Thousands of students could be affected as the government moves to deregister Damelin, City Varsity, and ICESA.
Bulelwa Hoala
Damelin, City Varsity and ICESA City Campus are facing possible deregistration after the Department of Higher Education and Training issued a notice of intent to cancel their registration over ongoing non-compliance.
On Saturday, 13 December, Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela announced the move, citing a prolonged failure by the private education providers to meet the requirements of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997) and the Regulations for the Registration of Private Higher Education Institutions.
Key reasons for the notice include the failure to submit complete statutory annual reports, an inability to demonstrate financial and operational sustainability, and evidence suggesting institutional cessation.
According to Manamela, the notice of intent to cancel the registrations will be published in the Government Gazette in line with Section 63(a) of the Higher Education Act. The affected institutions will be given an opportunity to make representations, while the department says it will put academic and administrative measures in place to support impacted students.
Point of View host Phemelo Motene interviewed Dr Shaheeda Essack, Director for Registration of Private Higher Education Institutions, to unpack what the decision means for students and the higher education sector.
Essack confirmed that the institutions failed to comply with the annual reporting regulations, noting that this has been an ongoing issue.
“They have been placed under notice of intent to cancel pending the submission of a representation and the assessment thereof. So the reasons for placing them under notice has to do with failure to comply with the annual reporting regulations and specifically failure to submit the required documents, like the financial statements the guarantee, the tax certificate and other items,” Essack said.
“It is an ongoing issue. This particular problem has been going on since 2021/2022, and the registration was cancelled in 2023. In 2024, the appeal was dismissed, and then they were reinstated on humanitarian grounds with conditions, basically giving them a chance to restore themselves, stabilise, rehabilitate, etc,” she added.
Listen to the full conversation below:
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