Govt. Tightens Vetting Of Student Nurse Applicants

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has stepped up efforts to curb the use of fake academic certificates by people applying to health training institutions.

This comes after a series of fraud scandals recently uncovered at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.

Responding to questions from senators this week, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the Health Ministry is now verifying all student nurse applications with the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to confirm the authenticity of academic qualifications before admission. Said Ziyambi:

“The Minister of Health and Child Care is now vetting through ZIMSEC and they have tasked ZIMSEC to confirm whether the papers are genuine.

“This is the path we are taking because we have seen that a lot of people are conning the ministry through the system.”

Manicaland Senator Maxwell Mdhluri expressed concern over the incidents, warning that the presence of unqualified practitioners was putting lives at risk and wasting public resources. He said:

“These culprits are putting people’s health at risk and obtaining resources from government through receiving salaries without deserving.”

He called on the government to strengthen recruitment procedures to guarantee that only properly qualified candidates enter medical and nursing training programmes.

Last month, a student nurse at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo was arrested for allegedly using a fake academic certificate to gain entry to the nursing school, just days after another student appeared in court over similar allegations.

Helma Gurupira, 23, from Mbare in Harare, is accused of submitting a fraudulent Zimbabwe Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) certificate that falsely claimed she had passed her exams.

She appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba, facing charges of fraud and forgery.

Gurupira’s arrest came just weeks after 25-year-old Sandra Ndege from Murehwa appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Abednico Ndebele, facing fraud and forgery charges for allegedly using a fake academic certificate to gain entry into the general nursing programme at Mpilo Central Hospital.

Ndege reportedly completed two years of training and even received a monthly salary during her studies.

The fraud was uncovered on 16 July 2025, when Mpilo Hospital requested ZIMSEC to verify her certificate, and officials confirmed it was fraudulent.

More: CITE