Buy matric for R350
2005-10-30 14:39
Johannesburg - It took News24's sister newspaper City Press just 30 minutes to buy a matric certificate this week and it cost only R350.
A City Press investigation has found that while more than 600 000 learners studied hard to pass matric exams each year , a Nigerian syndicate operating from an internet café in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, was selling matric certificates at a cost of R350.
The fake certificates have been on sale for the past five years with an average of 10 to 20 issued a day, according to sources close to the syndicate.
After buying a fake certificate, City Press sent it to the administration unit of the University of Johannesburg for analysis.
This was to check if a student could be admitted to study at a tertiary institution with this document.
University of Johannesburg Kingsway campus certificate expert Gerrie du Preez was shocked by the quality of the fake certificate.
"The certificate looks legitimate at first glance, but as I look at it carefully I see a lot of mistakes ," said Du Preez.
When City Press went on a "reconnaissance mission" earlier this week, a motley group of six people were queuing to buy the fake certificates.
Upon our return the following day, it took just a few minutes to choose the best symbols.
When City Press asked for all the symbols to be on the higher grade, the man said: "I've been doing this for a long time. You should not worry."
Inside the shop, another man shouted on the phone about someone who made him lose R7m. Once the first version was done, it was handed over to this reporter to check.
Our handler then demanded the R350, which he then put in his back pocket. No receipt was given.
As the "original" fake certificate was printed out, a notice on the wall contradicted the practice: "This is a legal business. Any illegal activity will be penalised."
The major faults on the fake certificate appeared to be the fonts used for the wording "South African Certification Council" which, on genuine certificates, is in italics and that the certificate had no department of education stamp.
On enquiry, the immaculately-dressed lad, who smelt of perfume, said he had helped many and the way it worked was that "you make