Central University of Technology (CUT) has suspended eight students who were allegedly admitted fraudulently for this academic year.
Sunday World has it on good authority that a probe by the Free State based university found that the eight students were admitted to the institution despite not meeting its admission policy requirements.
The investigation further found that the implicated students allegedly paid kickbacks for them to be fraudulently admitted as students.
The suspension means the implicated students have been barred from attending classes, accessing online modules and other university activities.
CUT spokesperson Dan Maritz said following a tip off through the university’s whistleblowing platforms, a preliminary investigation was launched which established that these students were “fraudulently admitted knowingly that they did not qualify to register at CUT.”
“We don’t know yet at this stage whether staff members are involved, but there is clear evidence that there are some parties involved who have been conspiring with these students and have contaminated the system to carry out this scheme. For the record, those individuals who are found to have been part of this fraudulent activities will be dealt with accordingly,” he said.
Asked whether this was an isolated incident, Maritz said: “We believe this is indeed an isolated incident, as we have never had any incident of this nature before. However, the management has taken a bold step and expanded the investigation to ensure that no other cases such as this one have occurred and those parties allegedly involved are brought to book, as they have no place in a well-run university such as CUT. “
The institution has since launched a forensic investigation to dig deeper into the matter. “Once the investigation has been and implicated parties have been positively identified, the university will report this matter to the law enforcement agencies, as fraud is considered a serious criminal offence,” Maritz said.
