Titles Without Merit: Interrogating the Fake Doctorate Phenomena [Hardcover]

This book examines the controversial issues surrounding the desire for titles (both earned and unearned) in Zimbabwe and beyond. The desire for titles is often associated with the quest for status, power, class, and recognition. Unfortunately, this desire has resulted in faking and the problem of distinguishing genuine PhDs from fake ones. The unscrupulous quest for fake degrees is referred to in this book as Titlemania or Taitolomania. The scramble for titles has not spared community leaders across the divide. Of concern is the failure of higher education students to use their earned titles to contribute to the search for solutions to societal problems through national technological development. The perspectives of the contributors in this volume provoke debates on the value of doctorates in Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, considering that most PhD holders are not using their degrees to contribute to national development, production of goods and services, and the improvement of societal conditions.

Francis Machingurais professor and currently the Director for the Centre for Postgraduate Studies, University of Zimbabwe.
Munyaradzi Mawereis full professor of African studies at Great Zimbabwe University and professorExtraordinariusof interdisciplinary research at the University of South Africa.

The book thoroughly analyzes titlemaniaa major problem in after-colonial African countries caused by the quest for status, power, and recognition. A must-read for all who want to understand better African societies struggles for identity while undergoing breathtaking changes. Joachim K?gler, Universit?t Bamberg

Quite an exciting academic book, interrogating pertinent issues on doctoral degrees. A must read. Liveson Tatira, University of Zimbabwe

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Titles Without Meriting?Francis Machingura and Munyaradzi Mawere
Chapter 1: At All Costs: A Doctorate Degree as Status Symbolsl#3