School Owner Who "Stole" US$7 000 Exam Fees Appears In Court

A man from Damafalls Phase 4, Ruwa, who was allegedly running an unregistered school in Eastview Phase 6, Caledonia, and misappropriated nearly US$7,000 paid by students for examination registration, has appeared in court.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that the accused person, Rutendo Zivanai, appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for contravening the Education Act and fraud charges. Said the NPA:

Allegations are that, sometime in March 2024, the accused person received payments from 34 Ordinary Level students purporting that he would register them for examinations at a registered ZIMSEC centre but failed to make any arrangements and converted the money to his own use.

The accused person was running an unregistered school in Eastview Phase 6, Caledonia, Findale Academy.

On the 14th of October 2024, the students went to the purported examination centre as advised by the accused person to sit for the examinations and upon arrival were informed that they were not registered as candidates, hence were sent away.

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A police report was made, leading to the arrest of the accused person.

The complainants suffered a total prejudice of US$6 908 and nothing was recovered.

The students were later able to write some of their examinations after President Emmerson Mnangagwa paid the examination fee.

The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerai Moyo, confirmed this development during a visit to Findale Academy on 16 October. Said Moyo:

I want to thank His Excellency the President for coming to the rescue of all these learners because their fundamental right, education, had been violated through this theft by the owner of this school.

What is most important is the fact that the proliferation of unreasonable schools is a challenge to us as the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, and we are going to take measures against all those schools that are operating illegally.

ZIMSEC Chief Executive Officer, Lazarus Nembaware confirmed the centres where learners were set to sit for their examinations. Said Nembaware:

We are now putting in place all the requirements so that the affected learners will start writing their exams starting tomorrow.

So starting tomorrow they must report to the centres which we have allocated them. They will write as Pirate candidates and their results will be made public.

More: Pindula News