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The Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande and his department have broken their commitment to deliver 22 190 outstanding Further Education and Training (FET) certificates by 31 July 2012.

A DA fact-finding exercise into a sample of FET colleges has confirmed that numerous job seeking learners are still awaiting their certificates.

Minister Nzimande committed his department to the 31 July deadline after a reply to a DA parliamentary question revealed that 22 190 FET certificates have been outstanding for more than 6 months.

We have found that students at the following institutions are still waiting for the National Higher Education and Training Department to issue their certificates:

• Buffalo City FET College in the Eastern Cape confirmed that all the National Certificate Vocational (NCV) certificates from 2011 are still outstanding;
• Tshwane South FET College in Gauteng confirmed that all NCV certificates are outstanding from 2011;
• Majuba FET College students in KwaZulu-Natal are awaiting a variety of certificates; and
• College of Cape Town students have not received any 2011 certificates.

The reality of the non-issuing of certificates is that learners who have completed their courses successfully cannot apply for jobs or advance in their careers.

NCV certificates relate to qualifications for Civil Engineering and Building Construction, Education and Development and numerous other sectors. South Africa has a skills shortage and our economy cannot afford a situation where people are getting the necessary training, but the Department of Higher Education and Training is unable to provide them with the necessary certificates.

I will be writing to the chairperson of the Higher Education Portfolio committee, Mr Motswane Ishmael Malale, to request that the Minister be called before the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education to outline his plans to address the widespread problem of certificate issuing.

Our youth need jobs. Instead of creating a supporting environment for our youth, Minister Nzimande’s department is becoming an obstacle to youth empowerment.