Higher Education and Training Minister, Blade Nzimande recently announced that the Umalusi Council has approved the release of over 39,000 candidates' results.
The department has been battling to issue certificates to former students of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for years, affecting thousands of students and their capacity to find employment.
In a recent tweet, Minister Nzimande wrote:
I am happy to indicate that to date, 99.94% of TVET College certificates for the previous certification backlog have been released to colleges for qualifying students after results were processed.
According to the department, certificates for students are released to colleges within ninety days after the release of those students who meet certification requirements.
Many have raised concerns that certain institutions are with withholding student certificates due to outstanding fees. However, The Minister said the department discourages colleges from denying students their certifications because of unpaid tuition.
“Colleges must find workable solution to recover the outstanding fees."
TVET college students who are awaiting their results have been advised to contact the colleges where they wrote their exams regarding their certificates and diplomas.
Nzimande concludes that students who write examinations over multiple examination periods qualify for certification, are expected to apply for the combination of their results at the last examination centre where they wrote their examination.
The examination centre will in return submit the application to the DHET for further processing.
Students can submit any further enquiries or lodge concerns via the e-GOV portal on www.eservices.gov.za .
