Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
27 March 2024 | 12:30 CAT
2 min read

Thousands of students face uncertainty as private higher institutions under the Educor group, including Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus, and Lyceum College, have been deregistered. The Department of Higher Education made the announcement following Educor’s failure to submit audited financial statements for the 2021 and 2022 annual reports.

Education expert Prof. Mbulu Madiba, Dean of Education at the University of Stellenbosch, emphasised that concerns about the colleges’ status go back to 2012, indicating a lengthy process leading to their deregistration.

“These institutions were given a notice last year in July 2023 and were also given an opportunity to appeal, but it did not happen, so the department is now moving on. These universities have failed to respond. Many allegations are levelled against these colleges, but I think these colleges failed to renew and reposition themselves. If you are running an institution, accountability is needed. But I think they did not come up with a new business model to reposition themselves and are dysfunctional in the new context,” he said.

Madiba highlighted that keeping students at these institutions, where the quality has dropped drastically, is risky. He believes it’s unfortunate that they have to shut down.

“This is the last step in the process. The institutes have to close down by the end of the year and aren’t allowed to take on new students. Now, students are caught in the middle. There are about over 13,000 students in different years of their courses,” he said.

He urges the department to take action to lessen the effects of this decision on students, particularly highlighting the vulnerability of economically disadvantaged students who are affected by this situation.

During a media briefing in Pretoria, Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande announced that private colleges, including Damelin, CityVarsity, ICESA City Campus, and Lyceum College, will be given time to phase out students.

Nzimande clarified that there were 13,096 registered students across the four brands, contradicting the group’s claim of 50,000. He described the colleges as dysfunctional, citing daily complaints and grievances from students and staff. These complaints included concerns about teaching quality, inadequate administrative support, underqualified lecturers, lack of professionalism, exploitation of economically disadvantaged students, and non-payment of staff salaries, among other issues.

Teaching and learning activities have been halted until the institutions rectify their issues. As part of the government’s intervention, the Department of Higher Education has also instructed the newly deregistered colleges to reimburse affected students.

“Qualifications from these colleges, especially from Damelin, were highly regarded, but it is very serious if the allegations regarding marks beings assigned for unmarked scripts are true. It is important for the department to investigate further into such allegations,” Madiba said.

Madiba suggests that the system collapsed due to poor management at some point. He underscores the importance of the department’s intervention to protect the public’s interests.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Education expert, Prof Mbulu Madiba, here.