Umalusi Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mafu Rakometsi, told OFM News they issue certificates as per the request of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). He said this at the University of the Free State’s 36th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards in Bloemfontein this weekend.

Rakometsi says DHET loads the data onto their system, which is supported by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). He says this data is sent to the assurer so they can issue certificates. “On our side, there is nothing we can do except to wait for authentic, unadulterated data.” Ramoketsi emphasised that unless those two entities – DHET and SITA – do their work, there cannot be any movement regarding the issuing of certificates. “For you to preserve the currency of any certificate, you must ensure it is credible, you must ensure that the data on the certificate in terms of percentages is authentic. When it is not authentic, we return the data… therein lies the problem,” explains Ramoketsi.

The Umalusi Chief acknowledged that some progress has been made in the last two years to clear up the backlog. He says officials from SITA, Umalusi and DHET meet each week to look at the progress made to determine where the backlog stands and look into the causes of the backlog.

Last month Parliament’s Select Committee on Education and Recreation expressed its concern at the decade-long backlog. The Committee called on DHET to continue to work alongside SITA, Umalusi and colleges to find solutions before the end of the financial year. This is despite DHET having had appointed a new service provider for printing certificates this year.

When asked if he is aware that Pretoria-based law firm, Maluleke, Seriti, Makume and Matlala Incorporated (MSMMINC) made it known last year that they would be representing TVET college graduates pro-bono in a class action against all the stakeholders for the backlog, the Umalusi CEO said he is not aware. Some of the students in Central SA that already signed up for the class action include, Keneilwe Molawa from Thaba Nchu, who told OFM News at the time that she has been waiting six years for her Civil Engineering and Building Construction certificate from Motheo College. As well as Nomuneliso Matomane from Virginia who studied Human Resource Management at Motheo TVET college located in Bloemfontein in 2011. Both ladies said their lives had been placed on hold due to the backlog.

OFM News