JAIL TIME…FOR FALSIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS

DID YOU KNOW?

It is not uncommon for people to embellish on certain aspects of their c.v. however, claiming to hold a tertiary qualification that you do not have, be it on your c.v. (whether or not you get the job) or on social media, can now come with a jail term of up to five years in South Africa.

The National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act 12 of 2019 which came into force last year makes it a criminal offence to falsely or fraudulently claim to hold a qualification or part-qualification that is registered on the NQF or awarded by an education institution, skills development provider, QC or obtained from a lawfully recognised foreign institution. The legislation was intentionally drafted broad enough to cover just about any type of misleading claim about just about any type of formal qualification. Even a false claim of a degree on social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn) can render a person liable to be reported by a person who is misled such a claim to the South African Qualifications Association (“SAQA”) for further investigation, who can then hand it over to prosecutors if it is in breach of the law.