FAKERS of academic qualifications beware. The government is planning a clampdown, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament on Wednesday.
In reply to a question from the United Democratic Movement’s Lennox Gaehler on the propensity of South Africans to fake their qualifications, Mr Ramaphosa said the government intended to crack down on fakers and frauds, and was considering harsh measures. Mr Ramaphosa is chairman of government’s Human Resource Development Council.
Among these would be the creation of a national register by the South African Qualifications Authority, which would name and shame those who misrepresented themselves; while the National Prosecuting Authority would pursue criminal charges. The Cabinet had asked Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande to make recommendations on the matter.
“You either have a qualification or you don’t. Don’t misrepresent yourself; go and study. Let us not be fakers; let us not be fraudulent. We need to be a nation that promotes values of hard work and integrity. Such behaviour demeans those who want to do things properly,” he said during a lively session in which he fielded questions on the Gupta-family owned chartered plane in which he flew to Japan, and on the national minimum wage.
Those who had a bogus qualification on their CV should remove it immediately, he said.
Source article; http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/education/2015/09/03/academic-frauds-to-be-named-shamed