The United Kingdom’s qualifications regulator, Ofqual, has fined awarding organisation OTHM Qualifications £25,000 after uncovering what it described as serious and repeated failures in the handling of malpractice allegations involving colleges and training providers.
Truth Live News gathered that Ofqual announced the sanction in a statement issued on Thursday, August 6, 2026, stating that the failures occurred over more than four years.
According to the regulator, OTHM allowed colleges and training providers accused of malpractice to investigate themselves, maintained inconsistent records and failed to report serious incidents to Ofqual between 2018 and 2024.
The regulator said the shortcomings undermined confidence in the integrity of qualifications awarded by the organisation, which are used by students in the United Kingdom and overseas, including international students.
OTHM Qualifications is a UK-based awarding organisation regulated by Ofqual that develops vocational qualifications delivered through approved colleges and training providers in the United Kingdom and other countries.
Its qualifications are widely used for career development and progression to bachelor’s and master’s degree top-up programmes at partner universities.
According to Ofqual, the investigation began in February 2024 after the regulator received 12 allegations of malpractice involving OTHM qualifications.
The regulator found that in several cases, OTHM instructed colleges accused of malpractice to investigate themselves, including institutions that had been warned they could lose their accreditation if wrongdoing was established.
Ofqual also identified significant shortcomings in OTHM’s record-keeping.
It said the organisation produced different malpractice registers each time records were requested and was unable to provide investigation reports for four cases it was required to retain under its own policy.
The regulator further stated that although OTHM’s records showed dozens of malpractice and maladministration incidents that met the reporting threshold between 2018 and 2024, the organisation submitted only one notification to Ofqual during that period, limiting the regulator’s ability to intervene earlier.
According to the statement, OTHM has since developed a comprehensive action plan and invested in its systems, processes and staff to prevent similar failures.
The organisation has also agreed to submit regular progress reports to Ofqual, which will be independently audited.
Commenting on the decision, Ofqual’s Executive Director for Delivery, Amanda Swann, said event notifications should be regarded as a sign of good governance rather than a sign of failure.
“I’d like to remind awarding organisations that event notifications are a sign of good governance, not a sign of failure. When Ofqual is not kept informed, we cannot step in to protect learners,” she said.
Swann added that although OTHM had acknowledged its shortcomings and taken steps to address them, the financial penalty reflected the seriousness of the breaches.
“OTHM has acknowledged what went wrong and taken steps to put it right. We will be watching. But a £25,000 fine is a significant consequence, and it is meant to be. Qualifications only mean something if people can trust them,” she said.
