Parents call on police to act over fake Cambridge exams

Parents of 16 students from Destiny Achievers College in Harare are demanding urgent police action after discovering they were victims of a fake Cambridge O-Level examination scam allegedly orchestrated by the school's owner, Ms. Cynthia Gambiza.

The parents say they paid between US$600 and US$1,000 per student in examination fees for the November 2023 session. However, the students were never officially registered to sit for the exams. Ms. Gambiza, according to the parents, later assured them that the students would instead write the same exams in June 2024 - a promise that has turned out to be another deception.

The fraudulent scheme was uncovered when students realised that the Mathematics paper they were given in June was identical to an old Cambridge past paper, with only the date altered. The exams were written at a rented venue, and the school falsely claimed to be working in partnership with an accredited Cambridge centre.

In total, parents lost approximately US$11,000. Some had filed reports with the police as early as last year, but were told to wait. Frustration has now boiled over as there has been little visible progress on the case.

"This is our children's future that has been tampered with. We trusted the school and paid the fees in good faith. Now we are being kept in the dark while nothing seems to be happening," said one parent, who asked not to be named.

Ms. Gambiza is already facing fraud charges in a separate case involving US$4,000 and appeared in court in January. She is still on trial. Attempts by parents to engage her since the latest incident have been unsuccessful, with the school claiming she is hospitalised and unavailable.

Meanwhile, police have yet to take definitive action, prompting parents to escalate their concerns. National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi acknowledged the matter and said the police would follow up.

"We take such reports seriously, and I will make sure there is a follow-up on this case," said Nyathi in response to growing public outcry.

As the affected students face an uncertain academic future, parents continue to call for swift justice and intervention by law enforcement to prevent further exploitation of desperate families by unscrupulous operators in the education sector.