Parents Duped In Fake Cambridge O-Level Exam Scheme Demand Justice

Parents and guardians of 16 learners from Destiny Achievers College in Harare are calling for the arrest of the school’s proprietor, Cynthia Gambiza, over an alleged examination scam involving fake Cambridge Ordinary Level exams.

The group accuses Gambiza of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that saw learners sit for what turned out to be counterfeit June Cambridge O-Level examinations, following a failure by the college to properly register them for the official November 2024 session.

Parents say Gambiza has since become unreachable, with her phone reportedly switched off and attempts to contact her proving futile.

According to the affected families, the school initially failed to register the learners for the legitimate Cambridge November exams last year, citing late submission of national identity documents. In response to complaints, the school allegedly promised parents that the students would be accommodated in the June 2025 session instead.

However, it later emerged that the June examinations were not legitimate. Learners reportedly discovered that the Mathematics paper they sat for was identical to a previous year’s exam they had recently revised, with only the cover page altered to reflect the new date.

The school allegedly hired a separate venue for the exams and informed parents that it had partnered with a Cambridge-registered institution to facilitate the process. That claim, parents say, was false.

The 16 students are part of a larger group of 30 who initially raised complaints last year. While some parents accepted the school’s assurances of a second chance in June, others demanded refunds. Seven parents eventually filed a police report after the school failed to reimburse their fees.

The case is now before the courts. Gambiza appeared in court in January, facing charges of defrauding students of US$4,000 in exam fees. She remains on trial.

Parents say they collectively lost around US$11,000 in exam fees, in addition to termly tuition fees of US$650 per student. Examination fees ranged between US$600 and US$1,000 per learner.

Samson Nyamagodo, father of one of the affected students, Clayton, said they reported the matter to Borrowdale Police Station in May under case number RRB 6368544 but have yet to receive any formal response from the authorities. He added:

I had paid US$1 000 and that is a substantial amount of money that cannot just vanish. The proprietor should just sell her assets and refund our money.

Harare provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Luckmore Chakanza, told The Herald last week that the RRB number provided by the parents does not correspond to the alleged Cambridge exam fraud.

Instead, he explained that the case number pertains to a separate matter involving staff members who were allegedly misled into believing the school would cover their children’s examination fees.

In the aftermath of the scandal, Gambiza reportedly collapsed and was admitted at a private hospital in Mandara. Said the parent:

When we called the school’s direct office line, we were informed that the proprietor, Ms Gambiza, had collapsed and was hospitalised.

The school indicated that they were unable to take any action due to her hospitalisation.

However, upon learning that she had been discharged, we promptly notified the police.

Following the alleged embezzlement of examination funds in November, the school proprietor reportedly convinced some parents that their children needed additional preparation, which necessitated a deferment to the June session.

Other parents were told that their children had been incorrectly registered for the November exams, resulting in their inability to sit for them.

More: The Herald