While there are numerous reputable institutions, some bogus establishments had been exploiting students’ desperation to secure a place at a tertiary institution.
According to Ahmed Essop, CEO of the Council on Higher Education, students should ensure that they enrol in legitimate private higher education institutions and they could safeguard themselves against being tricked into enrolling in a fake institution by determining that the establishment meets two criteria.
The private tertiary institution must be registered as a private higher education institution by the Department of Higher Education and Training and the programme for which the student wishes to register must be accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education, Essop said.
Institutions that were registered were required to display their registration certificate prominently on their premises.
“If there is no registration on display, students should request to be shown the registration certificate,” he said.
A list of all registered institutions and the programmes that they have been accredited to offer was available on the Department of Higher Education’s website at www.dhet.gov.za.
Students could also contact the Department of Higher Education’s call centre to confirm the legitimacy of a prospective institution on 080 087 2222.
