Police in Mangochi have arrested two people on charges of fraudulently obtaining Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education Examination (PSLCE) fees from standard eight pupils in their respective schools.
The two have been identified as Timothy Maputu, a 51-year-old former Director of Sunrise Private Primary School and Paul Kumwenda, a 44-year-old Headteacher at Fatima Private Primary School within the township.
It is alleged that Maputu collected a total of K250,000 from 30 candidates in December 2022. He later sold the school to another individual in January 2023 on financial grounds. Similarly, Kumwenda collected K120,000 in examination fees from 22 candidates.
According to Police Public Relations Officer for Mangochi, Amina Tepani Daudi, on May 9, 2023, the directors of both schools discovered that the suspects had failed to remit the collected funds to the Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB). This realization came to light when they contacted the board to request examination identity cards and numbers for their candidates.
“Both cases were reported to Mangochi Police Station. The two were apprehended. During interrogation, the accused individuals admitted to diverting the funds for personal use,” said Daudi.
The affected pupils from the aforementioned schools will not be able to sit for this year’s PSLCE Examination. MANEB has cited the lateness of the discovery as the reason for being unable to address the issue.
