Dear Portfolio Committee on Higher Education,

Greetings I am a college student and have been studying for three years, including in-service training. I applied for a diploma from the Department of Education in January so I can graduate this year.

My application has been in the verification process for a long time, and I will miss graduation because the department has yet to finish verifying it.

They told me during a telephone conversation that they don’t have the papers to print the diplomas, so they buy them overseas.

This is a story of many young people in SA, and we have no voice. Some have waited for five years, and some even passed away without receiving their diploma.

Those who are responsible are turning a blind eye and that is why we started a petition being assented by Civil Rights Organization that has close to 500 signatures now of students facing the same challenge to demand DHET to release our diplomas.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fawethu.amandla.mobi%2Fpetitions%2Fwe-demand-the-dept-of-education-to-release-our-diplomas%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3mT4FgNuY_DekgiolkjgeCyxecNzfjOpX8hBiqacg-hvKHH7iPeLSJSfc_aem_CNGu11bKi1zMNnLyxpVLRw&h=AT3NpEQi-yJ52apVakc2_Ayi1XraCBQJK_OTbB1S_j7w7RNs60TmbtCNIEdSTMpK22mMHyeEOBITuUgwnkD7PIUc0NmhjvXDj-yrffzLXsRFbtiZ__MU92gPCMUGt22XUBaf&__tn__=-UK*F