German professors gave degrees for money

Buenos Aires News.Net
Saturday 22nd August, 2009

German prosecutors are investigating university lecturers over charges they took money from students in exchange for doctoral degrees.

The investigation is being focused on a learning institute just east of Cologne, which allegedly acted as the intermediary between students and professors.

Police have alleged the students paid between €2,000 to €5,000 to the company, which promised to help them get their doctorate degrees through contacts at various universities.

The professors were supposedly paid only after the students had received their degrees.

Evidence has so far pointed to the involvement of about 100 professors across the country who will be investigated on suspicion of fraud.

Universities involved are in Frankfurt, Tuebingen, Leipzig, Rostock, Jena, Bayreuth, Ingolstadt, Hamburg, Hannover, Bielefeld, Hagen, Cologne and Berlin.

Last year, a university professor from Hanover was convicted of taking bribes for similar services to many students and was sentenced to over three years in prison.

The professor confessed to accepting nearly €200,000 after saying he needed the money to renovate his expensive house in Hamburg.

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