At launch of campaign to combat fake certificates: CONAC boss urges students to adopt integrity as fundamental value.

The ceremony, presided over by CONAC boss, took place on October 22, 2024, on the campus of the University of Yaounde I. Present during the launch was the Rector of the University of Yaounde I, Prof Remy Magloire Dieudonne Etoua, lecturers and some students of the university and integrity club members.

The campaign, under the theme: “Fake certificates are a disgrace: genuine documents uplift. Choose the path of hard work and integrity”, is expected to run from October 22 to November 3, 2024.

The launching of the campaign comes after fake birth certificates were discovered during recruitments into the National Gendarmerie. 

It is aimed at ensuring a corruption-free 2024/2025 academic year, through awareness-raising signboards installed in 86 universities across the country.

It was also disclosed that the CONAC messages against fake certificates will be displayed on 150 billboards on university campuses across the country, as an opportunity to remind students of the dangers of forged documents, and how it can affect their lives and future careers. 

CONAC urges varsity authorities to collaborate 

Rev Dr Massi Gams used the opportunity to call on all university authorities to collaborate with the CONAC teams in the field to ensure the success of the campaign, which seeks to arouse the consciences of young people with regard to their own future and the future of Cameroon. 

“…fake diplomas are not only those produced in the Bonamoussadi offices, but also what we might call real fake diplomas like those obtained through the sale of grades, cheating, Sexually Transmitted Marks etc,” CONAC told officials at the event. 

Rev Dr Massi Gams said such practices “are to be condemned and denounced with the utmost energy, in order to banish them from the national graduation system”.

He told students that they will never be proud to hold a degree they didn't earn properly, warning that “your conscience will judge you, and you'll find yourself lacking in your work life”. 

Rev Dr Massi Gams urged students to adopt the good idea to cultivate the value of work as the only way of getting their diplomas and ensuring their chances of entering the job market. 

“Never stop working. Don't take the easy way out. Denounce false diplomas, secure your future,” he told them, adding that the Head of State counts on them as the country’s future leaders. 

Rev Dr Massi Gams thanked the Rector of Yaounde I University for facilitating the ceremony to officially launch the countrywide campaign.

“Today's mobilisation and the various interactions we had prior to this ceremony testify to your firm commitment to support, at your level, the fight against corruption, a battle dear to the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya,” Rev Dr Massi  

Statistics on fake certificates 

The CONAC boss disclosed that over the last few years, checks on the documents of candidates for the various public and private sector recruitment processes have uncovered several cases of false certificates. 

“The most striking example is the detection of 1,312 fake birth certificates in the recruitment process for young Gendarmes and Soldiers for the 2024 fiscal year. This situation clearly indicates that young people tend to be gangrened by forgery and the use of forgeries, offences similar to corruption,” he regretted. 

Enter Y’de I varsity Rector 

Speaking at the ceremony, the Rector of the University of Yaounde I, Prof Etoua, expressed gratitude to CONAC for choosing the institution he heads, for the launching of the campaign.

Promising to continue the fight against corruption, he said “from here, the university will enable and make sure students are educated and informed every day on the real consequences of fake certificates”.

He called on the students to uphold integrity and always do the right thing, even when no one is watching them. 

Students express support to CONAC campaign 

Meanwhile, the students who lived the launching pledged their support to the campaign.

A member of the University of Yaounde I Integrity Club, Brenda Njijuh, said though the fight against corruption in the university milieu is a difficult fight to combat, they are ready to federate forces with CONAC to curb the scourge. 

“We will move around the campus to sensitise our mates on the dangers of fake certificates. With the support of the Rector, we will make sure all the students are aware,” Njijuh promised. 

Another student from the Integrity Club, Shu Peter, said they will carry out private sensitisations by calling on the students to report any form of malpractice to bureau members.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3269 of Thursday October 24, 2024