of the institutions in Guyana to confirm the validity of the degrees presented by Guyanese students. But what if something happens that causes WES to question the integrity of Guyanese institutions?

What if Irfaan Ali were to become president? How would the fact that a President who is facing 19 credible fraud charges affect the integrity of our institutions? What reputational damage would be done to our institutions by having a president who is alleged to have committed academic fraud.

The Guyana National Accreditation Board has never accredited a university at Uitvlugt. Further, there is no physical entity with the name, University of Uitvlugt. If Irfaan Ali presented a degree from the University of Uitvlugt as a basis for admission into a post-graduate programme, he committed academic fraud.

According to WES, “Fraud and corruption in education exist in various forms beyond contract-cheating. Its global manifestations include diploma mills and the counterfeiting of academic documents, as well as bribery to ensure the licensing of academic institutions, the hiring of academic staff, the passing of examinations, admission into education programmes and the award of degrees.” Irfaan Ali is guilty on many fronts. In addition to obtaining his degree from a paper mill, he is alleged to have been involved in contract-cheating. This is when the student contracts someone to do his/her course work, or contracts someone to impersonate him/her to take an exam.

Preventing Irfaan Ali from becoming president will be protecting our institutions from reputational damage. It will be preventing a man with a reputation for breaking the law from being placed in charge of overseeing the application of the rule of law. A law-breaker and academic fraudster as president could do irreparable harm to our institutions.

The International Center for Academic Integrity is presently combating what appears to be an upsurge in academic fraud across the world. Accreditation was withdrawn from a number of universities. Several hundred students were ejected from universities. Several countries were flagged, because they failed to adequately address academic fraud.

A number of politicians were exposed. In 2011, German Defence Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenburg, then widely seen as the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, was forced to resign after being exposed as an academic fraudster. In 2015, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta was forced to resign after being accused of academic fraud and other corrupt activities. In Guttenburg’s case, he confessed and resigned. Ponta, on the other hand, had to be forced out.

The International Center for Academic Integrity, and other institutions, are monitoring how countries address academic fraud by politicians and business leaders. The world is watching to see how the Guyanese people deal with the alleged academic fraud by Irfaan Ali. It could very well determine if our students could present degrees obtained in Guyana as a basis of admission to international universities.

All students and young professionals should band together to reject Irfaan Ali. He is a clear and present danger to their future. A vote against Irfaan Ali would be a vote to protect the future of our young people.