/ 31 August 1999

GHOST GRADUATES WILL GET DEGREES

HUNDREDS of ‘ghost’ graduates at the University of the North may get away with buying their degrees because no-one has bothered conducting a proper investigation into the scam since it was first identified in 1994. University officials insisted last week that the matter has been investigated and resolved by both the Mojapelo Commission and Judge Willem Heath . But Mojapelo Commission forensic auditor, Jerry Sithole, said on Sunday that the commission stumbled on evidence of at least 58 fake degrees issued at the university’s QwaQwa campus but was unable to investigate as the matter fell outside the commission’s terms of reference. Judge Heath’s Northern Province investigation head, Frank Vos, also confirmed he had heard vague reports about the scam but said the unit was never requested to investigate.