Rabat – The Ministry of Higher Education has announced a central inspection commission, dispatching it to the Ibn Zohr University in Agadir to investigate a diploma trafficking controversy that made headlines recently in the country.
According to Moroccan news outlet Le360, the ministry deployed the commission on Wednesday to audit the entire process of diploma issuance.
The new development came after converging reports indicated last week that the Marrakech Appeal Court had ordered the arrest of a university professor in Agadir.
This came following an investigation into the professor’s involvement in a master’s degree trafficking scandal.
According to reports, the arrest order came after allegations that the professor was selling university diplomas and certificates for money.
Several other suspects are reportedly involved and were questioned about the case.
Ahmed Kailech, also a law professor, is reported to have been at the heart of the case as he served as the coordinator of the master’s program in Penal System and Security Governance.
An individual who had been sentenced to five years in prison for purchasing his diploma uncovered the involvement of the professor.
Investigators notably “questioned the dean, several faculty members, and administrative staff… to uncover any irregularities in the recruitment and evaluation processes,” Le360 reported, noting that while the inquiry focuses on the law faculty, the commission has not ruled out expanding the probe into other departments within the university.
Several previous reports have highlighted similar crimes.
In 2017, a report by the newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum quoted a draft report by the court of auditors as indicating that three Moroccan universities were linked to a diploma trafficking scheme in 2016 in the cities of Rabat, Tangier, Tetouan, and Settat.
