To maintain the integrity and reputation of universities in the Southeast Asian countries, the Malaysian Ministry of Education is turning to blockchain technology in order to combat degree fraud.

University degrees will have an insurance and verification system, which are based on the NEM blockchain. Known as the s-Scroll system, the idea of the blockchain application was shown earlier this year by the Council of ICT Deans of Malaysian universities.

The e-Scroll system is expected to fight the rising cases of fake degrees in Malaysia, some of which are now being distributed online from “diploma mills”. The fake educational certificates not only harm genuine students but also bring pathogens to society especially fields requiring expertise. Imaging that you need healthcare to save your life but the staff has absolutely no idea how to act in a life-or-death situation. This is an understandable major concern.

Realizing the importance to safeguard the reputation and integrity of Malaysian universities, Malaysia’s Ministry of Education spoke in a recent statement that they had taken a decisive action to prevent such degree fraud which also cheats and unfairly disadvantages hard-working students.

Enhancing Efficiency in Verification

At the moment, many requests are being sent to Malaysian universities for verification of educational certificates. The number of requests has not stopped up until now while the verification via email and over the telephone seems inefficient, which may cause a lot of problems for people – especially students. But that problem will cease to exist once the NEM-based e-Scroll system is implemented.

Amongst many new technologies, the NEM blockchain was picked because it possesses unique features with regards to authenticating and managing traceability. A unique QR code will be printed on the certificate and traced by scanning it from any place in the world whenever you want to verify a certificate. The only thing necessary to make this process happen – an internet connection.

Students from the International Islamic University of Malaysia will be the first ones to experiment with the beginning stages of implementing the e-Scroll system once all of their Ph.D degree certifications are embedded on the blockchain.

Blockchain Consortium

At the same time, a blockchain technology consortium that has a membership that is largely drawn from universities in the country has been launched by the Malaysian education ministry. The consortium aims to assist in the training of academics by educating students on blockchain technology. It hopes to develop blockchain applications and to become a revenue generator for the member institutions.

The consortium has six founding member universities, including : International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM)

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