‘It’s Different in Medicine’: Iraq’s Fake Degree Crisis Puts Patients in Peril Officials and experts say thousands of unqualified practitioners have entered hospitals and clinics, fueling medical errors and preventable deaths as enforcement lags By Hudhaifa Ebrahim/The Media Line Iraq faces an epidemic of forged academic degrees that is eroding the country’s economic, political, and […]
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The Media Line: ‘It’s Different in Medicine’: Iraq’s Fake Degree Crisis Puts Patients in Peril
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‘It’s Different in Medicine’: Iraq’s Fake Degree Crisis Puts Patients in Peril
Officials and experts say thousands of unqualified practitioners have entered hospitals and clinics, fueling medical errors and preventable deaths as enforcement lags
By Hudhaifa Ebrahim/The Media Line
Iraq faces an epidemic of forged academic degrees that is eroding the country’s economic, political, and social foundations. Fake diplomas—purchased through bribery, corruption, or other fraudulent means—are easy to obtain both in Iraq and abroad, with consequences reaching from hospital wards to the highest levels of government.
One of the most alarming trends is the spread of fake medical and health-related degrees. Thousands of unqualified or underqualified individuals have entered Iraq’s health care system, driving an upsurge in medical errors and preventable deaths in both public and private hospitals.
“I estimate that these individuals make up at least 30% of doctors in Iraq,” Dr. Mahdi Mohammed, a former member of the Iraqi Medical Association, told The Media Line. He noted that many studied in countries known for diploma mills, and even some who attended private universities in Iraq paid their way through without meeting professional standards.
“It’s different in medicine,” said Mohammed. “Even if they studied, their lack of real qualification often leads to severe harm, including permanent disabilities and even death.”
Problems are especially acute in lucrative specialties such as cosmetic surgery and dentistry, where unconfirmed reports suggest malpractice has become rampant.
The crisis extends well beyond health care. Many senior politicians and public officials are also believed to have obtained their degrees fraudulently.
Sadiq T., an employee at Iraq’s Ministry of Planning, told The Media Line that more than half of Iraq’s ministers, directors, and politicians likely hold fake degrees. “We all know about them, but no one dares touch them,” he said.
Not every forged credential is about career advancement; some Iraqis seek academic titles for social prestige. “I only wanted the title—to be seen as someone with a university degree,” businessman Rafid Khalaf told The Media Line. “Despite being a successful businessman, being seen as a degree holder elevated my status. No one questions whether I got my bachelor’s in three years or my master’s in two.”
The trade in fake credentials has become a growth industry at home and abroad. Lebanon is a hotspot, with master’s degrees reportedly available for $5,000 to $15,000 and Ph.D.s for $10,000 to $20,000. In 2023, Iraqi authorities uncovered more than 27,000 fraudulent degrees from Lebanese institutions, prompting a temporary suspension of recognition for degrees awarded there.
Dozens of Iraqi private universities—often aligned with political parties or powerful families—are said to sell degrees with impunity, bypassing the academic and legal standards required of public universities.
Amjad Hussein, now an academic at an Iraqi university, candidly recounted his path to a doctorate in computer science from a Lebanese institution. “I earned my bachelor’s degree in Iraq but couldn’t secure a job. I went to Lebanon and enrolled in a university. During my studies, a professor offered me a master’s thesis for $5,000,” he told The Media Line. “I accepted the offer. He gave me the thesis, and I paid a specialized center $500 to summarize and present it. Later, the professor told me exactly what questions the defense committee would ask and what answers they wanted,” he explained.
Hussein said he then enrolled in a Ph.D. program and bought his dissertation for $10,000 from a professor who even provided the questions he would face at his defense.
In 2020, Iraq’s parliament passed a degree-recognition law that allowed many buyers of forged credentials to avoid punishment. Under the statute, officials and public employees are not held accountable for the authenticity of their degrees, and no action is taken against them on that basis.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Rubaie, a retired Iraqi academic, warned, “Fake degrees are a serious threat to the state’s credibility and undermine public trust in its institutions. When the government turns a blind eye to such practices, it exposes severe weaknesses in the legal and educational systems, as well as widespread administrative corruption, all of which threaten long-term stability and security.”
“These forged credentials heavily damage the country’s international reputation. Academic collaboration and knowledge exchange become threatened, leading to the isolation of Iraqi academia. In this sense, fake degrees are a ticking time bomb that hinders the nation’s progress and threatens its future,” he told The Media Line.
Dr. Hadi Alawi, a former official at Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education, told The Media Line that the trade in fake degrees is deeply rooted and costs the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually. “It’s destroying Iraq’s entire educational system. It gives positions to unqualified people and undermines academic integrity. If a serious investigation were launched into all degrees issued since 2003, more than half could be invalidated. The state is now stuck trying to find jobs for people whose qualifications are not even real,” he commented.
The surge in fake academic degrees is shredding Iraq’s civic fabric, endangering public health, and corroding trust in government and other institutions. Without a national campaign to confront the trade, the crisis will deepen.