…teachers accused of assisting students
…Cambridge suspends school’s Grade 11 results
…principal denies wrongdoing
Mathatisi Sebusi
TINY Tots International School is under investigation by Cambridge International Education (CIE) following allegations of examination malpractice during the 2025 International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations.
At the centre of the probe are allegations that some teachers at the school could have assisted students to write the internationally acclaimed bridging examinations.
The United Kingdom-based CIE has since suspended the school’s final-year examination results pending investigations, a development which has caused distress among the affected students and parents since the rest of the schools which wrote similar examinations in the country received their results on Friday morning.
Minister of Education and Training, Professor Ntoi Rapapa, confirmed the probe in an interview with the Sunday Express on Friday.
However, he said it would be premature to comment further until the investigation is concluded.
“We will speak after receiving all the facts following a full investigation. It would be very unfortunate if the allegations are proven to be true, as it would adversely affect the students involved,” Prof Rapapa said.
The Director of Examinations Administration at the Examination Council of Lesotho (ECoL), Ntaeboso Phenduka, also confirmed the investigation.
“It is true that Tiny Tots is being investigated for malpractice, and we will establish the truth of the allegations once the investigation is completed,” Mr Phenduka said.
“However, it must be noted that these are Cambridge examinations. Therefore, it is not ECoL that is withholding the results, but Cambridge. We have only been informed because ECoL is the custodian of certificates.”
The IGCSE is an internationally recognised qualification for high school-leaving students.
A parent, who spoke to Sunday Express on condition of anonymity, claimed that the school misled parents by citing technical challenges and falsely stating that the results had been released.
Results for the rest of the schools that sat for the IGCSE examinations were released early morning on Friday.
Another parent, who also asked not to be identified, accused the school of lying to parents by claiming that results had been released but could not be published due to technical difficulties.
“We have been enquiring about our children’s results since morning when we saw that other schools had already published theirs. But until now, no results have been published by the school, and we have not even been informed about the investigation,” the parent said on Friday.
“This is unfair not only to us who paid for our children to sit for these examinations, but also to the students who have been in suspense since morning. The school should at least explain what is happening instead of lying to us.”
However, Tiny Tots International School principal, Reeta Dhar, strongly denied the allegations, insisting that the school is not under investigation.
“There is nothing like that. We are not under any investigation, and there has been no malpractice during the examinations. The school is currently resolving technical issues, and the results will be published soon,” Ms Dhar said.