UPDATE: University of Zululand degrees-for-sale scam stretches back to 2008 – report

FURTHER investigation has now revealed that the degrees-for-sale scam at the University of Zululand allegedly stretches as far back as 2008.

A letter written to the office of the Public Protector by a former Unizulu student, who is now in the employ of the university, has been leaked to the media , exposing what is possibly the most extensive scam of its kind in South Africa to date.

On 27 June, the Zululand Observer reported that two university officials had been suspended as part of an internal investigation after a Richards Bay school principal contacted the university after noticing two job applicants had different signatures on their degrees that were issued on the same date.

Another school principal from Johannesburg apparently also contacted the university when he found a job applicant with a degree ‘could barely read or write’.

This applicant was questioned by university officials and he fingered the person at the university he had colluded with sources told the ZO.

The letter to the Public Protector names one of the suspended officials who worked in the Protective Services Department and was apparently responsible for investigating the altering of marks by students in 2008.

The man is one of the two suspended by the university.

It is alleged that since then, after he gained access to all lecturers’ login details, he has been charging R5 000 per module to upgrade marks on the internal academic record system, with the money being paid into his daughter’s Absa bank account.

The ZO reported that sources alleged the suspended suspect has strong links to political leaders in the province, which raised speculation that some positions within uThungulu District and City of uMhlathuze municipalities and elsewhere may be filled by incumbents holding fraudulent degrees purchased from the alleged fraudster.

Times Live this morning reported that several individuals allegedly purchased marks, among others an SRC president, an LLB graduate at a local municipality, a public relations graduate teaching at a school in Gauteng and a practicing attorney in KZN.

Times Live further said that the Office of the Public Protector spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, confirmed receipt of the letter.

Unizulu Deputy Vice Chancellor: Institutional Support, Professor Neil Garrod, responded on 28 June to questions sent to the university by the ZO.

‘The university can confirm that it has suspended two officials pending a full investigation and due process,’ he said.

‘It was through university investigation that irregular activities were discovered.’

He further went into detail, saying that documents purported to be official university documents (degrees) were in fact false documents.

‘They do not match what is on the university system,’ Prof Garrod said, in direct contrast to allegations made by university sources at the time and now the letter to the Public Protector.

He further went on to say that the university is ‘confident that its systems are intact and that the qualifications it issues were safe’.

While it is accepted standard practice to verify qualifications of incumbents for most corporations, if allegations regarding the sale of degrees at Unizulu prove to be true, it would be impossible for employers to accurately verify candidate’s qualifications as their marks were allegedly upgraded on the universities’ own system – meaning individuals received their qualifications as the academic records would show them as ‘legitimate’ graduates and their degree would be issued directly from the university.

‘No university certificates were sold to anyone as proclaimed,’ he said.

‘Documents were faked by individuals. All institutions face these challenges and all employers should be aware to verify qualifications of new employees with the relevant institutions before they employ a person.’

The university is yet to confirm who will be tasked with investigating these allegations.

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