Cape Town —Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, briefed the media following the decision to de-register tertiary institutions, Damelin College, City Varsity and Icesa City Campus, and Lyceum College.
According to the Department of Higher Education, the deregistration of the respective colleges follows Educor’s failure to submit financial statements for 2021 and 2022.
“I, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, hereby publish my decision to cancel the registration of City Varsity (Pty) Ltd, DAMELIN (Pty) Ltd, ICESA City Campus (Pty) Ltd, and Liceum College (Pty) Ltd as registered private Higher Education institutions” Nishi said in a department statement.
The deregistration of the Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College follows Educor’s failure to submit audited financial statements for the 2021 and 2022 annual reports pic.twitter.com/UIun1Up4km
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) March 26, 2024
According to IOL, Nzimande briefed the media and gave insight into the decision taken by the department. He said the four institutions did not comply with requirements of the Higher Education Act and failed to fulfill the requirements for registration.
“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 the September 26 last year. They then requested an extension to February 28, 2024.” he added.
Nzimande said the Educor Group has been inflating its enrolment figures in a bid to conceal the fact that students were jumping off the sinking ship.
Mail & Guardian reported that South African Union of Students (SAUS) spokesperson, Asive Dlanjwa, believed the decision by the department was in the best interests of students.
“These institutions should probably not be reregistered again because there has been no management or governance structure for the last two years to three years, so these institutions have completely failed, they have been given an opportunity to correct and restore the credibility of the institution and have failed,” said Dlanjwa.
According to the private institution’s provisions, Students are to be given recourse as well as academic transcripts and it has a responsibility to assist students in their registration process at other higher learning institutions.
SA Union of Students spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa says it was in the best interest of students to deregister Damelin College, City Varsity and Lyceum colleges. The Higher Education Department cancelled these institution’s registrations for non-compliance.https://t.co/IlJNlEtAVs pic.twitter.com/pXadUmbvyv
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 25, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
