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South African 'professor' wanted for questioning

A South African is wanted by authority for posing as an English professor at a university in Taichung County for the past two years.

The Ministry of Education yesterday accused the school of carelessness in hiring the man.

"Hungkuang University must shoulder the entire responsibility for hiring this bogus professor. It is hard to believe a school of such caliber would be so careless during the hiring process," said Yang Yu-hui (楊玉惠), a specialist on the ministry's scholastic review board.

Asked why the ministry did not ascertain the validity of the man's documents when it issued the teaching certificate, Yang said the ministry is only responsible for idduing work permits while it is the school's responsibility to determine the bona fides of an applicant.

In response, the university said it was deceived by a liar.

Grant Christopher Buchan, the university said, applied last year for a position teaching English conversation at the Department of Applied Languages, providing a doctorate degree from Notre Dame University in the US.

The school's academic supervisor, Chen Yu-shun (陳玉舜), told the Taipei Times that prior to hiring Buchan, the university had submitted his diplomas to the American Institute in Taiwan for confirmation and did not find anything wrong with his paperwork.

"The president of the university is the one who noticed there was something wrong with Buchan when, during a forum on education, he was unable to answer questions about his doctorate dissertation and his studies at the US university," Chen said.

The university's suspicions grew when Buchan refused to sign documents authorizing the university to authenticate his diploma with his alleged alma mater, he said.

Buchan is believed to have fled the country shortly before his trial was set to begin last month.

The university has since been unable to get in touch with him.

Chen said that Buchan had been paid about NT$2 million (US$62,000) by the university before he was exposed.

Hungkuang has called on colleges and universities in Taiwan to be on lookout for Buchan in case he made a renewed attempt to obtain another teaching position in the country.

Some of Buchan's former students described him as a good and energetic teacher, but chided the university for its negligence.
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