1300 teachers removed over fake qualifications

More than 1,300 elementary school teachers across the country have already been removed from the education system after being found to have used fraudulent qualifications.

Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission [TSC], Maini Ugaia, revealed this while urging provincial education advisors and TSC officers to continue identifying teachers who may still be serving with fake credentials.

Mr Ugaia said the commission discovered that the teachers had entered the system using computer-fabricated qualifications which were not genuine.

He explained that the ongoing teacher data digitalisation program will help authorities identify more teachers who may be practising illegally.

“We are asking you either to surrender yourself and leave before we catch up with you,” Mr Ugaia said.

“We've done it in the elementary sector and over 1,300 teachers were asked to leave, and we've terminated them because they came through the system using computer-fabricated qualifications which were not genuine.”

Mr Ugaia said the digital data capture process is also helping the commission identify qualification and knowledge gaps among teachers.

He added that the information gathered will help align future teacher training and professional development programs across the country.