The South African Council for Educators (SACE) has warned people with fake teaching documents or qualifications to stay away from its offices or schools as measures are in place to arrest them on the spot.
The warning comes after the Lyttelton SAPS arrested a 41-year-old female at the South African Council for Educators (SACE) headquarters in Centurion, Tshwane, for allegedly presenting a fake certificate and transcript.
A bogus applicant, who resides in Gauteng, allegedly attempted to apply for a Professional Registration Certificate with a fake Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
The arrest was made on Monday at the SACE offices.
The police confirmed that the female applicant will be taken into custody, and the process of investigation will commence on the submission of fraudulent qualifications and will be expected to appear in court soon.
According to the SACE’s registration head, Yvonne Lechaba, many “bogus” applicants who presented fake qualifications were arrested. She said those are the applicants who work closely with syndicates and assist them in producing the fake-qualifications.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, another applicant, who was in the process of acquiring a Professional Registration Certificate, was also arrested for a similar offence in the Eastern Cape Provincial Office after submitting a fake diploma education qualification. The applicant has also been taken into police custody.
The Council said it would work closely with the police and other stakeholders in arresting all scammers. It mentioned that a process of vetting was in place to ensure that all documents submitted but applicants were authentic.