The matric class of 2024 has received commendation for increasing the pass rate from 82.9% in 2023 to 87.3%. However, academics and business leaders share concern that more job seekers mean heightened competition for placements and a likely increase in qualification fraud.
This is where AI can be applied to strengthen digital screening and help recruiters identify strong candidates and weed out false information.
According to background screening and vetting company MIE, a division of Mettus, platforms leverage sophisticated technological systems to streamline verification by integrating with databases and institutional records.
This reduces the time required for manual checks and ensures results are delivered swiftly without compromising accuracy.
Jennifer Barkhuizen, head of marketing at MIE, says fierce competition for jobs could exacerbate SA’s persistently high unemployment rate, currently exceeding 32.1%, and qualification fraud.
“As the pressure mounts to secure employment, some individuals may feel the need to misrepresent their academic credentials, hoping to gain an edge in the highly competitive job market,” says Barkhuizen.
According to MIE, qualification fraud has become a persistent issue in SA. In 2023, the company observed that over 6.5% of verified qualifications were either misrepresented or falsified and this trend continued in 2024.
“Alarmingly, matric symbol matches were the most frequently tampered with, posing the highest risk,” Barkhuizen says, adding that the matric certificate is often the first academic milestone in a candidate’s professional journey.
“It signals not only their educational accomplishments but also their readiness to enter the workforce. However, the rise of fraudulent certificates – often circulated through social media – has cast doubt on the validity of many qualifications.”
Barkhuizen is adamant that background screening and verification matters more now than ever before.
“While direct verification with issuing institutions remains the gold standard for accuracy, advancements in technology have significantly improved the efficiency and accessibility of the process. Platforms leverage sophisticated technological systems to streamline verification by integrating with databases and institutional records. This reduces the time required for manual checks and ensures results are delivered swiftly without compromising accuracy.”
Barkhuizen says onboarding a candidate without genuine qualifications or skills can have far-reaching consequences, such as financial losses, reputational damage and reduced operational efficiency.
“A single unqualified hire can disrupt team dynamics, lower productivity and even jeopardise client relationships. Moreover, hiring candidates with fraudulent qualifications can erode trust within an organisation. When employees or stakeholders discover that standards have been compromised, it can undermine morale and organisational culture.”
Education – clear AI use case
There is growing interest in the application of AI to strengthen the education system by helping learners tackle complex topics and guiding them through problem-solving processes, and empowering teachers with additional resources.
Jaco Oosthuizen, Rectron category manager for mobility, says the application of AI in education is a growing topic of debate because of the multifaceted nature of the technology.
“In this climate, where AI speeds up research writing, ill-equipped students are often tempted to rely heavily on AI to write everything – from e-mails, essays, mathematical calculations, lines of code and even creative works, like song lyrics, poems and entire books – at the fraction of the time of human writers. This is already breeding mixed reactions, exacerbated by AI regulation remaining unclear.
“While some are championing this quantum leap in technology, critics are raising the alarm bells against the potential to displace workers in many fields. Others also warn that learners are at risk of becoming complacent, using smart systems to take short cuts, crippling their natural learning.”
Oosthuizen adds that while developers are releasing more AI tools with advanced features every day, and South African organisations are already preparing for a digital data-driven future, schools are unlikely to make substantial investments.
“As there aren’t enough teachers in the system and classes are overcrowded, teachers are so overwhelmed (that) they may not have the energy or the resources to conduct training on expensive new laptops. Still, the beauty of AI is its scalability.”
Oosthuizen adds that the same principles of multi-disciplinary logic, systems thinking and pattern recognition that define AI are seamlessly integrated, the only difference being device and application features.
Administrative tasks (attendance, grading) can be facilitated by digital tools and specialised intelligent tutoring systems can be gradually introduced, fostering area-specific problem-solving rather than merely giving out answers.
Shaun Fuchs, founder of Centennial Schools, in Sandton, Johannesburg, believes AI can address challenges impacting SA’s education system.
“I believe that, because the traditional system has remained unchanged for far too long, the majority of matriculants lack the essential skills needed to thrive in today’s technology-led world. AI tools have the capability to help students with complex topics by providing explanations and examples, guiding them through problem-solving processes, and offering feedback on assignments.”
Fuchs says educators should harness the power of AI to support future-ready students by making STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) subjects more accessible.
“Students can engage in hands-on learning in fields like coding, analytics, robotics, machine learning and AI ethics, which combine to teach critical thinking and creative problem-solving.”
These skills are in demand, adds Fuchs, who says that while youth unemployment saw a slight decline towards the end of last year, the gains were mostly concentrated in largely unskilled sectors such as construction and trade.
“At the same time, hundreds of thousands of formal sector positions remain unfilled, highlighting a disconnect between available skills and market demands.”
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