In recent years, the phenomenon of certificate forgery has grown throughout the world. It is a phenomenon that harms all concerned parties, including holders of university degrees, those who review them, and the institutions that issue them. SwitchVerify announced that forged certificates constitute a "borderless global threat" that can "significantly harm the credibility of institutions and the image of higher education as a whole." This situation has generated the need for reliable, easy-to-use and inexpensive tools for issuing, certifying and verifying the authenticity of certificates. The existence of such tools also facilitates mobility between universities at the national and international levels (which has become a requirement of the modern era), because it simplifies the process of certifying certificates, recognizing acquired credits, and adopting mechanisms for matching study courses.
In this context, blockchain provides the optimal solution to meet this need, as it combines reliability, security, decentralization, traceability and information transparency. Moreover, blockchain technology in the field of education enables various types of applications related to preserving accreditation files and records of certificates and diplomas, or to managing certain pedagogical aspects or educational platforms.
Developing a system for certifying diplomas, credits and certificates in the Arab countries based on blockchain technology is largely in line with the priorities of ALECSO in facilitating student mobility, entrenching multilingualism and enhancing cooperation among the Arab countries. The existence of a cross-border and implementable solution is therefore essential to achieve this goal.
Within the framework of the efforts of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) to build digital capacities, support technical communities and make optimal use of digital services, the Organization launched the project of a unified Arab system for verifying the authenticity of academic certificates using blockchain technology. This project will make it possible to provide a faster, more accurate and more secure mechanism for verifying the authenticity of official certificates, certifying documents and confirming the identity of their holders, which will save ministries, universities, institutions and individuals great effort and precious time in proving the validity of a certificate. It will therefore facilitate the process of student mobility between universities in the Arab world and their employment in institutions. It will also enable certificate holders to benefit from lifelong ownership of their certificates without fear of damage or loss, as they will be stored and secured with blockchain technology. In this context, the Conference of Arab Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research, at its 18th session in December 2021 in Algeria, adopted ALECSO's initiative to develop a unified Arab system for certifying Arab certificates and protecting them from forgery. Immediately after the ministerial conference, ALECSO began developing this system and then piloting it in a limited number of Arab universities in order to generalize it to Arab universities at a later time.
