Supreme Court overturns court ruling on foreign PhD recognition

The Supreme Court on Sunday overturned a High Court ruling that ordered the recognition of PhD certificates issued by a foreign college and directed the lower court to reconsider compensation for one of the petitioners.

The case stems from a 2016 programme conducted by AIIMS College in the Maldives in collaboration with Aldersgate College in the Philippines. The course had been approved by the Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) at the time.

However, in January 2018, the Philippine Commission on Higher Education informed MQA that it did not recognise the PhD programme offered jointly by AIIMS College and Aldersgate College. Following this notification, MQA suspended the issuance of recognition certificates for participants. Later, in March 2018, MQA announced that certificates for students already enrolled before that date would be validated.

The dispute arose after MQA declined to honour this assurance. Three students subsequently filed a case in the Civil Court, seeking recognition of their PhD qualifications and damages. The Civil Court ruled against recognition, but the High Court later overturned the decision in September last year, directing MQA to validate the degrees.

MQA appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court in October, arguing that the PhD programme was not accredited by the relevant authorities in either the Philippines or Sri Lanka. MQA stated that AIIMS College was not approved by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, and Aldersgate College was not authorised to offer doctoral-level programmes.

The petitioners countered that MQA’s own decision on 20 March 2018 recognised PhD students from AIIMS College under the rules applicable at the time.

In its ruling on Sunday, the Supreme Court quashed the High Court’s decision, stating that it had directed MQA to act in a manner inconsistent with its legal duties and objectives.

The Court, however, ordered the High Court to review the compensation issue for one petitioner, Sham’oon Adam of GDh. Thinadhoo (Twilight), ruling that he is entitled to damages because he had obtained MQA’s official recognition of the higher education provider and programme before completing his PhD.

The other two petitioners were deemed ineligible for compensation as they did not obtain MQA’s recognition documents prior to completing their studies.

Presiding Justice Hussain Shaheed noted that AIIMS College was not accredited by the Sri Lankan University Grants Commission and that Aldersgate College was not authorised to conduct PhD programmes. He added that MQA had issued the recognition letter to Sham’oon without sufficient verification.

Justice Shaheed further observed that MQA’s 2018 recognition decision was made without due consideration and was inconsistent with the standards of qualification assessment applicable at the time.