The Unqualified Teacher: Mpumalanga Woman Who Faked Her Way to a R1.2 Million Salary Faces Trial

The Unqualified Teacher: Mpumalanga Woman Who Faked Her Way to a R1.2 Million Salary Faces Trial

In a case that strikes at the very heart of our education system, a Mpumalanga woman is set to stand trial next month for allegedly orchestrating an elaborate fraud that saw her earn over R1.2 million as a teacher without ever having passed her matric.

Ntombelanga Pretty Labane’s house of cards, built on a forged matric certificate, finally began to crumble when a whistle-blower came forward. Her story is a breathtaking journey of audacity, a systemic failure in verification, and a profound betrayal of trust.

The Elaborate Deception

According to the Hawks’ detailed account, Labane’s scheme began with a fundamental lie. After failing her matric four consecutive times (in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006), she allegedly resorted to forgery.

She didn’t just create a fake certificate; she stole the identity of another candidate, Nozipho Ritta Ngema, using her authentic certificate number (040 9517 7028 B) and superimposed her own name. This fraudulent ticket was her key to higher education.

With this fake matric certificate, she successfully applied to Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape, where she obtained a legitimate Bachelor of Education (B-Ed) degree. The degree was real, but the foundation upon which it was built was a complete fabrication.

Landing the Job: A System Asleep at the Wheel?

In September 2016, Labane applied for a post as a business and accounting teacher at Hlelimfundo Secondary School in Amersfoort. She presented her CV, the fraudulent matric certificate, her B-Ed degree, and even a certificate from the South African Council for Educators (SACE).

The school principal and management team, apparently convinced by the paperwork, found her “suitable for the post.” The School Governing Body (SGB) supported the decision. Her application form (EDU 1) was signed off and sent on a journey through the bureaucratic machine: from the circuit manager to the Ermelo district office, through the HR Persal registry, to the provisioning section, and finally to employment.

At no point, as officials would later claim, did anyone detect the fraud. Their defence? They “do not have detectors to verify the validity of the documents.”

The Whistle-Blower and the Hawks

For six years, Labane taught, drawing a government salary. The scheme unraveled not because of a high-tech audit, but because of a single individual who knew the truth that Labane had never passed matric.

This person reported the matter to the Public Service Commission. After their investigation, the case was handed over to the Hawks’ Secunda-based serious commercial crime investigation unit in July 2022.

The Hawks’ investigation confirmed the whistle-blower’s claims, tracing the certificate to its rightful owner and confirming Labane’s four failed matric attempts.

Labane, who is not in custody, has made several appearances at the Amersfoort Magistrate’s Court. The case has now been postponed to October for trial, where she will answer to charges of fraud.

The case raises uncomfortable questions about the safeguards within our education system’s hiring processes and the immense value of a single person willing to speak up against a lie.

{Source: IOL}

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