Another blow in Delft woman's 20-year wait for her teaching diploma
Nomalinde Tongo Picture: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA) Nomalinde Tongo Picture: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town – A Delft mother who said she has been
struggling for the past 20 years to have
her teaching diploma issued to her has
been told to wait at least another three
months as the college she attended
had shut its doors, and officials were
only now digitising records.
Nomalinde Tongo, 48, said she completed a teaching course at the Western Cape College of Education in 2001.
She has been battling ever since to get her results from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), which was the custodian of the teacher records at the college.
Tongo, who is working as a domestic worker, said she was told her second-year biology results were outstanding.
“I completed all my modules, even my third-year modules, which I passed. I have been enquiring about this for years with the WCED, I even went to the lecturer and asked him to check the files as I believed he still had them,” she said.
Tongo said after years of failing to get her results from the WCED she then went to apply at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, but she was rejected as they needed the results, she said.
“I was working two jobs to pay for my fees and accommodation while I was studying.
“This was heartbreaking to me, I worked so hard to finish my studies.
“What hurts me the most is everyone that attended college with me has been teaching for more than 18 years now. It seems like I wasted three years of my life studying for nothing.
“I now need the department to return my money or give me my results,” she said.
The Western Cape College of Education in Kuils River was accredited by the SA Qualifications Authority.
The college offered full qualifications from level 5 higher certificate; national * -diploma, Unisa bachelor of education degree; foundation phase and as well as level 4 further education and training certificate.
The WCED certification and walk-in centre manager Merle Ludick said: “The teacher records we had access to were all in book format and the departmental decision was to digitise the records and have it available electronically, especially to assist staff when researching and issuing results.
“The record books are no longer with the WCED and are currently with a service provider that is scanning and indexing the records in an electronic format for ease of reference.
“Unfortunately, for the next 3-4 months, WCED is not able to access or issue any teacher results.
“By implication, unfortunately, no other institution has access to the records or will be in a position to assist currently,” said Ludick.