Thousands of teachers earn 'fake' diplomas

At least 12,000 teachers in Hubei province feel cheated as the diplomas they gained from a local normal college are recognized only within the province, and not nationwide.

Li Ping (not a real name), a teacher from Yichang, Central China's Hubei province, got a teaching job in Shenzhen in May. But Li lost her position recently because the employer found that her bachelor's degree could not be verified on www.chsi.com.cn, the sole website designated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for higher education diploma inquiries, People's Daily reported yesterday.

In an effort to protest, Li brought her diploma to the China Higher-Education Student Information and Career Center affiliated with MOE. But the diploma still did not pass MOE's verification, with officials telling her that the Hubei College of Education that awarded her the diploma was not qualified to offer the online diploma program Li took from 2000 to 2002.