Johannesburg - Secretary general of the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (Haitu), Lerato Mthunzi, has welcomed the recent arrest of a Limpopo woman who allegedly swindled nursing students out of R3 million.
Mthunzi said the arrest of Salome Ngwana, a woman from Limpopo who has been charged with 33 counts of fraud, for allegedly defrauding nursing students out of their hard-earned money was a welcome move that will go a long way in easing the pain of the affected nursing students.
This comes after news reports indicated that Ngwana allegedly swindled the students out of a total of R3 m by running bogus nursing courses at her Far North Nursing School.
Ngwana was charged in the Morebeng Magistrate’s Court, with 40 counts of fraud in Thohoyandou, 13 counts in Makhado, and 43 counts in Morebeng.
According to the news report, Salome defrauded students who were enrolling in nursing courses through unregistered colleges based in Botlokwa, Morebeng, and Vhembe districts.
Her victims were unsuspecting job-seekers and people aspiring to acquire nursing qualifications, and she falsely claimed that she was registering them for nursing diplomas.
It is alleged that she even went as far as promising them employment upon completion of the course. She was exposed when students found out that the courses were fake and that her school was not legitimate.
Mthunzi has warned other students to not fall victim to bogus nursing colleges and to be vigilant at all times.
"We are warning prospective nursing students to first check if the school is registered with the South African Nursing Council (SANC) before they pay over any money for any form of training. If the school is not registered then the qualification is worthless.
"It is unfortunate that there are some unscrupulous people who take advantage of desperate students and this is why we urge them to do research on the institution before paying and fees," Mthunzi said.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the suspect will appear again in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court for her bail application on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
The Star