| (1) | A person is guilty of an offence if the person— |
| (a) | makes or causes to be made a false entry in the national learners’ records database or the misrepresented or fraudulent register; |
| (b) | is a party to the falsification and dissemination or publication of a qualification or part-qualification of any person or the records of the national learners’ records database or the misrepresented or fraudulent register; or |
| (c) | with a fraudulent purpose, knowingly provided false or misleading information in any circumstances in which this Act requires the person to provide information or give notice to another person. |
| (2) | A person, an education institution or skills development provider is guilty of an offence if a person, the education institution or skills development provider claims to be offering a qualification or part-qualification registered on the NQF whereas that qualification or part-qualification is not so registered. |
| (3) | A person is guilty of an offence, if such a person falsely or fraudulently claims to be holding a qualification or part-qualification registered on the NQF or awarded by an education institution, skills development provider, QC or obtained from a lawfully recognised foreign institution. |
| (4) | Any person, education institution, skills development provider, foreign institution is guilty of an offence if it falsely claims to be registered and accredited as an education institution, skills development provider or foreign institution in terms of the laws of the Republic or foreign law. |
| (5) | If a person, education institution its directors or board, a foreign institution its agents or directors or board, or a skills development provider is convicted of any offence under this Act, the court that imposes the sentence shall consider as an aggravating factor the fact that the offence was— |
| (a) | committed with the intent to gain financially, or to receive any favour, benefit, reward, compensation or any other advantage; or |
| (b) | gained financially, or received any favour, benefit, reward, compensation or any other advantage. |
| (6) | Any person convicted of an offence in terms of this Act, is liable, in the case of a contravention of sections 32B(1), 32B(2), 32B(3) or 32B(4) to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or to both a fine and such imprisonment. |
| (7) | Any person, education institution, director or a board member of an education institution, foreign institution or its agents, or skills development provider in contravention of section 32B(4) may be ordered to close its business and declared unfit to apply and register any education institution, skills development provider or become an agent of any foreign institution in the Republic offering a qualification or part-qualification on the NQF or foreign qualification or part-qualification for a period not exceeding 10 years. |
[Section 32A inserted by section 7 of the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act, 2019, Notice No 1078, GG42646, dated 19 August 2019 - effective 13 October 2023 per Proclamation Notice 139, GG49501, dated 13 October 2023]
