I am Nwabisa Ngezana and since 2020 I have been on the journey of trying to get my documents processed by DIRCO and SAQA so that I can go and teach English is South Korea. Because I do not have the money to pay rotten expensive agents I have not succeeded in securing employment. I am one of many unemployed graduates who just want to leave SA to get jobs overseas so we may be able to support our families. 

Since Covid19 hit the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) shut its doors to desperate unemployed graduates who seek to get their documents apostilled as part of the requirements for overseas English teaching jobs. They are forcing unemployed graduates to use the services of expensive (middle men) agents who are now the only people who can walk into DIRCO and submit documents on behalf of applicants who they charge anything from R1000 to over R3000 for the service.

Many who have tried to use the alternative to these agents, the PostNet courier service, have had their documents rejected because they are said to be fraudulent and fake by the countries they applied to, which automatically disqualifies them from applying again for a period of 5 years. This means in order to succeed, applicants are left with no choice, but to pay these expensive agents because they need jobs and South Africa cannot provide those jobs. 

With South Africa's unemployment rate at an all time high our institutions should not be creating further stumbling blocks to unemployed graduates obtaining employment in other countries knowing very well that our government is in no position to provide these jobs.

DIRCO's working hours are currently an appalling 08:30 to 12pm yet they claim they want to clear the backlog that was created by Covid19. To add insult to injury, The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), instead of directly verifying qualifications for applicants is now sending them automated emails diverting them to the use of "verification agents" who charge R2215 to verify qualifications on behalf of applicants this is despite the normal SAQA charge for verification being only R610. 

We demand DIRCO and SAQA to #RemoveTheAgents and allow us to make our own applications directly to them through walk-ins and PostNet courier services. Covid19 has gotten better now and we demand that they extend their working hours to accommodate the clearing of the backlog. No more agents we want to handle our own applications!