JUSTIN ARENSTEIN reports
POLICE arrested a 33-year-old senior education department typist on over 300 forgery charges on Wednesday in what is described as a “significant breakthrough” in Mpumalanga’s 1998 matric exam scandal.
The arrest follows more than one-year of intensive forensic investigation into how officials fraudulently boosted the province’s average matric exam pass rate by 20%, from 52% to 72%.
Over 7 000 matriculants were affected, with 5 000 pupils who should have failed fraudulently issued matric certificates, while 2 000 others were irregularly granted university exemptions.
Education department head Faith Sithole has since been sacked for misconduct, while exam director Gogo Ndlovana and education specialist Kate Mokone have been suspended pending the outcome of police investigations.
“Today’s arrest is only the first of many and follows a lengthy and arduous probe which included exacting forensic investigation on thousands of forged exam scripts,” said national crime intelligence spokesman, Senior Superintendent Faizel Abdul-Kader.
A statement by Abdul-Kader added that the still unnamed typist was arrested at work at 9:30am on Wednesday by members of the police commercial crime unit. The woman has been charged with over 300 counts of forgery or issuing forged documents and is expected to appear in the Middelburg magistrate’s court on Friday.
“Investigations are continuing and further arrests are imminent. Th[is] arrest should send a clear message that the scourge and cancer of corruption will not be tolerated,” said Abdul-Kader.
He urged the public to urgently supply police with any other relevant information on the case by calling the national police crime stop number 0800-11-12-13.
— African Eye News Service, February 17, 2000.