WSU asked to put out fires surrounding claims thousand of degrees are ‘invalid’

The Walter Sisulu University convocation has appealed to the institution to respond to media reports alleging that thousands of its qualifications could be worthless, as they were never accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

Convocation president and advocate Tembeka Ngqukaitobi said any questions on WSU academic qualifications should be exposed and addressed honestly by university management.

“We call upon management to address the concerns directly, truthfully and immediately to avoid irredeemable damage to the university.

“The academic credibility and standing of the university is the cornerstone of its existence. Any questions about academic qualifications must be exposed and addressed forthrightly and honestly,” Ngqukaitobi said in a statement.

According to a Daily Dispatch report, WSU graduates and current students have been studying courses that are not registered or accredited by the CHE.

The university, reads the report, allowed students to graduate despite their programmes being red-flagged by the university’s registrar as “questionable and not in good standing.”

An internal letter addressed to the university’s leadership, and seen by the publication, showed that 2 080 students graduated under unaccredited programs between 2019 to 2021.

The publication’s investigation further revealed that there were also 7 637 students in the same period who were believed to have been registered under unaccredited programmes.

Daily Dispatch said the university’s spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo refused to comment.

“On behalf of the university, I am not going to respond to your questions. I believe the Dispatch has got the story already. Speak to CHE and DHET,” Tukwayo was quoted verbatim in the article.

Ngqukaitobi said it was concerning that the university refused to respond journalists’ queries.

“Many journalists employed by that newspaper are former students of the university, and we have no reason to believe that a hidden agenda is at play.”

Attempts by The Citizen to get hold of Tukwayo through calls and texts were also unsuccessful.

WSU’s head of communication Sinawo Hermans said Tukwana was the only official mandated to respond on the matter.

“This is a huge matter, and the whole of South Africa is calling her…she is in internal meetings. Please keep calling her,” Hermans said.