Pupil pays for admin error

Her matric certificate, with a full bachelor pass endorsement, has become a source of anxiety and frustration for Thandekile Mahlangu due to an administrative mistake.

Mahlangu said universities have been rejecting her for bachelor degree studies as official records reflect only a diploma endorsement.

“This is the second year that I am sitting doing nothing because of this matter.

“I have been rejected by all the universities I have applied to study for a bachelor of education.

“I do not know what to do anymore.

“I am watching my dream of becoming a teacher drifting away,” the 22-year-old said.

Mahlangu, of Waterval in Mpumalanga, said her troubles started when she passed her matric at Makhosana senior secondary school, with a diploma endorsement, in 2017.

She had achieved a low mark – 49% or Level 3 – for geography, which is one percentage point short of achieving a bachelor admission at university.

“In January last year I applied for remarking of my geography paper and I received my results in June, reflecting that my revised mark for geography was now 50%, which is Level 3, and that I now met the criteria for a bachelor admission,” Mahlangu said.

She said despite the good news, getting admitted for a bachelor degree at universities was another story.

“No university would accept me.

“Although my endorsement had been revised from diploma to bachelor degree admission, the systems at universities did not reflect the new endorsement,” Mahlangu said.

She said the last time she was rejected was at the University of Limpopo.

Mahlangu said she had approached the department of basic education for assistance but she was told to go to her school.

No one at her school seemed to know how to assist her, she said.

Mpumalanga department of education spokesperson Jasper Zwane yesterday insisted their database showed that Mahlangu’s certificate indicated that she had obtained admission to a bachelor’s degree, with the corrected mark on the geography.

“This certificate was printed and distributed in May 2018,” he said.

Department of basic education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the updated data was also sent to Universities South Africa (USA), so he could not understand why Mahlangu was being rejected.

He said Mahlangu should go to the university that rejected her and explain to them that their decision was wrong.

“The university needs to connect with the person who updates USA’s database,” he said.