The department of higher education has given four Educor-owned tertiary institutions — Damelin, CityVarsity, Lyceum and Icesa — until October to appeal deregistration, while ordering the institutions to immediately phase out operations until the deadline.
During the phase-out period the institutions are expected to submit 2020 and 2021 annual financial certificates, annual reports and tax clearance certificates. It was failure to provide those documents that led to their deregistration.
These documents are legally required and must include the institution’s financial status, a list of assets, staffing levels, achievements, employment equity plans, long-term objectives, details of courses and student numbers, and how student records are kept.
The deregistration of the institutions will affect 13,000 students across 10 campuses in SA amid what higher education minister Blade Nzimande has described as “gross governance and compliance failures”.
“There is no credible evidence to suggest that the management of Educor is working to improve or correct some of the serious governance and compliance failures,” Nzimande said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
“What we are seeing instead are students and staff being left stranded and we urge the affected staff to seek the assistance of the labour court and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
“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 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.”
The department published a Government Gazette notice in which the director-general, Nkosinathi Sishi, deregistered Damelin, CityVarsity, Lyceum and Pietermaritzburg-based Icesa, saying they had failed to submit annual reports and had not complied with regulations.
Allegations
Among the issues raised by the department is misrepresentation of student numbers. The education group says it has 50,000 students, while its 2022 annual report reveals that only 13,000 students are registered, the department says.
“On January 8 2024, our directorate: registration of private colleges wrote to these four Educor institutions and requested them to respond to a list of allegations of corruption against them. To date, they have not responded,” Nzimande said.
The institutions, especially Damelin, have been in financial trouble for some time.
In February, the City of Johannesburg disconnected Damelin’s Braamfontein campus for an unpaid electricity bill of R2.9m. After it illegally reconnected itself, the city disconnected the building again in March and removed equipment from the premises.
In December, the SA Federation of Trade Unions said Damelin staff had not been paid for November and December.
The department of higher education said earlier in 2024 it had received many complaints from Damelin students.
Meanwhile, both JSE-listed Stadio, which offers mainly online degrees in engineering, law, policing, architecture and commerce, and AdvTech-owned Varsity College and Rosebank College have seen growing enrolments.
Speaking after the release of AdvTech annual results, former CEO Roy Douglas said the group had offered support to the department of higher education to accommodate Damelin students where possible.
“I think a number of them will be halfway through qualifications. And now there is some question about their ability to compete [the qualification].
“We have engaged with the regulator on this very issue and offered whatever assistance we are able to [enable] the transfer of credits, and try to assist the students to ensure that they can complete the qualifications.”
Stadio CEO Chris Vorster has offered support to the government for Educor colleges students who may need places.
Educor has declined to comment.
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