House Chairperson, students at our public further education and training colleges will no longer receive printed certificates, even though their study programmes are called, ironically, "national certificate programmes".
The Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training issued a circular last week announcing that the department would no longer be issuing certificates for certain of the national certificate programmes offered at our public FET colleges. This decision comes after many months of frustration for students, parents and college staff who could not understand why the promised certificates were not received.
The issuing of the certificates was discontinued without any explanation or warning. Some students have been waiting since November 2010 for their certificates. The printing of certificates is a simple administrative matter and bears a relatively small cost. This strengthens the notion that this decision was inspired by organisational inadequacies in the department.
The DA understands the despondency of many students and their parents. The certificate is not only proof of achievement, but is also a document that brings pride and encourages students to strive even harder and higher. We need every reasonable action to encourage our students to excel in their studies, and the receipt of a national certificate is but one example of such encouragement.
We call on the Minister of Higher Education and Training to intervene, to rescind this decision and to start issuing certificates again to those that deserve them. Thank you. [Applause.]