‘Our problem is so big I even contemplated suicide,” said Edgar Ledwaba, a traumatology “graduate” at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
Ledwaba, like several other traumatology students at the institution, was shocked earlier this year when university officials announced that the national diploma in traumaÂtology had been cancelled and that he would not graduate in May.
The course was cancelled after administrators discovered that it was not registered with the National Qualifications Framework, the body that safeguards standards and qualifications.
Students were advised to switch to policing, correctional services or traffic control management. Out of desperation, Ledwaba registered to study policing, a course he hates.
The cancellation means that Ledwaba has forfeited thousands of rands in tuition and accommodation fees and time invested in his studies. “I can handle losing money. Not time. I can’t believe that I have wasted three years of my life studying for absolutely nothing. Money can be replaced, not time,” said Ledwaba.
Boitumelo Molepo, who was supposed to start her second year of traumaÂtology this year, said she had long been suspicious about the way students on the course were treated.
“We used an outside bank account to pay for our courses, unlike other students who queue up at the admin hall. Even our student cards are different from those of other students at TUT. Ours have the name of the course written on them, while all the other students have only the name of the institution and their names.”
Molepo is now studying correctional services after she was “convinced” to opt for another course.
Two months since word spread of the cancellation, students maintain that TUT continues to neglect them. Ledwaba said that the institution has not stated clearly what is going to happen to them. “The way these people are handling this problem is worrying,” he said. “I am tired of being sent from pillar to post.”
According to university spokesÂperson Willa de Ruyter, investigations into the course have not been concluded and some of the information is sub judice. “This is a regrettable incident and TUT would like to extend its sincere apology to the students and their parents for the trauma and inconvenience they have suffered,” she said.
She said the procedure to establish courses at TUT is sound and that the traumatology incident was isolated. She emphasised that “strict precautions will be taken to ensure there is no repeat of this incident in future”.
De Ruyter said that all students involved have been interviewed by counsellors at the directorate for academic support. “They have undergone extensive career counselling, potential and aptitude testing and were advised on the most appropriate career choices.”
She added that most of the traumaÂtology subjects are credit bearing and relevant in other courses within the humanities faculty. “Credit was also given for money already paid,” she said.
De Ruyter said that a stakeholder analysis, in collaboration with the South African Qualifications Authority, is under way for the development of a new qualification.
But students deny being interviewed by the university counsellors.
“We had a meeting with the dean [of humanities, Stanley Mokhula] and that’s when he told us that he did not know that there was something wrong with the course,” said a second-year student who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We were only told that we needed to change courses and that policing, correctional and traffic were the only suitable courses we could do.”
The director of accreditations and coordination at the Council on Higher Education’s higher education quality committee, Theo Bhengu, said that in 2005 TUT applied for accreditation for the course but was unsuccessful.
“We appreciate that we were alerted about this and I think it is important to ask the institution to explain why the course was offered, when it is not accredited,” he said.
“Anyway, the department of education through the constituency affairs [section] has a students’ complaints service centre. But we have not received anything from these students,” he said.