Why people fake qualifications

It was around 1995 and I was in high school in Mangaung.

A friend of mine, who was older than me but also a fiction writer like me, had met someone very interesting in one of the writers’ forums he attended.

When he first told me about this new friend of his, he emphasised one thing about him: the man was seriously educated. I inquired about this man’s level of education and he told me that the man, who was in his 20s, was from university and had acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature.

We both put our arms on our mouths in sheer astonishment.

“How could such a young man be so educated?” we asked ourselves.

Without being aware of it, we subconsciously developed a sense of heightened respect for the lettered man.

When we read his poems and short stories, we subconsciously attached additional weight to his writings mainly on the basis of the man’s qualifications.

We ran the risk of not being objective in assessing the quality of his writings.

Today, when I read the man’s writing, and based on how far he has gone in terms of his writing career, I can safely conclude that, despite his level of education, the quality of my learned friend’s writing was acutely average.

It is amazing how a person’s possession of this or that degree changes another’s perception about that person’s knowledge, wisdom and skills.

This perception is not always incorrect as education is an important determinant of knowledge.

But is it always automatic that a person with a degree will be better knowledgeable than the one without a degree?

This is a subject for further inquiry.

It is not the crux of this article to trivialise educational attainment.

It would be foolhardy for me to preach that a degree or a diploma is a mere piece of paper that is not worth much.

The main purpose of this piece is to unpack how society’s perception of qualification influences others to have those titles against all odds. It is because of the weight attached to a qualification that struggle icon Pallo Jordan faked a doctorate for more than 30 years.

Had Jordan been honest about his qualification, would he still have been invited to write columns for mainstream publications like Business Day, for example?

Would he still have been referred to as an “astute intellectual”?

Well, I doubt it.

For as long as we regard those with some form of qualification as clever, and those without a qualification as stupid, we shall always experience fakes.

Education is an important nutrient in productivity and capacity.

Education itself takes various forms ranging from formal, informal, coaching and other forms.

It is precisely because of this that someone with a certain level of experience qualifies for a position that is otherwise reserved for those who possess an educational qualification he does not even have.

People must stop faking their qualifications.

And those who do have qualifications must know that a degree provides a necessary foundation for one to acquire the necessary skills and expertise in a specific area.

If people want to have qualifications they must work hard towards attaining such qualifications. To be called a doctor of any field requires you to work hard towards that title.

While society correctly accords the necessary respect to those with titles and qualifications, it must refrain from labelling as stupid those who either dropped out from school or couldn’t get qualifications. Every person must be respected as a human being with brain matter and his thoughts must be respected despite his educational attainments, or lack thereof.

This is not intended to undermine the expertise of those who, by virtue of their education and experience, are experts in a particular field.

Somebody who is not a qualified surgeon must not be allowed to operate on anybody’s anatomy – this is a special expertise of a qualified surgeon.  But it would also be foolhardy to dismiss any proposal from one considered foolish because they do not possess a matric certificate, for example.

That President Jacob Zuma could not get formal education, because of unique circumstances he faced, should not justify that he be labelled a dumb person.

We need to appreciate people’s capabilities, talents and efforts before we conclude whether they are able to contribute positively in any discussion. Labelling everyone who does not have a certificate as an illiterate will just continue to reproduce fake doctors and holders of certificates. And this is not good for our posterity.