How you could lose your South African university degree based on your online behaviour
While it has long been understood that your future job opportunities could be at risk due to your online behaviour, there is now a possibility that it can also have a disastrous effect on your past achievements.
According to Verlie Oosthuizen, head of social media law at Shepstone Wylie, a case has arisen in the United Kingdom where Cambridge University is considering revoking the degree of a convicted online sex criminal who received his PhD from the prestigious university and lectured at the University of Birmingham.
Oosthuizen said it was not surprising that Cambridge may no longer want to be associated with the past student given the extensive media coverage surrounding the case, and the fact that he was a Cambridge graduate being mentioned in nearly every article.
His crimes were also particularly severe and he was sentenced for 37 years after selecting a number of victims from the Dark Web.
However she said that the case it raises interesting questions as to whether an institution or business can actually erase past achievements – especially when considering the amount of time and work that would have gone into a doctorate or similar degree.
“Cambridge University has been reported as considering the unprecedented move of stripping him of his physics degree due to the immense distress he has caused, however it is unclear whether there is provision in their governing documents for this move,” she said.
“In South Africa this would only be allowed if a tertiary institution made specific provision for it in its governance procedures.
“It will be interesting to see whether this case creates a precedent for Universities to consider this option and whether it would be fair to revoke a degree completed years previously for current misconduct,” she said.
Read: Here’s when your boss is allowed to read your personal emails in South Africa
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