When a little education is a dangerous thing.

(From Irish Independent)

'Psst, wanna buy a good degree . . . going cheap?" If you want a "prosperous future, increased earning power, more money and the respect of all" it's only a phone call and a small outlay away.

You don't have to worry about 'entry points' or any of that academic nonsense as your life experiences are good enough and no one is turned away. One reassuring website saysthat there are no required tests, classes, books, or interviews and that you can get a"Bachelors, Masters, MBA, and Doctorate (PhD) diploma".

All you need is a fistful of dollars to get a degree from this particular website, but in turn it promises that you will receive the "benefits and admiration that comes with a diploma".

However, moves are afoot internationally that will make life more difficult for the operators of bogus institutions and not before time. You would be surprised at how often people get away with bogus degrees from real institutions and real-looking degrees from bogusinstitutions.

UCD was forced to amend its vetting procedures after a fast-talking American, Gary Santry, secured a senior post in the Smurfit School of Business having falsified hisqualifications. And it's not so long ago that a health board had to sack one of its mostpopular immigrant doctors whose qualifications turned out not to be the real thing.

One website, www.diplomaservices.com promises you a high-quality novelty fake diploma within 10 days for $185, adding, however, that these are "not intended to bepresented as legitimately earned documents". But every now and then people do precisely that. Last year, for instance, it was reported in the US that a senior official at theDepartment of Homeland Security bought her degrees in computing science from adiploma-fabrication plant.