Johannesburg - Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has taken legislative measures to curb phony degrees with a proposed “roll of shame” for bogus qualifications holders.
On Friday, Nzimande published new regulations which will force employers to refer their employees’s degrees for validation and verification.
The proposed draft National Qualifications Framework Amendment Bill will also make it compulsory for employers to include signed acknowledgment forms from the purported qualification holder.
The form will give the department a licence to publish a “name and shame” register of fraudsters.
“Are we asking for tougher sanctions? Yes. In any case, if you lie about your qualifications or you produce a false certificate it is fraud already in terms of existing law,” Nzimande said in Parliament in February.
“The problem is people take this lightly, they don’t report it. Sometimes when it is reported, it’s taken as a minor, inconsequential offence... we want it to be taken more seriously by society as a whole.”
As part of the regulatory move, the SA Qualifications Authority (Saqa) will register the name of the holder of a bogus certificate on its website. The bill also proposes imposing a legal obligation to employers to report fraudulent activity.
It is hoped this bill will end ongoing scandals. South Africa has seen a number of high-profile fake qualifications scandals from ministers to board members and even senior executives.
Among those are former Passenger Rail Agency of SA head of engineering Daniel Mthimkhulu, controversial SABC executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng and disgraced former SABC board chairwoman Ellen Tshabalala. Others include Chris Hart, who did not have a degree in economics despite being known as an economist, and former ambassador to Japan, Mohau Pheko, who was found to have done course work for her PhD with an unaccredited institution overseas.
In 2014, ANC veteran Pallo Jordan resigned from Parliament and the ANC national executive committee after reports his qualifications were false.
Last year the Department of Public Service revealed 640 officials in government were found to have misrepresented their qualifications.
The bill is open for public comment until the middle of next month.
Weekend Argus