A crackdown on teachers with false qualifications saw 19 teachers in KwaZulu-Natal being charged for fraud in February.
The operation is part of efforts by the province’s education department to rid the system of staff who applied for positions using fraudulent matric certificates. The initiative was started in 2009, after investigations revealed fraud dating back to 2005.
In 2013, the department busted 173 educators who had been working with forged qualifications.
Some of the teachers arrested in February allegedly furthered their tertiary studies using the fake documents, which resulted in their salaries increasing. Some teachers, who had legitimate matric certificates, also obtained fraudulent tertiary qualifications in order to qualify for a salary increase.
KwaZulu-Natal police arrested the 19 teachers in KaNgwanase, Nongoma, Ngwavuma, Dumbe and Jozini. Police spokesperson Jay Naicker said the educators have been charged with fraud estimated at R25-million.
“Some of the arrested teachers had already been dismissed by the department and others were still teaching. All the arrested teachers appeared at the Durban Commercial Crime Court and are out on bail,” he said.
KZN’s provincial commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni added police would continue to root out white collar crimes. "It is important that we deal with white collar crimes as firmly as we do with other serious crimes as these fraudulent activities deprive people of their livelihood whilst robbing government of funds that could be used to deliver services," she said.A crackdown on teachers with false qualifications saw 19 teachers in KwaZulu-Natal being charged for fraud in February.
The operation is part of efforts by the province’s education department to rid the system of staff who applied for positions using fraudulent matric certificates. The initiative was started in 2009, after investigations revealed fraud dating back to 2005.
In 2013, the department busted 173 educators who had been working with forged qualifications.
Some of the teachers arrested in February allegedly furthered their tertiary studies using the fake documents, which resulted in their salaries increasing. Some teachers, who had legitimate matric certificates, also obtained fraudulent tertiary qualifications in order to qualify for a salary increase.
KwaZulu-Natal police arrested the 19 teachers in KaNgwanase, Nongoma, Ngwavuma, Dumbe and Jozini. Police spokesperson Jay Naicker said the educators have been charged with fraud estimated at R25-million.
“Some of the arrested teachers had already been dismissed by the department and others were still teaching. All the arrested teachers appeared at the Durban Commercial Crime Court and are out on bail,” he said.
KZN’s provincial commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni added police would continue to root out white collar crimes. "It is important that we deal with white collar crimes as firmly as we do with other serious crimes as these fraudulent activities deprive people of their livelihood whilst robbing government of funds that could be used to deliver services," she said.
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