PROMINENT Durban cartoonist Dr Nanda Soobben has accused the department of Higher Education of unfair treatment and says he feels robbed and targeted by the department. This comes after the department de-registered the Durban based Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design (CFAD) run by Soobben. According to the department, the institution was officially de-registered on 20 November last year for failing to submit its annual report for 2015 and the ruling was gazetted a month later
Classes at the institution are still on-going . “They can come and arrest me if they want,” challenged Soobben adding: “Why shut down the school for technical matters and not the curricular we offer the students. We experienced four robberies at our old premises in Cowey Road, where we lost computers and our database and we could not submit our annual report. Not even once has the department visited the school. The problem at the department is that you have people who just sit in their air-conditioned offices and make decisions about things they are not aware of. This is rated the best art school in the country, you cant just shut it down,” Soobben said.
CFAD has been in operation for 23 years and is one of four institutions in South Africa which MAPPP SETA (Media Advertising Publishing Printing Packaging Sector Education Training Authority) judged to be an institute of excellence. It offers practical art courses and courses on art theory. Soobben said they had lodged an appeal with the department and were awaiting feedback which they are expected on 20 March.
A communique released by the department of Higher Education last week said CFAD would cease to be an institution on 1 January 1 2018. The department said it had launched an investigation into the institution for taking new students and would consider opening a criminal case. The school was also ordered to make arrangements for affected students to complete their programmes at similar private or public institutions.
Department spokesperson, Madikwe Mabotha said: “Following the cancellation of the registration, the department has been inundated with calls from concerned parents and students.”
Soobben acknowledged that the institution had taken on new students, who all applied last year but added they also had 10 new students who were studying for free.
“We took the students because they would otherwise have nowhere to go. Only 3rd year students would have to pay as they finished their qualification this year,” he said.
