Cape Town — Following the deregistration of four private tertiary insitutions, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) has said the students’ qualifcations are valid should they wish to reapply elsewhere.
Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, announced that Damelin College, ICESA City College, City Varsity and Lyceum College were deregistered after it’s parent group, the Education Investments Corporation Limited (Educor) failed to submit financial statements for 2021 and 2022.
Nzimande also ordered the institutions to reimburse students who had already resgistered for the 2024 academic year, and said they would be would be given time to phase out students. He said department would assist in placing stranded students at other higher education institutions, EWN reported.
According to Makhapa Makhafola from the statutory body SAQA, he said graduates from the doomed institutions need not worry as their qualifications remain valid in order to apply at other tertiary insitituons, as reported by IOL.
Blade Nzimande has explained the way forward for students affected by the deregistration of Damelin and other Educor institutions, including possible reimbursements. https://t.co/5kui60Zt2l
— Current Affairs ZA (@zacurrentaffair) March 27, 2024
“When students are registered by any institution that is recognised in terms of certain programmes, their students are automatically captured in what we call the national learners’ database which is a responsibility of the South African Qualifications Authority. Any student that is registered or have achieved before the current challenges, they are on our (database) and they are recognised in terms of those achievements,” said Makhafola.
Makhafola said it is Educor’s responsibility to ensure its students are absorbed into other tertiary institutions to complete their studies.
Makhafola’s words were echoed by Boston City Campus CEO, Ari Katz, who said students can migrate to other institutions through the process of credit accumulation, transfer and recognition of prior learning, SABC News reported.
“They need to gather as much evidence as possible that they’ve got to prove what they have achieved to date. So that when they present themselves for credit accumulation and recognition of prior learning, they are able to prove that they have actually achieved the following,” Katz said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
