A screenshot of a 2017 article from known junk news site News Daily claims South Africa’s government plans to give school-leaving certificates to dropouts.
“We are going to give matric certificates to black unemployed dropouts to help them find jobs,” the headline reads, attributing the statement to basic education minister Angie Motshekga.
South African pupils receive a national senior certificate, known as a matric certificate, for passing national exams in Grade 12, the final year of high school.
The News Daily site does not appear to exist anymore, but the claim is still doing the rounds on Facebook.
The article says Motshekga sat down with the president who gave her the “green light” and called it a “brilliant way to give unemployed youth hope so they can stop protesting and committing crimes every day”.
In July 2017, the department of basic education dismissed the article, saying “there are no plans to give anyone who does not pass the national senior certificate examinations a matric certificate”.
“We urge members of the public to be vigilant about verifying [what] they read before they share it on social media,” the department said. - Africa Check
“We are going to give matric certificates to black unemployed dropouts to help them find jobs,” the headline reads, attributing the statement to basic education minister Angie Motshekga.
South African pupils receive a national senior certificate, known as a matric certificate, for passing national exams in Grade 12, the final year of high school.
The News Daily site does not appear to exist anymore, but the claim is still doing the rounds on Facebook.
The article says Motshekga sat down with the president who gave her the “green light” and called it a “brilliant way to give unemployed youth hope so they can stop protesting and committing crimes every day”.
‘Be vigilant before sharing’
In July 2017, the department of basic education dismissed the article, saying “there are no plans to give anyone who does not pass the national senior certificate examinations a matric certificate”.
“We urge members of the public to be vigilant about verifying [what] they read before they share it on social media,” the department said. - Africa Check
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Further Reading
Governments in Africa have doubled ‘false news’ laws, to little effect. Another way is possible
Since 2016, the 11 countries we studied nearly doubled their laws and regulations on misinformation. There is little to show for it.
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