She would have been the first one in her family to graduate yesterday but a bungle by the Walter Sisulu University has shattered Neliswa Malunga’s dream.
Her parents hired a car for R1000 and were ready to travel more than 300km from Kokstad in Kwazulu-Natal to Butterworth share in their first-born’s excitement and pride.
But it was not to be. Malunga, 29, was one of about 12 students who did not walk the stage at the Ibika campus yesterday.
The Malungas turned back home in Mthatha, where they received the bad news, yesterday.
She was supposed to graduate with an internal auditing diploma but because her forms had been “lost”, she had to sit outside the graduation venue while her former classmates graduated.
To prepare for her “big day”, Malunga, an intern at Kokstad municipality spent R7000 and requested a couple of days off work.
“I do not even know what explanation I am going to give to my boss,” a woebegone Malunga told the Daily Dispatch yesterday.
“I had everything ready – dress, shoes, nails hair. I had prepared and been ready for this day, but the university denied me and my family a very special moment.”
Malunga, the eldest of three, was going to be the first graduate in her family. “This is the day I have been looking forward to since I started school. I worked hard all my life to hear my name called and walk that stage to be capped. My spirit is down. I am very disappointed,” she said.
Malunga said it was painful hearing the names of her classmates being called to the stage.
Although she explained to her parents what happened, she suspected they might not believe her.
“It was a day they see the outcome of the efforts they put into me financially and emotionally, but they returned home empty,” she said.
Her brother Nkosinathi said: “She called me telling a story that did not make sense. She said she was not graduating because her name was not on the list of the students who were going to graduate.
“I have never heard such nonsense in my life. Someone studies for three years and when she has to graduate her name is not on the list of those graduating,” he said.
Nkosinathi said on top of the R1000 to hire the car they spent more than R2500 buying clothes.
Malunga said she only learnt on Thursday that she was not going to graduate.
Public management B-tech student Velile Dyasi also did not graduate yesterday. He said he applied for graduation twice. It was only when he went to fetch his graduation tickets that he was told that his name was not on the list.
“I applied again and submitted my form, but again my name was not on the list. This is incompetence of the highest degree,” he said.
A number of WSU students at the East London campus are in the same predicament as they have been told at the 11th hour they will not be graduating this week.
SRC president at the Mthatha campus Mzoxolo Zoko said at least 10 students did not graduate last week for similar reasons.
“We raised the issue with the management and we were promised that the affected students would graduate in September,” he said.
University spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said the faculties whose students were supposed to graduate but did not make it onto the list had been requested to investigate and provide feedback to campus management and the SRC.
“For the sake of academic integrity, the university does not allow students to graduate if they have not gone through the full vetting process and received final approval from the Senate ,” she said.
WSU flub brings heartbreak
Her parents hired a car for R1000 and were ready to travel more than 300km from Kokstad in Kwazulu-Natal to Butterworth share in their first-born’s excitement and pride.
But it was not to be. Malunga, 29, was one of about 12 students who did not walk the stage at the Ibika campus yesterday.
The Malungas turned back home in Mthatha, where they received the bad news, yesterday.
She was supposed to graduate with an internal auditing diploma but because her forms had been “lost”, she had to sit outside the graduation venue while her former classmates graduated.
To prepare for her “big day”, Malunga, an intern at Kokstad municipality spent R7000 and requested a couple of days off work.
“I do not even know what explanation I am going to give to my boss,” a woebegone Malunga told the Daily Dispatch yesterday.
“I had everything ready – dress, shoes, nails hair. I had prepared and been ready for this day, but the university denied me and my family a very special moment.”
Malunga, the eldest of three, was going to be the first graduate in her family. “This is the day I have been looking forward to since I started school. I worked hard all my life to hear my name called and walk that stage to be capped. My spirit is down. I am very disappointed,” she said.
Malunga said it was painful hearing the names of her classmates being called to the stage.
Although she explained to her parents what happened, she suspected they might not believe her.
“It was a day they see the outcome of the efforts they put into me financially and emotionally, but they returned home empty,” she said.
Her brother Nkosinathi said: “She called me telling a story that did not make sense. She said she was not graduating because her name was not on the list of the students who were going to graduate.
“I have never heard such nonsense in my life. Someone studies for three years and when she has to graduate her name is not on the list of those graduating,” he said.
Nkosinathi said on top of the R1000 to hire the car they spent more than R2500 buying clothes.
Malunga said she only learnt on Thursday that she was not going to graduate.
Public management B-tech student Velile Dyasi also did not graduate yesterday. He said he applied for graduation twice. It was only when he went to fetch his graduation tickets that he was told that his name was not on the list.
“I applied again and submitted my form, but again my name was not on the list. This is incompetence of the highest degree,” he said.
A number of WSU students at the East London campus are in the same predicament as they have been told at the 11th hour they will not be graduating this week.
SRC president at the Mthatha campus Mzoxolo Zoko said at least 10 students did not graduate last week for similar reasons.
“We raised the issue with the management and we were promised that the affected students would graduate in September,” he said.
University spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said the faculties whose students were supposed to graduate but did not make it onto the list had been requested to investigate and provide feedback to campus management and the SRC.
“For the sake of academic integrity, the university does not allow students to graduate if they have not gone through the full vetting process and received final approval from the Senate ,” she said.
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