Exposure of fake certificates should serve as a lesson to all

This followed a government move to embark on a massive crackdown that was designed to set professional direction in the country’s education system.

For several months, the President’s Office, Civil Service Management and Good Governance, had carried out meticulous assessment among civil servants to authenticate their educational credentials nationwide.

It was revealed that the certificates were obtained either through impersonation by way of acquisition of someone’s certificates or through forgery fabrication. Whatever the tricks employed, fake certificates are unacceptable.

The threats and consequences of fake certificates were numerous. For instance, unqualified candidates were being hired for professional duties, thereby sidelining qualified ones. As a result delivery or execution of duties became disappointing.

Perhaps nepotism that previously took root for many years paved way for quick employment of unqualified people, including relatives and politically well connected people. The only yardstick was presentation of certificates, irrespective of their authenticity. That unleashed a serious blow to our education system.

We support the government initiative which is not only meant to clean up the mess but also restore the lost education brilliance that the country was credited for in the past. No wonder thousands of eligible graduates move around with envelopes full of certificates looking for jobs but always end up being disappointed for reply; “try next year, you don’t have enough experience’ and so forth.

But a certain ‘class’ was offered job opportunities even before end otheir studies. In the recent past news papers were flooded with adverts of lost certificates especially among civil servants. That itself raised eyebrows and incidentally intensified the onslaught against fake certificates.

The report presented to President John Magufuli in Dodoma on Friday revealed more than 10,000 holders of fake certificates. In past administrations implementation of such an exercise had proved difficult, but this time round the government attained it. We strongly support this move and urge that it should be sustained.

Let the Tanzania Examinations Council go an extra mile to ensure that the education system is revitalized and certificates are issued only to qualified people with the right level of education. As for employers, we suggest that they should avoid playing blind when seeking suitable employees and avoid offering jobs to people related to high positioned individuals.

This will discourage people from harbouring ideas of acquiring fake academic certificates. Again, those in schools or colleges must work hard in their studies to make sure that the needed skills are attained for appreciable delivery of public services.