Fake certificate woes

By JOYCE INGIPA
A LOT of elementary teachers are going into teacher training institutions with fake certificates, Flexible Open and Distance Education (Fode) academic registrar Alfredo Balaino Jr says.
Balaino said some of them were producing fake Fode certificates to enter teachers’ college and other institutions.
“Some students don’t complete their courses or scored low marks in Fode are editing and putting in good marks in order to enrol at tertiary institutions or national high schools,” he said.
Balaino said a lot of elementary teachers were teaching with fake grade 10 certificates and that was unacceptable, adding that standards should not be compromised.
“Every elementary school teacher should have a grade 10 certificate and a teaching qualification,” he said.
He said for students coming in from school system to upgrade marks should be cross-checked to make sure they had completed three terms in school before enrolling them.
“Exception can be made to those with prolonged illness or pregnancy,” he said.
“The education system had upgraded its standards and we can’t compromise our standards.”
Balaino said grade 10 students going to Fode centres for marks upgrading should produce their grade 10 certificates before enrolment.