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Home / Unam graduates fume over missing certificates
Unam graduates fume over missing certificates
2018-04-18Staff Report 2 Obrein Simasiku Omuthiya-Some students who graduated from the University of Namibia (Unam) last week were furious over their incorrect and missing certificates. Some graduates who spoke to New Era said they were surprised to learn their certificates were not available when they went to collect them prior to graduation day. They further alleged that some who received their certificates had spelling mistakes in their names and some details omitted, while others claim that some certificates were blank and only contained names. “I went to collect my degree, but to my surprise when they handed the envelope to me, they did so together with a form telling me that I should fill in what was missing. So I proceeded to open the envelope but there was no degree inside. All along they knew things were not right but they are not informing us,” fumed one graduate from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, who declined to be named. “What kind of graduation is this when you do not have your hard-earned qualification, just to go there, to sit and pretend all is okay? This is a joke,” lamented another graduate. “They are not telling us how long the correction will take or when one can come back to collect the certificate – we are being kept in the dark. Next time they should put their house in order and not disappoint us like this at the last minute,” stressed a science graduate. Meanwhile, Unam spokesperson Simon Namesho urged the graduates to remain calm and rather approach their respective faculties in order for the mistakes to be rectified and reprinted by the university at no cost to the students. “Once a graduate’s degree has been conferred at a graduation ceremony either in person or in absentia, they will automatically receive a qualification certificate. Qualification certificates are either presented to graduates at a graduation venue of their choice on the days before, during or after the graduation ceremony. Alternatively, they can be collected by a confirmed proxy in a manner advised by the university,” explained Namesho. In addition, Namesho said in some instances the qualification certificate can be withheld by the university especially in cases where the graduate has an unsettled account or unreturned library book, until such dues are settled. “Thus, not yet receiving one’s qualification certificate on a day of a graduation ceremony does not imply incorrect certificates,” he stressed. 2018-04-18Staff Report 2
