Fact Check: Fake advert alert! No Presidential scholarships advert yet in 2025

Claim: A newspaper cutting of an advert claiming the Office of the President and Cabinet was calling for interested students to apply for Presidential and National Scholarships. The advert started circulating on social media (mainly Whatsapp) in the second week of January 2025 soon after the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) and Cambridge International Education released their ‘A’ Level results for the November 2024 exams.

Is this true or false?

Verdict: False context, the advert was posted in 2024

A closer look at the advert shows that it is stamped 18 January 2024 with the deadline for submission of applications being 1 March 2024. Whilst the advert in itself is genuine, the context within which it is being posted is false which could mislead many people.

The Presidential and National Scholarships Department in the Office of the President and Cabinet put out a statement on 16 January 2025 notifying the public that it was yet to flight any advertisement for the year 2025.

Part of the statement reads, “The advertisement on social media, even if it appears to be from official sources, contains inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading as aits contents are a plagiarised document from parts of our previous advertisement done in 2024”.

Common Scholarship scams

With many students seeking academic scholarships and loans to study abroad, there has been an influx of scams targeting students. Finaid and USA’s Federal Trade Commission outline common tricks used in scholarship scams.

Requests for application fees – Some scams request applicants to send money upfront but provide little or nothing in exchange. Usually victims write off the expense, thinking they did not win the scholarship.

The advance-free loan – This scam offers you an unusually low educational loan with the requirement that you pay a fee before you receive a loan. When you pay the money, the loan never materialises.

The scholarship prize – This scam tells you that you have won a college scholarship but requires you to pay a disbursement or redemption fee before they can release your prize.

The guaranteed scholarship search service – Beware of scholarship matching services that guarantee you will win a scholarship or you will refund your money.

What is the language of scammers

“The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.”
“You can’t get this information anywhere else.”
“I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship.”
“We’ll do all the work. You just pay a processing fee.
“The scholarship will cost some money.”
“You’re a finalist for a contest you never entered.”