The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has issued an urgent public warning regarding fraudulent online advertisements falsely offering employment in the education sector using fake vacancies and promises of payment to attract applicants.
WCED's Director of Communications, Brona Hammond, stated that the department has received information about the widespread circulation of fake recruitment campaigns on social media and unofficial websites.
This scam targets unemployed youth by promising significant pay for assisting with the processing of Grade 12 examinations.
Hammond said: 'WCED has received several inquiries regarding a social media advertisement claiming that the Department of Basic Education is hiring unemployed youth as exam assistants to mark Grade 12 examination papers in December 2026 with a payment of R8,230. This advertisement is false and should be ignored.'
In addition to the exam assistant scams, staff have discovered fake teaching job advertisements allegedly representing local schools.
Hammond explained: 'WCED was also notified about another website advertising teacher vacancies in schools that did not post such advertisements, and where no such vacancies exist.' He added that some schools confirmed that the advertised positions were fraudulent and not authorized by the respective schools.
The Department pointed to specific platforms where the fake vacancies are posted, naming sites such as Teaching Jobs & School Vacancies in South Africa (2026) | SA Teachers and Examination Assistant Job, which contain unauthorized advertising.
To protect the public from potential fraud and identity theft, WCED urged candidates to pay attention to key warning signs characteristic of recruitment schemes.
Hammond noted: 'The public is strongly advised to exercise caution when responding to online job advertisements. Warning signs include requests to apply via personal email addresses, such as Gmail addresses, and advertisements that do not align with official recruitment processes.'