The Japan Times - Wave of fake credentials sparks political fallout in Spain

The controversy began on 21 July when Transport Minister Oscar Puente of the ruling Socialist Party raised questions about the academic record of Noelia Nunez, a lawmaker from the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP).

Nunez, 33, had claimed degrees in law, public administration and English philology but later admitted she had studied the subjects without completing any of the qualifications.

She resigned the following day, saying she had never intended to mislead the public.

Since then, more politicians have come under fire for allegedly misrepresenting their educational backgrounds.

Among them is Juan Manuel Moreno, PP president of the Andalusian regional government, who was accused of falsely claiming a business degree. Pilar Bernabe, the central government’s delegate in Valencia, has been accused of inaccurately stating she held a communications degree.

Puente himself has also come under scrutiny for referring to a master's degree that reports say is of a lower academic level than implied.

On Thursday, Jose Maria Angel, a Socialist official overseeing flood recovery efforts in Valencia, stepped down after it emerged he had used a fake diploma to obtain a public sector job.

On Friday, Ignacio Higuero, a minister in the regional government of Extremadura, resigned after reports revealed he had claimed a marketing degree from a university that did not offer the programme at the time.

The growing scandal has triggered a broader national debate about political integrity and the need for verified academic qualifications for public officials.

“In Spain, we continue to suffer from a chronic ailment: titulitis, that obsession with accumulating degrees that, all too often, are nothing more than empty ornaments,” historian Joaquim Coll wrote in the daily newspaper 20 Minutos.

T.Maeda--JT