Education Ministry scraps fees to authenticate degree certificates

Professors pose for a group photo with graduates at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, July 13, 2016. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Starting on Monday, Chinese university students will no longer need to pay to officially authenticate their graduation and degree certificates, saving them almost 400 yuan ($60).

In China, colleges issue all graduates with graduation certificates to prove they were enrolled, whether they pass their course or not, while degree certificates are reserved only for those who achieve a qualification.

To prevent job candidates passing forgeries, since 2002 the Ministry of Education has offered an authentication service, which many prospective employers still require graduates go through.

According to information on their official websites, the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center charges 95 yuan for a “verification report” on a graduation certificate, while the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center charges 260 yuan to verify degree certificates.

However, the Education Ministry, which oversees both centers, said on Wednesday that the fees will be scrapped from July 1.

The authority did not mention whether fees for authenticating college transcripts (360 yuan) or providing English translations of verification reports for degree certificates (150 yuan) and transcripts (300 yuan) would also be scrapped.