Africa-Press – South-Africa. The University of Venda in Limpopo has launched an investigation after a prospective student was asked to pay a bribe to be admitted to the institution shortly after she submitted an application.
The person attempting to solicit the bribe had the applicant’s personal details and asked for a R3 500 payment if she wanted to be admitted to the university.
On Wednesday, Mihlali Qotoyi applied online to study for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the university.
Around 10 minutes after submitting her application, Qotoyi received a WhatsApp message from an unknown person, who said they had seen her PGCE application on the portal and that they could assist with admission.
The person, whose name was listed as Tshilidzi Isaac Mulidzi on the WhatsApp profile, asked Qotoyi how much she was willing to pay.
Being sceptical, Qotoyi asked what her student number was. The person sent her full name and student number in response. Qotoyi was shocked.
“First of all, this person has access to my personal information, including my next of kin’s info, of which that’s dangerous, and the fact that he wanted me to bribe him without even knowing whether I qualify for the course or not because I haven’t even sent my documents in terms of my academic records and stuff like that, but already he has the audacity to say that to me,” Qotoyi told News24.
During the conversation between the two, the person – who is either a staff member with access to the applications portal or someone who is getting information from a staff member – said: “And by the way our services start from 3.5k but for assurance sake, you can pay half now, then the rest of the amount after admission.”
Instead of giving in to the bribe, Qotoyi posted the WhatsApp conversation on Twitter.
The person then found out about that and demanded that she delete the Twitter post.
This is not the first instance of prospective students being contacted and asked for bribes to get admitted to the university.
The university released a statement on Thursday, announcing that a staff member had demanded a bribe from an applicant in exchange for admission.
The staff member was identified and suspended pending disciplinary action, it added.
University spokesperson, Dr Takalani Victor Dzaga, said the staff member was attached to the department of student administration.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the implicated staff member was receiving transactions suspected to be bribe payments and that he was working with a former student who had been suspended. However, the staff member’s suspension did not relate to Qotoyi’s case.
Dzaga said another investigation was launched after the university was made aware that Qotoyi had also been asked for a bribe.
Despite the same modus operandi being used, Dzaga said he could not yet confirm whether it was the same staff member or suspended student who had contacted Qotoyi, but could reveal that no one named Tshilidzi Isaac Mulidzi worked at the university.
In its statement, the university warned staff members to remain ethical in their conduct and to avoid bribery and corruption.
“Serious measures will be taken against any staff members who are found to be involved in this kind of unethical behaviour that brings the name of the university into disrepute.”
Dzaga said applicants should also refrain from engaging in corrupt activities to secure admission.
“Our admission is based on merit.”
The university said tip-offs of illegal dealings at the university should be reported to [email protected] or the toll-free number 0800 212 755.
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