Russians have learned to "issue" fake diplomas in the Czech Republic
As reported by Radio Free Europe, the Jan Hus People's Academy (NAYAG) and the International Center of Modern Education (ICME) have nothing in common with accredited educational institutions in the Czech Republic that have the right to organize state exams, offer training for obtaining academic degrees of "bachelor" and "master," and issue diplomas of higher education. "None of these organizations have fulfilled the registration conditions, that is, they do not have a Czech permit to issue documents on obtaining higher education in the Czech Republic," said Aneta Lednova, a representative of the Czech Ministry of Education, in an interview with the newspaper Hospodářské noviny.
At the same time, on the pages of the two educational institutions, applicants are offered to "enroll in ICME for bachelor's, master's, or courses at any of the presented educational institutions and study in the very center of Prague in Russian." This refers to full-time study, the cost of which is 25 thousand crowns per semester (approximately 1 thousand euros).
In a video posted online, ICME director Lyudmila Rzhevskaya, a graduate of the Ussuri Pedagogical University, claims that this is about "quality European education," and "all programs are accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, and for those who want to come to us, we provide visa support."
In the section of documents allowing educational activities, the website publishes a photo of confirmation of registration as a private entrepreneur. No other documents, including accreditation from the Ministry of Education, are on the pages of the educational institution.
In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Lyudmila Rzhevskaya stated that she "does not issue diplomas on behalf of ICME, but on behalf of other universities," which, according to her, have academic accreditation. This refers to "universities in Russia, Moldova, and Ukraine." In photographs published on the website of the educational institution, there are graduates of the academy with bachelor's diplomas printed with ICME and the college "International School of Business" signed by Lyudmila Rzhevskaya as rector (though it is unclear of which educational institution). Rzhevskaya said that she is also the founder of the Moldovan college "International School of Business," which, according to her, received accreditation from the Ministry of Education of Moldova.
On the website of the Jan Hus Academy and the International Center of Modern Education, also founded by her, it is stated that these educational institutions cooperate with the Moscow International Slavic Institute, which is an "autonomous educational organization of higher education," but does not have accredited training programs from the Ministry of Education of Russia that allow obtaining an academic degree of bachelor or master. Moreover, as a document confirming accreditation for training bachelors of management in the Czech Republic, a document in Czech on the nostrification of one of the graduates' diplomas is published. This document is apparently deliberately not translated into Russian. It does not allow the use of the academic title obtained in Russia, but only confirms that the list of lectures attended corresponds to the same list in other Czech universities.
The "diplomas" that Rzhevskaya issues to students in Prague are written in Czech and Russian with grammatical errors. For example, the English word "college" is written as "collage."
"Founding a company and providing educational services is not a violation of the law," says Roman Maca, an analyst at the Prague Institute of Politics and Public Affairs. "A private company can offer courses and even obtain permission for this activity from the Ministry of Education. But it is about retraining, for example, training in welding or gardening. Upon completion of such training, a certificate is issued. It, like the training program, must meet certain criteria, but obtaining permission for such activity is not so difficult. In the case of higher education, it is a much more labor-intensive accreditation process."
Lyudmila Rzhevskaya, who calls herself rector, is the sole owner of the LLC "International Center of Modern Education," which, according to the website and the issued permit, offers language courses and retraining courses. This company is the founder of the LLC "Jan Hus National Academy," owned by six Russian citizens, which illegally offers higher education.
"The diploma issued by this company is written in Czech, and at first glance it seems that it is a document valid in the Czech Republic. But it is not. Genuine diplomas are issued by a higher education institution that has received accreditation for an approved training program. What such a diploma looks like is also prescribed by law. It must have the state symbol of the Czech Republic and a specific number," says Roman Maca. "What the Jan Hus Academy issues is a piece of paper that each of us can write at home. The law does not prohibit organizations from issuing a piece of paper that says 'bachelor's diploma.' This is primarily a problem for students who paid for education hoping to get a document valid in the Czech Republic. That is, it may be fraud."
Roman Maca believes that, most likely, the "educational institution" was founded in the Czech Republic by Russians not only to enrich themselves from those wishing to obtain a Czech diploma, but also to solve visa problems for foreigners, as students have the legal right to stay in the country for a long time:
– For them, this is an opportunity to get a visa cheaply, that is, a basis for legal stay, by paying two thousand euros a year for tuition. Getting a work visa is much more difficult for a foreigner. A student visa allows you to work, and attending lectures is not mandatory in this case. I think that for such educational institutions, the ideal student is one who simply pays money and is not particularly interested in studying.
– The academy's website says that instruction is in Russian. Is it legal to teach in a foreign language in the Czech Republic in the case of educational programs accredited by the ministry?
– It seems to me that if a person wants to get a good education in the Czech Republic, he cannot study in Russian. What is the point of traveling, for example, from Murmansk to study in Prague in Russian? But it should be noted that such educational institutions use certain vocabulary, words like “national,” “international,” and names of historical figures to gain trust. If you look at the commercial register, it turns out that the Jan Hus Academy is the brainchild of people from the former USSR. It turns out to be a state within a state.
According to the Czech Ministry of Education, in the case of the Jan Hus Academy, this is already the sixth educational institution that illegally offers higher education in the Czech Republic. The ministry refused to list all educational institutions that violated the law.