Indian Guyanese and Indo Trinidadians and West Indians in general are awed, obsessed and possessed with ‘doctor politics’ and doctor title, the concept that those with “Dr” in front a name carries knowledge and expertise in a subject and accorded respect and prestige by others. The ‘doctor’ is treated with reverence. The public is enamored by the title as though the holder possesses God like qualities. People tend to be awe-struck with those who are referred to as ‘doctor’, seeing them as brilliant even if not. Some mistakenly believe that ‘doctor’ equals medical or dentistry. Some local Guyanese came to me for medical advice; I am not a medical doctor.
The laudable recognition of ‘doctors’ by the public leads to some Guyanese and Trinis pursuing doctorate, earning it through real studies or buying it or simply giving themselves the title. Some use the ‘doctorate’ title fraudulently when they did not earn a doctorate from studies, or when not accorded the honor for achievements, and they carry the title for sinister objective to deceive and fool a gullible public. Some are good at deceiving the public knowing that the public respects ‘doctor’.
There are several Indian Guyanese, Trinis, other West Indians with questionable credentials in government. Some are also diplomats and educators. They fool the public that they have ‘doctorates’ when all they have is a degree from ‘a university without walls’, meaning a fake degree. They bought the degree. They didn’t pursue a course of studies in a subject to earn it from an accredited university the way some of us did like Randy Persaud, Tara Singh, Shamir Ally, myself, among others.
People like me, as an illustration, pursued PhD for a skill to make a meaningful contribution to society or to earn an honest living as I did as an educator, writer, pollster. Some are not interested in a real degree program to make a contribution in a chosen field of studies. A PhD is an expensive undertaking— tuition and purchase of books — and as such avoided if one lacks resources. Government should offer scholarships to youngsters to pursue doctorate especially in STEM subjects in a real university setting. They can sign a contract to serve the nation. Government shouldn’t embrace those who have fake degrees as it sets a terrible precedent and encourages some to purchase paper degrees.
Anyone can be conferred the title doctor if successfully pursue a course of study at an accredited university. It is a title earned from a course of academic studies (like Biology or History or Engineering or some other subject) or conferred because of lifetime achievements for contributions towards society. The latter is called an honorary doctorate conferred by an accredited university on selected well known figures like Bharrat Jagdeo, Vishnu Bandhu, Yesu Persaud, among others; they earned their title from service. The public tends to show deference for those with doctorates regardless if earned from academia or honorary.
The public is supportive of and admire those with the title of doctor and tends to gravitate towards them in politics or community affairs or other aspects of life as they did towards Cheddi Jagan, Eric Williams, etc. But having a doctorate does not make someone smarter or better than those without it. Not everyone with the doctor title is actually a doctor (medical, technical, science, academic, etc). There are fraudsters who call themselves doctor to impress or deceive the public. There are some who buy the title, as separate from those who studied a particular academic subject at graduate school at a recognized accredited university. There are some who have been conferred honorary doctorates for lifetime achievement and deservingly so; among the latter are Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Dr Yesu Persaud, Dr Vishnu Bandhu, etc. Among those who studied for a doctorate are Tarron Khemraj, Ashni Singh, Irfaan Ali (President), David Dabydeen, Ramesh Gampat, Clive Thomas, Omowale, Tara Singh, Somdat Mohabir, Ganga Ramdass, Gary Girdharie, Kumar Mahabir, Lomarsh Roopnarine, Leslie Ramsammy, Swami Aksharananda, Baytoram Ramharack, Paloma Mohamed, myself, and so many others. Then there are the medical or dental doctors like Bobbie Ramroop, Clive Jagan, Reyad Rahman, etc. There are also divinity doctors — granted a doctorate in bible studies. And some have doctorate in Education EdD) like Seera Shah. Then there are what are known as the ‘kak’ doctors who purchased degrees at universities without walls. They didn’t pursue a course of study. They paid for a diploma of several thousand American dollars from a diploma mill with a university name. You pay for degree and it is mailed to you within days of receipt of the money. There is no study involved. The recipients have not mastered a field of studies or subject matter. It does not mean that those who purchased degrees are not talented or that they lack abilities and skills. Some are very bright, very articulate, and skillful and have ability to pursue a course of study for a PhD. I know of ‘kak’ degree holders who write extremely well and or own or managed successful businesses. Some also do well at government offices. Why they purchase a fake degree is inexplicable. A purchased diploma is not recognized and is not meant for use for hiring purposes or to teach although some gullible businesses may unknowingly accept such a diploma for hiring and promotion.
There are several Guyanese who have ‘kak’ doctorates. Some use it to fool a gullible public. But after being exposed, they stopped using it because of embarrassment.
Not every university is accredited to grant PhD. The university in Guyana is not accredited to award a doctorate except for UG medical school. Private universities in Guyana are known to issue degrees, including medical degrees and PhD that are not recognized in many places. Some are linked to other online universities awarding degrees. They don’t have a course of study. Universities in America and many other countries tend not to accept them for admission into higher degree programs.
There are students who pursue on line degree course of study for undergraduate, graduate studies (including PgD). But these degrees are not taken seriously by other regular reputable academic colleges although the degree is recognized. Many Guyanese, as a result of Covid, have been enrolled in online courses offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. Some Indian universities are offering scholarships on line for a degree course of study. Online courses don’t provide the same level of discipline and knowledge as in person education.
Those with a genuine (academic) doctorate tend to purse a lengthy course of study that takes minimum seven years full time and many more years part time. I studied full time as did several others like Ramharack, Khemraj, Ramsammy, Mohabir, Mahabir, etc. In my case, I did multiple doctorates. In the USA, one gains admission into a doctoral program after completion of an accredited undergraduate (Bachelor’s degree) in a chosen subject of specialization. Some universities require admission and completion of a Master’s Degree before acceptance into the doctoral program for the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) as was the case with me and so many other Guyanese. The undergraduate degree is four years full time course of study with specialization in a subject; in my case, it was Bio-Chemistry. The Masters is minimum one year full time plus a written comprehensive exam and a thesis — that could take up to another year. The MA program is ten courses. And the PhD is minimum two years full time plus two written comprehensive exams, two oral exams, a lengthy (of some 300 pages) dissertation. The PhD requires reading over a dozen books in a course and one has to take ten courses. Some dissertations are known to be up to 500 pages. And a defense of the dissertation is mandatory, called a viva. The dissertation is not a term paper; a fifty page paper is not a thesis or dissertation. A dissertation must be on a new, original concept not previously studied. There is a methodology that must be followed in research and writing. Students are known to fail the dissertation — in the writing, or research, or oral presentation. They are questioned about it. The student body is invited to the defense and can ask questions. The faculty team of minimum three examiners and an outside campus examiner decides on pass or fail and whether to recommend granting the PhD. The faculty could require revision of the dissertation and re-examination.
To pursue a degree in the USA, students take courses with each worth a number of fixed credits. If they pass the course, with grades A thru D, credits are awarded. One course is three or four credits; D is a bare pass and too many Ds lead to expulsion from the university. An overall C grade is needed for an undergraduate degree. A total of 128 to 132 credits (some 32 in a specific subject) are required for a Bachelor degree. (Some forty courses are needed for a BA degree, some ten of which must be in a specialized subject like Economics or politics or Chemistry, etc). I completed my degree with 172 credits, 40 in excess. And additional 30 credits or ten courses are required for the MA and 60 credits or 20 courses for the PhD (MA credits included if in same subject). The minimum acceptable grade for MA and PhD is B.
Pursuing a degree is hard work and brings satisfaction upon completion. Those with fake degrees or didn’t go through the process cannot appreciate the sacrifices made by accredited degree holders. Guyanese, Trinis, and others should desist from pursuing ‘kak’ or fake degrees as it does not lead to meaningful learning or acquisition of technical and academic skills. They should pursue meaningful education. Governments should encourage youngsters to pursue education with a commitment to serving nation.