FELICIA MASHELE
Johannesburg - Colleges and universities are said to be withholding students’ academic transcripts as a tool to get them to pay their outstanding fees.
As much as institutions do this in a bid to ensure students settle their debts, the withholding of transcripts is making it hard for students to find employment even if they have graduated. They find it difficult to prove to their prospective employers that they actually do hold the qualifications they claim.
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) used to offer funds to post-graduate students, but only for selected courses. However, the bursary scheme announced in early 2021 that it had done away with all funding toward post-graduate studies, leaving many students from disadvantaged backgrounds stranded and without financial assistance.
As higher education costs continue to rise, students from disadvantaged families fear they may remain unemployed due to their outstanding fees.
Yanga Mdekazi, a graduate of Nelson Mandela University, said she had been struggling to get employment due to tuition debt that led to her transcript being withheld.
“I was funded by NSFAS throughout my varsity years but shockingly, I ended up with a debt, which is making my life difficult as I am unable to get a job. I tried applying, but employers always require the transcripts for consideration”, she said.
One graduate who has a post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) from University of Johannesburg (UJ) narrated how she missed a job opportunity due to her academic record allegedly being concealed by the said institution.
“After passing the job interview, I went to the SACE offices in an attempt to register. Unfortunately, I couldn't because they required my academic record, I then went to UJ finance and begged them to send my transcript directly to SACE to register.
“They refused, even after I explained why I urgently needed my transcript. But instead, I was told to pay 50% of the outstanding balance, which I didn’t have and as a result, the job was given to somebody else”, she said.
The UJ media relations co-ordinator, Herman Esterhuizen, disputed the claim. He said that the university did release an academic transcript to the sponsor upon request, but didn’t issue the record directly to the student if fees were outstanding.
“This process requires a student to acknowledge the debt prior to the release of results. I would also like to point out that unpaid student debt is a risk for most higher education institutions, UJ included.
“It is impacting the university’s operations, because the money owed for tuition contributes towards the efficient and effective running of the university”, said Esterhuizen.
The director of corporate communications at North West University, Louis Jacobs, said: “The North-West University only puts a block on academic transcripts of graduates once they are handed to an attorney for bad debt.
“However, should a student require a transcript, they should approach the university and every inquiry is then handled on a case-by-case basis.”