Unam's Registrar, Zack Kazapua, told The Namibian that preliminary investigations by the institution pointed to the strong possibility of the involvement of some individuals employed at Unam.

Approached for comment at the end of last week, Kazapua said as part of the internal investigation some students suspected to be involved in the scam were interviewed and vital information was gathered on how they applied for admission, how they were assisted at registration and how they submitted falsified certificates.

"The information we gathered clearly indicated that there were some individuals working here [at Unam] that were involved in the whole scandal ... unfortunately it was difficult to get their names," he said.

On Friday a week ago The Namibian disclosed how Angolan students had for years used fake Grade 12 qualifications to study at Unam.

Some have already obtained degrees without first completing high school.

Others are still studying at the tertiary institution.

Sources pointed to the existence of a shady syndicate, comprised of Angolan nationals and some Unam staff, which allegedly sells fake Angolan "matric" certificates with inflated pass marks to facilitate access to the university.

The Registrar said a preliminary investigation by his office had already been concluded.

The internal investigation team has started with the broader probe which will culminate in a report and a set of recommendations to the University Senate.

He did not rule out the possibility of expelling students whose registration is found to be irregular.

Kazapua explained that it was extremely difficult to suspect "anything was wrong" with the certificates submitted by Angolan students because most of them looked genuine.

"These were original certificates with all seals and stamps, some translations from Portuguese to English were done at the Embassy here (Angolan Embassy).

Who are we to question the work of another country's embassy?" he asked.

Meanwhile, the Police claim that Unam has not yet lodged a case with them on the scam This contradicts an earlier assertion by Unam's Director of Marketing and Communication, Edwin Tjiramba, that the matter had already been handed to the Police for investigation.

Kazapua maintained that the matter had long been in Police hands.

He gave the case number as CR 311/092003.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant James Matengu, told The Namibian that the Police did not have a record of such a case being lodged by the University.

"I contacted my colleagues at the Commercial Branch, but they say they only read about the issue in the newspaper ... ," Matengu said.

Since The Namibian disclosed the scandal, the newspaper has received several calls from people claiming that not only Angolans are involved in the scam but Namibians too.

It is alleged that some students, including Namibians, gain access to Unam without obtaining the minimum entry requirement of 25 points in the Grade 12 examinations.

While acknowledging such a possibility, Kazapua was quick to point out that this should not be confused with students doing courses that do not require 25 points.

"We have some diploma courses and other special courses where one does not necessarily need 25 points to qualify," he noted.

Several callers also suggested that the same scandal could be in operation at other tertiary institutions in Namibia without management knowledge.

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