The High Court dealt with an application by a University of South Africa LLB graduate who had changed his surname and wanted an amended degree certificate reflecting that change. The court dismissed the respondents’ late answering affidavit and the applicant’s supplementary affidavit, dismissed the declaratory relief, and ordered Unisa to issue an amended LLB degree certificate in the new surname. The judgment also records that Unisa had offered a statement in lieu of a certificate, and that the court found no case made out for declaring the policy statement unconstitutional.
This appears to concern university certification processes and amended qualification records where a lawful name change has been recorded.
Evidence from source
The respondents are ordered to issue the applicant with an amended LLB degree certificate reflecting his surname, Ka-Mthokozisi, as it appears on his Home Affairs identity document issued in December 2023.
Supports: plain_summary: the court ordered Unisa to issue an amended degree certificate in the new surname
The application for declaratory orders is dismissed.
Supports: plain_summary: the declaratory relief was dismissed
Unisa refused to do so; instead, it offered only a ‘statement in lieu’ of a certificate, attaching the transcript and the academic record.
Supports: plain_summary and why_it_may_matter: Unisa offered a statement in lieu instead of reissuing the certificate