Thousands of Indians looking for work in the UAE are breathing a little easier today. A New Delhi department will start accepting education certificates for attestation from agencies by next week, agents said.
The Human Resources Department stopped accepting education documents on September 24, creating a huge backlog here and putting the job prospects of many expatriates in jeopardy.
The consulate had written to the Department and the External Affairs Ministry, explaining the situation. "We requested them to try and ease the problem," said K. Ashokan, Vice Consul, Attestations.
The department had taken the step as it found a large number of fake degrees and diplomas were being submitted by agents.
Sunita Baji of the Reliance group here said she challenges anyone to find an agent in Dubai who deals with fake certificates.
"The certificates go through various checks," she said. "Our office staff can catch even the 0.1 per cent of the fakes that get through," she said. Another agent said most of the fake degrees and diplomas seem to be originating from Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Another agent said he knows of people who have been sent to jail for making fake certificates.
The UAE requires documents to go through stringent checks back in India.
One document has to pass through the Indian Ministry of Education, Human Resources Department, External Affairs Ministry, UAE Embassy and the Foreign Affairs Ministry here.
The consulate processes about 70 education documents every day.
Ashokan said the ban on agents did not apply to close relatives of expatriate applicants who could still submit the documents on behalf of a brother or sister.
"One teacher was literally crying," Baji said. "Her brother spent 30 days in Delhi. He had got the B.Ed certificate attested. Then the school also wanted her BA degree authenticated. She was ready to pay me Dh2,000," she said.
One agent said agencies are needed because not many job applicants have blood relatives back home.
V.S. Badruddin, managing director of Helpline group, said his firm has a backlog of more than 1,500 certificates.
He said his agents in Delhi have seen the notice at the department that says it will resume attestations by November 1.
Rajesh Nair of Wafa Document Clearing said he has returned nearly 400 certificates. "Job seekers are desperate. It is very difficult getting a job in the first place," he said.
There is no problem with marriage and birth certificates, he said. "These are easily attested in Mumbai."
There are more than 15 agencies in the UAE that deal with attestation of education certificates. The attestation fee is Dh500 to Dh600.
Announcement- Human Resources Department stopped accepting education documents from agencies on September 24.
- The move has created a huge backlog and put the job prospects of many Indian expatriates in jeopardy.
- The consulate had written to the Department and the External Affairs Ministry, explaining the situation.
- Vice Consul, Attestations, said the ban on agents did not apply to close relatives of expatriate applicants who could still submit the documents on behalf of a brother or sister.
- New Delhi, according to agents, will start accepting documents for attestation from November 1.
Gulf News
