In the time past, of all the socio-intellectual vocations, three commanded the zenith of public respect. These are
- Religious priesthood;
- Judicial office; and
- Doctor of Philosophy degree.
The personality reverence of the individuals attached to these three vocations was that of honor.
They were regarded as bastions of honor, for they were not only able to demonstrate ideas and culture of integrity, they were able to think, speak, and act purposefully and constructively, distinguished from what many others would do.
But today, one may offer a more cynical diagnosis and authoritatively call these accolades ” fake” or ” scam.”
The word fake has often been ascribed to falsehood, or forgery, or ” degree mills.” But in actuality, and following exponential reality, the meaning is more fitting to a process that is a scam, as it has extended in scope beyond forged certificates.
While the lexicon of “falsity” often evokes images of clandestine Degree Mills or forged credentials, the contemporary reality is that a true “scam” manifests when an individual —having legitimately and evidently traversed the halls of a well known university and proven to have graduated, or ascended the bench, or received religious ordination as a priest — retains the nomenclature of their qualifications title and office, merely for prestige, but is acting as a menace to the society and his vocation. That is in real sense, a scam.
Unlike in the past, today we are witnessing a global proliferation of men and women as title-holders, who often brag about their professional and academic qualifications, but who have lost touch with the titles of which they represent. They have nothing of productivity to offer the world other than the hollow resonance of the title attached to their qualifications and appointments.
We encounter judges who were elevated to the bench through the rot of nepotism, possessing neither the procedural acumen nor intellectual prowess and philosophical depth required of a jurist.
We find priests who remain strangers to the very ethical foundations and knowledge of morality they profess to guard.
I did a little research on ‘’ PhD mills ‘’ and found that what people look at as degree mill is not even much the problem. After all, it is not that easy to forge certificates without being caught. Such fraud rarely survive the scrutiny of international arena, if at all it can ever escape it.
The actual and genuine crisis lies in the statistical inversion of competence.
What is really fake — real scam, is that the number of PhDs holders who earn it by decency, I mean academically competent — by rigorous and original research, are less than holders of PhDs from known accredited universities / institutions who are utterly incapable of defending their PhDs they hold and are so boastful about.
These academic doctors lack the ability and requisite discipline for research, experimental works and preparation to solve the emerging complex problems of the world. They possess the paper validation, yet lack primary and secondary research capabilities and proof of productivity which PhDs represent.
Holders of PhDs in this genre are much more than PhD holders who have demonstrated the ability to do decent, original research and actual work (not merely paper qualifications validation), in their chosen field, and capable of all the secondary and primary level productivity tasks and activities that support research and configuration of technical and policy support systems.
Consequently, if measured by the metric of productivity and ethical fidelity, we must conclude that the PhDs, much like the priesthood and the judicature, has largely transitioned from a mark of excellence into a pervasive social ruse — a scam.
Lest I be misunderstood. My intention is in no way to belittle the sanctity of the doctorate — indeed, while I champion the doctoral path and holding the endeavor in highest regard — currently traversing my second doctoral award in law; while planning the third at the moment, I cannot ignore the troubling horizon.
Therefore, my concern is not with the PhD itself, but with devaluation of productivity and scarcity of problem-solving competence in an era where conferment of advanced degrees worldwide is astronomical, leaving us with a surplus of titles from true and accredited institutions but deficit of true expertise — a tragic, inverse decline in true competence for productivity and utility.
I am persuaded that it’s time the world gives more credit to productivity than paper qualifications and titles, to divert attention from nomenclature to utility for the betterment of humanity.
~Cyprian Edward-Ekpo
