A 60-year-old Northern Cape woman has been found guilty of fraud and is expected to be sentenced at the end of March.

Audrey Taku was found guilty by the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court of providing a fake qualification to the Department of Education in order to secure a job at a local school.

The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks) said during January 2017, Taku defrauded the Northern Cape Department of Education by submitting fraudulent certificates claiming that she's a qualified teacher.

“The department employed her and she worked as a teacher at Schmidtsdrif Primary School without a valid teaching qualification and or South African Council for Educators (SACE) certificate which enables one to teach,” said Northern Cape hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Nomthandazo Mnisi.

He said sentencing was expected to take place on March 28.

In October last year, the South African Council for Educators (SACE) warned teaching professionals with fraudulent qualifications not to come near its headquarters.

The warning came after two people were arrested at their headquarters in Centurion, Tshwane, for allegedly presenting fake certificates.

The 34-year-old woman and a 32-year-old male, who reside in Johannesburg, allegedly attempted to apply for a professional registration certificate with fake Unisa Bachelor of Education (BED) degrees.

“The two suspects are charged with the submission of fraudulent qualifications.”

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