South Africans caught with fake or dodgy degrees could be named and shamed online if a policy revision put forward this week gets the go-ahead.
The amendments, published in the government gazette on 18 November, apply to the 2008 National Qualifications Framework Act.
If the bill is passed, the South African Qualifications Agency will publish the names of people who either misrepresent or fake their degrees. A register of fake degrees will also be set up.
SAQA’s powers will also be expanded under the amendments.
“All education institutions and employers have a legal obligation to report fraudulent qualifications to SAQA,” the amendment states.
The amendments come on the heel of several embarrassing incidents in which government officials were found to have lied about their degrees.
Pallo Jordan, a minister for 10 years, resigned as an MP in August 2014 after it emerged that he never completed the PhD he claimed to have from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US.
Degree scandals have also shaken the national broadcaster. Ellen Tshabalala, a former board chair at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, its former chief operating officer, were both found to have lied about their qualifications.
According to the amendments tabled last week, employers will have to refer employee qualifications to SAQA for verification. The employee must sign a form stating that the verification will be made public.
The amendments also create an accreditation category for private education institutions or providers, and makes their registration non-negotiable. So any qualification not registered and accredited with SAQA would be deemed a misrepresentation.
The public can comment on the amendments until 18 December. Comments can be emailed to Boshoff.E@dhet.gov.za.