17 SA- BASED STUDENTS REPORTED FOR E790 364 FRAUD

MANZINI – Seventeen students studying in South Africa have been reported to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) for milking government about E800 000.

The students, studying in various tertiary institutions in the neighbouring republic, are said to have defrauded government by presenting ‘cooked’ Form V results to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

The students, according to impeccable sources, are said to have decreased their aggregate points in order to qualify for scholarships that would see them advance their studies outside the borders of the country.

After conniving and duping government to consider them as the crème-de la crème in their chosen fields of study, the students were advanced scholarship loans of varying amounts. In total, the 17 students cost government E790 364.

The masterminds behind the scholarship fraud are said to be scattered in tertiary institutions situated in the nine provinces of South Africa.
These provinces are: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Limpompo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
This was confirmed by the Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer, Inspector Nosipho Mnguni. She said investigations were ongoing as 17 enquiry files had been opened.

Comment

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Principal Secretary, Thulani Mkhaliphi, could not be reached for comment as he is said to be out of the country on an official assignment.

Communications Officer in the ministry, Nompilo Mncina, had been forwarded these questions: “Has government reported local students studying in South Africa for scholarship fraud?  If yes, how much has it been defrauded and what is the modus operandi by the students? If no, how much does government lose annually through misrepresentation by students? Are there any gatekeepers used by the ministry to safeguard against fraud by students? Which tertiary institutions have the most number of local students who misrepresent themselves?”

However, by the time this article was compiled (7:17pm), she was still waiting for responses from the relevant officers in the ministry.
Meanwhile, in a previous interview, Mkhaliphi had said government was annually defrauded about E56 million by students.
He said this amount was siphoned by pupils who had just completed high school and sought enrolment in tertiary institutions.

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