The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) has raised concern over the growing number of unregistered institutions operating illegally and awarding fraudulent undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, including bogus earned and honorary Ph.Ds.
As the national regulatory and quality assurance body for higher education, ZIMCHE is responsible for overseeing the accreditation, registration, and evaluation of higher learning institutions to ensure they meet the required standards.
In a statement, ZIMCHE lamented that these unlawful activities undermine the integrity and quality of Zimbabwe’s higher education system, posing significant risks to the public. The statement reads:
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<h2>Conferment and Use of Fake/Fraudulent Degrees</h2>
The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) has noted with grave concern the proliferation of unregistered institutions operating unlawfully and conferring fraudulent undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, including purportedly earned and honourary Ph.Ds.
These activities undermine the integrity and quality of Zimbabwe’s higher education system and pose significant risks to the public.
The ZIMCHE has identified several unregistered institutions engaged in these illegal practices and has issued closure orders to curb their operations.
Unfortunately, some institutions persist in defying the law, continuing to enrol students and issuing fraudulent degrees.
Of particular concern is also the use of these fraudulent qualifications and false titles such as “Professor” or “Doctor” by officials from these unregistered institutions as well as recipients of the qualifications.
In the case of the latter, recipients include unsuspecting members of the public who are duped out of their hard-earned money, while in some cases the recipients are willing accomplices to academic and qualifications fraud.
As the regulatory authority mandated under The ZIMCHE Act [Chapter 25:27], the ZIMCHE is committed to safeguarding the standards, quality, and credibility of Zimbabwe’s Higher Education System.
In this regard, unregistered institutions are unequivocally warned to cease operations immediately, withdraw all fraudulent qualifications, and desist from issuing or conferring any degrees including purportedly earned and honourary Ph.Ds.
Recipients of fraudulent qualifications and false titles are strongly advised to stop using these credentials or risk legal consequences, including civil and criminal prosecution.
To protect stakeholders including students, employers, and the public, the ZIMCHE has initiated investigations into these unlawful activities.
Appropriate legal measures will be taken against both unregistered institutions and individuals found complicit in academic fraud.
Members of the public are urged to exercise vigilance by verifying the accreditation status of such institutions with the ZIMCHE before enrolling in any programmes.
Similarly, employers are encouraged to thoroughly authenticate qualifications presented by prospective employees with the ZIMCHE.
Members of the public should always be on the lookout for unregistered institutions, that in some cases frequently change their locations to evade detection.
Some of these institutions are not owned by Zimbabweans, while others claim affiliation with dubious “international” universities that are not even registered and accredited in their countries of origin.
The ZIMCHE remains resolute in its mission to uphold the integrity and quality of Zimbabwe’s higher education system and is intensifying efforts to ensure that only accredited institutions operate within our borders, maintaining the integrity and high-quality standards that have been built over decades.
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Pindula News

The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) is worried about fake colleges giving out fake degrees, even Ph.Ds. ZIMCHE's job is to make sure that schools are good enough. They say that these fake degrees hurt the education system and fool people. ZIMCHE is telling fake schools to close and stop giving out fake degrees. They will take legal action if they don't stop. People should check with ZIMCHE to make sure a school is real. The goal is to keep the education system in Zimbabwe honest and good for everyone.

Counterfeit Degrees And Ph.D.s Threaten Zimbabwe’s Education System - ZIMCHE

The University of South Africa (UNISA) has dismissed claims by Mandisa Mashego, a former EFF member, that it is under investigation for issuing fake degrees.
In a podcast, Mandisa said UNISA was “becoming like these Nigerian universities”.
She also claimed that the institution was being investigated for fake degrees, for people who sit and write exams for others or even do the entire curriculum for them.
In a statement released on 01 April 2023, UNISA demanded that Mandisa apologise and withdraw her utterances, saying it reserved the right to also legally challenge the leader of Abantu Batho Congress. Reads the statement:
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The University of South Africa (Unisa) has taken note of the interview by Penuel “The Black Pen” with Mandisa Mashego who made unjustified and unsubstantiated statements that Unisa is currently under investigation for fake degrees, for people writing curriculum for others, for running classes, for corruption and “Lot of things”.
She also likened Unisa to some “Nigerian universities” that she alleges have no legitimacy (though they are accredited).
Unisans and the rest of the University community should dismiss the misleading utterances of Ms. Mashego with the contempt they deserve.
Unisa’s academic integrity, credibility, legitimacy, and stature are not in doubt. The university continues to shape futures of various people across the world including leaders of various sectors of society. I
t makes a tremendous contribution to the higher education sector by graduating around a third of all graduates in South Africa.
As a public institution of higher learning that is governed by a range of applicable rules and regulations including those relating to quality assurance and accreditation; we remain in focused in supporting and promoting the academic project of our university and strive to improve student support that enhances their positive experience of Unisa.
Having said that, Unisa calls upon Ms. Mashego to withdraw her utterances and apologise to Unisa. The university reserves the right to also challenge Ms. Mashego legally.
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UNISA is reported to be the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment has over 400 000 students, including international students from 130 countries worldwide.
More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200009522/ed-demands-re-run-in-violence-hotspots">Pindula News</a>

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