KEY POINTS
- Authorities in Gauteng arrested a woman for handing in phony UNISA and SACE teaching qualifications.
- Authorities allege a Mpumalanga teacher managed to get over R1.2 million through the use of fake matric and university checks.
- Leaders are stepping up how they verify documents and sending clear messages to would-be fraudsters.
On Tuesday, police took a woman from Gauteng into custody at the SACE headquarters in Centurion for attempting to register with fake teaching qualifications.
She allegedly submitted forged credentials from UNISA along with a fake SACE registration letter. Authorities claimed she used these fraudulent documents to work as a teacher.
SACE has further ramped up its document verification procedures and advised people with fake teacher certificates to not come close to SACE offices or schools.
Registration Council said in a statement that it had alerted the SAPS and also SAQA to this incident, the statement continued.
Teacher in Mpumalanga accused of making R1.2 million with fake academic papers
In a related case, authorities arrested 41-year-old Ntombelanga Pretty Labane from Mpumalanga for working as a teacher using a fake matric certificate and a bachelor’s degree she never earned.
Investigators said Labane failed her matric exam four times between 2003 and 2006 and used a forged certificate to gain admission to Walter Sisulu University. She got a job teaching business and accounting at Hlelimfundo Secondary School in Amersfoort after she obtained her B-Ed.
Captain Dineo Sekgotodi of the Hawks in Mpumalanga said a whistle-blower tipped off the PSC, prompting officials to launch an investigation in 2022.
They also said in a statement that the principal, circuit manager, and district office admitted they didn’t have the resources to spot the fraud, as reported by Sekgotodi.
Labane was arrested after the PSC passed the case to the Hawks’ Secunda-based serious commercial crime unit.
Calls for stronger credential checking processes to avoid fake teaching qualifications
Furthermore because of these incidents, leaders are demanding stricter control of teaching qualifications in South Africa to be able to spot fake teaching qualifications.
SACE further reminded the public that those found with fake documents will be arrested right away. Finally education authorities have stated that they are revising their systems to try and prevent such cases from happening again.
