Dr.? Can I See Proof of That?
An interesting post from Saudi Arabia, where like anywhere else title of Dr gets an additional dose of prestige.
Is there a lesson for India where every alternate charlatan, palmist by the roadside, politician and quack calls himself a Doctor or a Professor?
Arab News
JEDDAH, 1 June 2008 — Titles are important in Saudi Arabia. It seems that in many cases to be taken seriously, one’s name must be precluded with “Dr.” or “Eng.” So it’s no surprise that some people in the Kingdom might be taking liberties with their academic backgrounds in order to get ahead professionally.
Al-Watan newspaper reported recently that the Ministry of Education has issued a circular warning ministry employees not to use professional titles unless they have been earned — and by “earned” the ministry doesn’t mean buying a diploma from some sketchy, unaccredited institution.
The circular was issued after the ministry found that four directors, six department heads and 50 educational supervisors were claiming the “Dr.” title unjustifiably. People who use titles they didn’t earn are an insult to those who actually worked hard for their diplomas.
Certainly those that spent years in college studying hard would like to see all government departments cracking down on the use of the title “Dr.” by frauds.
Until then, the next time somebody tells you he (or she) is a “Dr.”, perhaps you should ask to see a copy of his or her Ph.D.
