Zim GBC News | Gender and Community
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has intensified the vetting of student nurse applicants, implementing stricter verification measures with the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to combat a surge in fake academic certificate scandals at major hospitals.
This development follows recent fraud cases uncovered at institutions including Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi revealed the new protocol while responding to questions from legislators in the Senate this week, confirming that all prospective nursing students will now have their qualifications authenticated by ZIMSEC before enrolment.
“The Minister of Health and Child Care is now vetting through ZIMSEC and they have tasked ZIMSEC to confirm whether the papers are genuine,” Ziyambi said.
“This is the path we are taking because we have seen that a lot of people are conning the ministry through the system.”
The minister acknowledged the serious threat posed by fraudsters infiltrating the healthcare sector, stating,
“Indeed, it is true that we have such con artists who forge papers and pretend that they are qualified.”
The strengthened vetting follows a series of high-profile exposures. At Mpilo Central Hospital, a 27-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in prison for masquerading as a qualified medical doctor. In a separate case, two student nurses faced prosecution for using fake ZIMSEC certificates to enter the nursing programme, with one having trained undetected from 2022 until discovery this year.
The problem extended to Parirenyatwa Hospital, where authorities exposed at least eleven individuals posing as doctors in 2024.
Manicaland Senator Maxwell Mdhluri raised concerns about the implications of these breaches, highlighting both the public safety risks and financial costs.
“These culprits are putting people’s health at risk and obtaining resources from government through receiving salaries without deserving,” Senator Mdhluri said, urging the government to reinforce recruitment protocols.
Minister Ziyambi assured that the government is treating the matter with urgency and that the new verification procedures are designed to prevent future incidents and protect the integrity of the healthcare system.
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