A recent article from the Associated Press (Mutler, 19/06/12) highlights the level of dishonesty within Romanian academia, with the new Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, accused of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis. Apparently, this is indicative of a corrupt academic system emerging after the fall of communism and the rise of free market reforms. Stelian Tanase, a Romanian political analyst, explains that "people with ambition, money and influence have been buying doctorates for the last 20 years". This interests me: I shall explain why, but first some background is needed.
A friend of mine is an aspiring academic. They have a first class degree in their field coupled with a Master's degree for which they received a distinction. Their undergraduate degree was at a fairly new, and not very well respected, university while their postgraduate degree was at a university ranked in the top fifteen in the UK. Financially, they have never had more money than is necessary to scrape by with. A fairly hefty student loan coupled with a career development loan has paid for their education up to now; repayments for both will kick in later this year. Scary times, indeed. What makes it scarier is that they have few prospects. Their goal is to complete a doctorate and become a lecturer/researcher but with the cuts to education there is little to no funding available. Therefore, from a 'get-by' job, they sit on the bottom rung, once again, and watch as the rich kids wave in jest from the top of the ladder. As you may be able to tell, and as I have mentioned, this interests me.
So Tanase describes a situation where people buy their way to what is seen as a 'fashionable title' of Doctor. Let me get this straight: education is saved for those with the 'backing' to 'warrant' it, and this is considered "cheating"? Is that not exactly what happens in this country? With an immaculate record in higher education, top of almost every class they have been in, my friend has no access to funding. I'm not bragging about my social networks, I'm raging - and deservedly so. This is forced social immobility. There is no possible way to obtain a respectable doctorate, despite being told by numerous academic staff that they are a talented individual within their field. While others purchase their way to the top in three years, it will take my friend, as it will others, perhaps five to ten years to force a path. As implied, this is by no means an isolated case, there are surely tens of thousands of people in this position. This begs an additional, slightly eye opening, question: what are we missing out on if such a huge volume of potential is missed or overlooked?
Could it be possible that the powerful of the country are trying to maintain an historic divide by restricting access, as much as possible, away from the majority and into the hands of their 'own'? This is not a novel argument and I think it's a very convincing one. If you doubt it, look at the emerging paradox: if a valued opinion is an educated one, and those with the power can afford the education, then how does the valued opinion not become a biased one. The real distinction between the so called 'cheating' in Romania and the situation in the UK is that they, the Romanians, are at least trying to hide it. The obliviousness of people in the UK to this, despite the obviousness, is worrying. In Bourdieusian terms, this 'reproduction' highlights subordination in order to maintain distinction. Mutler, of the Associated Press, argues that university credentials have been used in Romania to climb the social ladder. I put forth a separate argument, if simply to stimulate dialogue: that university credentials are used to dampen the ladder, to make it too slippery for those pesky lower classes to climb.
