An Edited Part of the Sowetan Editorial

Getting a qualification from an institution of higher learning, especially a university, has always been the standard of excellence to be reached.

Qualifications are a confirmation of competency. They serve as an assurance that someone has acquired the necessary skills and expertise to do a certain job. Putting in the time to get a degree and engaging in post-graduate studies, successfully, is a reflection of intellectual rigour and fortitude. Moreover, a qualification demonstrates that one is well grounded in the discipline they have chosen.

It is not a small affair to cheapen academic endeavor and attainments by falsification. What would become of our safety and well-being as a society if most doctors were practicing using fake certificates; if civil engineers designed and approved bridges without any proven knowledge of engineering principles; and if pharmacist was dishing out drugs with no clue of the chemistry behind medications.

The implications are dire and horrifying to think of. Qualified professionals are not only conferred with degrees but with responsibility and accountability when they graduate. By virtue of possessing a qualification professionals become answerable to the tenets of their professions and to those who procure their services.