Minister Blade Nzimande warns prospective students of bogus private colleges

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande has urged prospective students, who want to register at institutions of higher learning, not to fall for bogus colleges.

Also known as “fly by night” colleges, they are not registered with the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas).

They are also not registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) or other relevant bodies as learning institutions.

Nzimande has also warned that these institutions offer qualifications that are not recognised and he stated that the department, together with law enforcement, has been hard at work to shut down these bogus colleges.

“These institutions lure and mislead future students into believing that these colleges offer qualifications that are recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). These illegal colleges offer compromised qualifications that are not recognised for employment purposes or for further studying,” he said in a statement.

“The number of colleges that are operating illegally has decreased tremendously over the years. The decrease can be attributed to our monitoring and awareness campaigns, and our collaboration with both print and electronic media.”

The department also warned that students looking to study in 2023 in private colleges, can check the registration status of that college at the departmental website: www.dhet.gov.za/resources/registers.