By Thapelo Molefe
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has given the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) until Friday to account for an alleged year-long delay in acting against a suspected “degree-selling syndicate” at the institution.
Manamela issued the directive in a formal letter to the VUT Council Chairperson on Wednesday, demanding a preliminary report by Friday.
This follows allegations that senior management failed to act on credible whistleblower evidence for more than 12 months.
“It is unacceptable for allegations of this magnitude, which threaten the integrity of our National Qualifications Framework, to be met with administrative delays,” Manamela said.
“If management knew about this a year ago, as alleged, simply ‘investigating’ is no longer enough. We need to know why the perpetrators were supposedly left in the system to potentially corrupt the 2026 intake.”
The ministry confirmed it is “seriously concerned” by claims that an employee had been arranging fraudulent qualifications, primarily for Congolese students, for a fee, dating back as far as 2018.
The whistleblower, who identified themselves as a VUT graduate of Congolese descent, repeatedly alerted the university to irregular registrations, fraudulent B.Tech admissions and graduates who “did not study at VUT for undergrad”.
In emails to senior officials, the whistleblower warned that implicated individuals continued to access campus and that more students had allegedly been recruited for the 2026 academic year.
“It has been a year now since I reported a case of fraud and illegal activities at your institution, and nothing has been done,” the whistleblower wrote.
Manamela has now demanded that the council provide an explanation for the alleged 12-month delay in responding to the whistleblower, proof that consequence management is underway, and immediate safeguards to ring-fence the 2026 registration process to prevent further manipulation.
If the university’s internal processes fall short, the minister warned that the matter may be referred to the Hawks, as the sale of degrees constitutes a criminal offence.
VUT confirmed the allegations form part of a wider investigation into irregularities at the institution, and said consequence management measures are already “in motion”.
The university is also under separate scrutiny by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) over allegations of fraud, corruption and maladministration.
“VUT takes all allegations of fraud, corruption and academic irregularities extremely seriously,” university spokesperson Sibusiso Nkosi said.
“Strengthened internal controls, improved verification procedures, and revised governance frameworks have been implemented to prevent a recurrence.”
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