Indonesia¡¯s former president?stands accused of faking his qualifications, despite repeated rebuttals by his alma mater.

Joko Widodo faces court proceedings in his hometown of Surakarta, in central Java, over claims he fabricated his 1985 degree from Universitas Gadjah Mada in nearby Yogyakarta.

The?Jakarta Post??that a legal practitioner had filed a lawsuit with the Surakarta District Court, contesting the legitimacy of Widodo¡¯s university and high school qualifications ¨C and consequently the legality of Widodo¡¯s tenure as Surakarta mayor, which served as a springboard for his presidential candidacy.

The plaintiff reportedly said the diplomas seemed suspicious, partly because of inconsistencies with the supposed establishment dates of Widodo¡¯s school and university faculty.

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The lawsuit arose after Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar, a computer engineer who studied at Gadjah Madah in the 1990s and subsequently lectured at the University of Mataram on the island of Lombok, suggested that Widodo¡¯s university thesis had been written by someone else.

Rismon said the approval and cover pages of the typed thesis manuscript had been produced in Times New Roman font using an inkjet or laser printer. He claimed none of this technology had existed when the thesis was supposedly submitted in 1985.

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Gadjah Mada, one of Indonesia¡¯s leading universities, said Widodo had generated the front pages at a local print shop after producing the bulk of the 91-page thesis on a typewriter, as was common practice among cash-strapped 1980s students. In a?, it said the printing technology and Times New Roman were widely used at the time.

¡°For the record, Joko Widodo¡¯s diploma and thesis are authentic,¡± said Sigit Sunarta, dean of the university¡¯s forestry faculty. ¡°He studied here, his classmates knew him well, he was active in student activities, he took numerous courses, wrote a thesis, and his diploma was legitimately issued.¡±

Rismon doubled down, accusing the university of a cover-up. ¡°The footprint of technological evolution cannot be manipulated, because every product has a clear timeline and documentation,¡± he??on his?Balige Academy?YouTube channel, which focuses on digital science and serves as a promotional vehicle for Sianipar¡¯s??about manipulation of closed-circuit TV footage connected with a notorious Jakarta murder case.

Gadjah Mada executives subsequently met Rismon and fellow sceptics but failed to produce Jokowi¡¯s original diploma, saying they only had a copy, according to?. The university??it was ¡°only willing to disclose publicly accessible data¡±, citing ¡°laws and regulations regarding personal data protection¡±.

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Tempo??Jokowi had threatened legal action over the ¡°baseless slander¡± that he had falsified his university degree. ¡°Those who allege it [to be fake] should prove it,¡± he reportedly said. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be the one asked to prove it.¡±

He gave a private showing of his diplomas to journalists at his Surakarta home, according to?, but banned photographs ¡°to maintain personal privacy¡±.

The Jakarta Post?said accusations that he had falsified his qualifications had been circulating since 2022, and he had won three previous lawsuits over the issue.

Claims of degree fraud are an occupational hazard for politicians around the world. Plagiarism scandals are commonplace in?Romania?and?Russia?and have?claimed the scalps?of Germany¡¯s defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and education minister Annette Schavan, as well as Norway¡¯s higher education minister?Sandra Borch?and?health minister?Ingvild Kjerkol.

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Kenya¡¯s government has?threatened universities with deregistration?for selling fake qualifications, after politicians were stripped of their credentials.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com