Students urged to pay bribes to receive qualifications
In a statement, Esayid TVET College said its management is very shocked to learn that there are allegations involving their students and an official at DHET regarding the issuing of National Diplomas, adding that unfortunately, the college cannot speak on behalf of DHET.
An alleged syndicate from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is expecting students of Esayidi TVET College to pay a bribe of R2 600 in order to receive the qualifications they have earned.
A student from the Eastern Cape who studied Financial Management at the Esayidi TVET College, Gamalakhe Campus, from 2017 until 2018 said she has not yet received her diploma because she does not have money to pay the bribe.
The student who did not want to be named in fear of jeopardising her chances of getting her qualification said some of the students she studied with received their qualifications three weeks after paying the bribe.
“Those students gave me the contact number of a woman who works for the Department of Higher Education and Training in Pretoria who I need to pay in order to receive my diploma. I contacted her and she assured me that my diploma would be delivered at the Esayidi TVET College after she receives payment. She said she would need proof of payment and my student number in order for me to get the qualification,” she said.
She added because she does not have money, she could not pay the bribe and as a result, she has not received her qualification.
The disgruntled student recently showed Fever conversations she had with other students who paid and received their qualifications, and the conversations she had with the woman requesting the bribe.
“Waiting for this qualification has drained me and I just want to give up. I can’t apply for jobs or an internship because of this. Even my family now doesn’t believe that I was actually studying,” she said.
Meanwhile, eTV’s Checkpoint also recently spoke to students at the Port Shepstone Campus who are also struggling to get the money to get their diplomas.
In a statement, Esayid TVET College said its management is very shocked to learn that there are allegations involving their students and an official at DHET regarding the issuing of National Diplomas, adding that unfortunately, the college cannot speak on behalf of DHET.
Speaking to Fever recently, DHET spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi said it seems as if there is someone defrauding students, adding that students need to take all the proof they have and report it to the department.
“Students need to report this directly to the police and DHET, so that we can work together with law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of this because no one is expected to pay this money,” he said.
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