Tonga's Ministry of Education does not recognise the degree held by Parliamentary candidate 'Etuate Lavulavu, and has today warned the public to beware of "bogus" degrees offered by unrecognised institutions.

'Etuate Lavulavu, an incumbent Vava'u People's Representative, raised a controversy when he claimed in his campaign to hold a doctoral degree from "Edenvale University", which his critics claim does not exist.

In a press release, through the Scholarships Unit, the Acting Minister of Education, Mr. Viliami Takau, said that his Ministry had confirmed with the United Kingdom Department of Education and Skills that, "“Edenvale University or University of Edenvale has never been recognized by the UK authorities".

The Ministry said they were responding to queries from the media, and for the information of the public who intend to seek opportunities for higher degree studies in the United Kingdom, they warned of the problem of bogus degrees.

"The United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills website provides information about recognized degrees and higher education institutions in the UK. It describes the UK higher education system, also warns of the problem of bogus degrees and directs people to recognized UK institutions under the heading "Who can offer UK degrees" on the homepage.

"As such, the Tonga Ministry of Education does not recognize any qualification from the so-called Edenvale University that may exist on the web," he said.

The Ministry had contacted Mr John Mulholland of the UK Higher Education Central Correspondence Unit, regarding the list of recognised institutions.

"'Edenvale University' is not on this list and as such has never been recognised by the UK authorities as a UK university with its own degree awarding powers and does not have permission to use the word 'university' in the UK. Subsequently any degrees offered by this institution or colleges with this institution as the awarding body would not be recognised as UK degrees," he said.