Deregistered Educor colleges dysfunctional, incompetent – Nzimande
Minister of higher education and training Blade Nzimande says Educor colleges are completely “dysfunctional”.
Nzimande labelled these colleges dysfunctional due to a number of complaints received both in public and private from students and workers from these colleges. Educor owns Damelin, City Varsity, Intec Lyceum and Icesa City Campus colleges which have several institutions around the country.
The department cancelled the registrations of all the above colleges on Friday, saying they had not submitted annual financial statements in 2021 or 2022 or complied with the law.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Nzimande said problems at Educor institutions were far deeper. “The complaints we have received include misrepresentation of the number of students, poor method of teaching and learning, poor administration, allegations of corruption and late payment of staff,” he said.
He said his department decided to deregister the four institutions because of incompetence. “These cancellations were carried out in accordance with the 2016 Regulations for the Registration of Private Higher Education Institutions and the applicable sections of the Higher Education Act.
“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 September 26 2023. They then requested an extension to February 28, and are now seeking a further extension, said Nzimande.
He said more than 13,000 students will be affected by the decision to deregister these colleges.
According to the minister, the institutions will operate until December this year to allow them to phase out the students from the register. He said, however, that the cancellation of the registration of City Varsity will take immediate effect.
