For students who gain their qualifications legitimately – who attend lectures, write assignments and sit for exams, often for several years – the certificates they receive at the end are the whole point. They’re proof of effort spent and knowledge gained. They open doors to further study and employment. They’re signifiers of success. But the value of tertiary certificates makes them vulnerable to fraud. For years, online degree and diploma mills have capitalised on this need, producing illegitimate certificates that falsely claim to be from almost any international university for a fee. In South Africa, scarce employment opportunities have made…
