Peru President Pedro Castillo, wife being probed for alleged plagiarism of master’s thesis

Peru's President, Pedro Castillo, and his wife are being investigated by Peruvian prosecutors for allegedly plagiarising their master's thesis.

This came after a local television station revealed that an investigation showed that the couple may have copied answers for the master's thesis they co-authored.

As per reports, Panamerican television's Panorama programme did a transparency check. The thesis of the President and his wife were submitted into a plagiarism detection tool, Turnitin. It was found that the couple plagiarised 54% of the content from other authors, said Panorama.

Peru: Prez Castillo and wife being probed for allegedly plagiarising master’s thesis

It was also discovered that two of the three professionals who validated the thesis did not exist in the national identity registry. The President and his wife, Lilia Paredes, both primary school teachers, used the thesis for a master's degree in educational psychology from César Vallejo University more than 10 years ago. Meanwhile, an investigation is underway by a prosecutor in Tacabamba and the university has also appointed a commission to investigate the matter. However, Castillo has clearly denied the accusation, calling it "malicious" and part of "a destabilising plan" against his government.

President Castillo said, "The thesis work was validated by quality educational standards."

The academic work had an adviser and was supported by a jury that granted him the degree, he added. It is pertinent to mention that in Peru, aggravated plagiarism is punishable by up to eight years in prison and generic falsehood by up to four years in prison. However, this is not the first time that high-profile people have been accused of committing plagiarism. Earlier, two ministers from Castillo's cabinet faced similar charges.

(With Inputs from AP)

Image: AP