The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Monday called on South Africans to use “the little time they have” to submit their views on the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Bill, saying it was critical to afford South Africans an opportunity to speak on this important piece of legislation.

The Bill seeks to deal decisively with misrepresentation of qualifications in the system and also provides scope for the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to evaluate foreign qualifications.

The deadline for submission of views on the Bill is Tuesday, 28 August.

Committee chairperson Connie September said the committee wanted to hinder “cheating” and ensure that “people were correctly accredited for what they have qualified for”.

September said this would protect the credibility of the system and also protect the workplace from being blindsided by mere attendance of foreign universities. She added that fraudulent qualifications and misrepresentation would no longer go undetected and unpunished.

The committee said that there are provisions in the Bill to allow a greater role for SAQA, as well as professional bodies, when it comes to verification of qualifications.