The Department of Higher Education and Training has
cancelled the registration of four Educor institutions after failing to submit
proof of their financial viability to the department.
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade
Nzimande, announced the deregistration of City Varsity, Damelin, Icesa City
Campus, and Lyceum College, during a media briefing held in Pretoria on
Tuesday.
‘’Failure to comply More specifically, these four
institutions failed to comply with the following requirements of the Act and
Regulations: Fulfil the requirements for registration contemplated in Section
57(2)(b) of the Act; and Discharge its responsibilities as required by Chapter
6 of the Regulations.’’
‘’In particular, the Educor institutions have failed to
submit their annual financial statements and the tax clearance certificates for
the 2021 and 2022 years, as proof of their financial viability. We are now
moving into the 2023 cycle. The four Educor institutions were required to lodge
an appeal with the Minister on or before 26 September 2023. They then requested
an extension to 28 February 2024, and are now seeking a further extension.’’
‘’In addition to failing to submit evidence of their
financial viability to the Department, the four Educor brands can be deemed as
dysfunctional and this is mainly measured against the daily complaints and
grievances received from students, most of which remain unresolved.’’
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Nzimande says the complaints include poor quality of
teaching and learning; lack of proper administrative support; poorly qualified
staff; corruption and bribery; lack of response for requests for refunds and
lack of professionalism. The students also complained about exploitation of
poor students; non-payment of staff salaries; and under-payment of staff
salaries.
‘’These complaints extend to the other brands such as INTEC
College (Pty) Ltd and Damelin Correspondence College (Pty) Ltd, which fall
under the jurisdiction of the Quality Council of Trades and Occupations (QCTO).
The QCTO has not been able to restore stability within these two institutions
and students continue to be exploited.’’
‘’These complaints also extend to the offering of the
Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA) accredited programmes. The
SETAs have not been able to restore stability with the Educor institutions and
students continue to be exploited.’’
He said the Higher Education Quality Committee has
withdrawn the accreditation of some programmes for City Varsity (Pty) Ltd,
Damelin (Pty) Ltd and Lyceum College (Pty) Ltd. The Minister also accused the
institutions of misrepresenting student enrolment, by submitting incorrect
information, which claimed to have 50 000 learners in the system. The 2022
annual reports indicated a total of 13 096 students enrolled; City Varsity with
540, Damelin with 4 012, Icesa with 145, and Lyceum with 8 399 enrolled
students.
Nzimande announced that some of the institutions’ sites
have closed suddenly after failing to pay the rent, staff salaries and/or the
municipality.
The sites of some institutions closed suddenly for reasons
of failure to pay the rent, staff salaries and/or the municipality. These are
the following:
Damelin (Pty) Ltd: The sites at Braamfontein, Port
Elizabeth, Cape Town, East London closed suddenly since they were in arrears
with the municipality and rental and students were left stranded; and
Lyceum College (Pty) Ltd: The only site was closed due to
an eviction order by the landlord for failure to pay the rent and students were
left stranded.
The minister says its directorate wrote to these four
Educor institutions on 8 January 2024, and requested them to respond to a list
of allegations of corruption against them. To date, he says, they have not
responded
As a way forward, Nzimande said Educor will be given a
period in which to phase out pipeline students and Educor would have to
reimburse students where it is due.
‘’The latest numbers of enrolled students as per the 2022
annual report is 13 096, not 50 000, as Educor claims; One challenge for
students is the transfer of credits considering the RPL and Credit Accumulation
Transfer policy; and Another challenge could be students repeating some modules
or paying extra fees.
The minister urged affected staff to seek the assistance of
the Labor Court and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
‘’Under these circumstances and with the information at our
disposal, it would be unconscionable to maintain the registration status of
these four private institutions and allow ourselves to become complicit in
gross governance and compliance failures.’’
‘’Most concerning, by doing so, we would be failing as the
Department in our obligation to protect the rights and dignity of students, who
simply wanted to acquire an academic qualification with the view to improve
their lives and that of their families.’’
Done By: Mitchum George