The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) on Monday launched a digital certificate of evaluation as a pilot to benefit holders of qualifications obtained in other countries.
SAQA CEO Joe Samuels said the digital certificate reduces the lead time it takes to reach the qualification holder.
“Because it can be shared in real-time and can be verified in real-time as evidence to support applications for further studies, visa, employment, registration and professional licensing in South Africa.”
“This development builds on the efforts SAQA has made to endure quicker and more efficient evaluation of foreign qualifications through the establishment of the African qualifications network in 2016, as well as the Southern African Development Community verification network in 2017, and SAQA’s ongoing work with members of the Groningen declaration network,” Samuels says.
He said the digital certificate comes together with a Digital Seal which can be embedded in email signatures, social media profiles and websites so that holders can showcase their qualifications.
“In this pilot phase, SAQA has used the services of PrivySeal to provide the digital certificate and the Digital Seal in a secure manner.”
As part of it mandate, the organisation evaluates foreign qualifications by first verifying the status and authenticity of foreign qualifications and then compares them to national qualifications by locating them within the South African National Qualifications Framework.
“We are proud of this pilot project and the electronic SAQA certificate evaluation. Going digital in this way puts SAQA at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution which embraces digitisation and it’s benefits,” Samuels said.
