The State IT Agency (SITA) has been blamed for the backlog of outstanding certificates for the National Certificate Vocational qualification, with more than 100 000 students still waiting to receive their graduation certificates.
This was revealed by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), during a presentation to Parliament's Higher Education and Training Portfolio Committee last week.
According to DHET, the delays in issuing the certificates - for the period of 2007-2011 - were due to the instability of datasets submitted by SITA to Umalusi, which were subsequently rejected by the quality assurance and certification body.
Furthermore, the department claimed inadequate IT systems at SITA and the allocation of insufficient human resources by the agency for the National Certificate Vocational qualification and TVET College examination system resulted in delays.
The DHET said several engagements have taken place between it, Umalusi and SITA, and a management plan was developed to resolve the backlog of certificates. "SITA has made numerous commitments; however, they have not been able to honour these commitments," the DHET said in its presentation.
The department explained that to fulfil the responsibilities inherent in being the examining body, it relies on IT services from SITA to operationalise the national examination processes of TVET colleges.
"This includes, among others, the registration of candidates for examinations, to the issuance of results and certification of candidates.
"On completion of an examination cycle, all candidates have a legitimate expectation to receive their complete and correct statement of results, and a certificate if they have met the full requirements of the qualification."
Not combined
The outstanding certificates are owed to candidates who have completed their qualification across more than one examination cycle, the DHET said.
"[This is] due to the examinations information system being unable to combine the subject results from different examination cycles when a candidate qualifies for certification."
Since 2012, 496 544 certificates have been issued, while 103 195 certificates are still being processed, the department revealed.
"The students affected by the problem do have statements of results and the department, on request, provides students with letters confirming they comply with the requirements for the issuance of a certificate.
"Potential employers and institutions of higher learning are provided with the necessary verifications and supporting letters on request so that students are not disadvantaged."
The DHET said it continues working closely with SITA and Umalusi to resolve the backlog, adding the appointment of a service provider is being finalised.
SITA spokesperson Lucky Mochalibane did not provide comment by the time of publication.
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