Some unscrupulous traders produce and sell fake education certificates across the capital to a good number of students who buy them at minimal price.
Some computer shops in the capital's Nilkhet book market, have been selling fake SSC (secondary school certificate) and HSC (higher secondary school certificate) certificates for quite some time.
These shops are infamous for producing and selling fake certificates. Usually they sell the certificates priced at Tk3,000 to Tk4,000. The production and sale of fake O and A level certificates is a recent addition to their business.
The certificates are produced in such a deliberate manner that it is hard to find any difference at the first glance.
Visiting the computer shops, it was found that many of the traders are involved in the crafty business and that a good number of people buy the fake certificates.
Sumon Ahmed, owner of Masud Book Binding and Computers at Nilkhet Bakusha Market told this reporter that he would produce an A level certificate for Tk3,000.
He said, "It is not easy to identify a fake certificate because 'special' papers are used to produce them. People, who want to get fake certificates, bring photocopy of an original one and we just change the personal details on it."
"The roll number remains the same, so it is not easy to recognise if it is the real one or the fake one," he added.
When asked who the main customers of fake certificates are, he said mainly overseas workers and people from rural areas who need them to get visa buy O and A level certificates.
Speaking to some other traders, it was found that they collect papers from the education boards; however, the education board officials denied such claims.
Taslima Begum, chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Dhaka, told the Dhaka Tribune that the papers used for producing certificates are collected from Securities Printing Press and it is not possible to obtain those papers and use them in the black market.
SM Wahiduzzaman, controller of examinations at Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education told the Dhaka Tribune that sometimes, organisations bring certificates to them to clarify whether they were real or not.
"By comparing those with our documents stored in the archive, we confirm the authenticity of the certificate," he said.
He said they have received several complaints in the last few years regarding fake certificates.