Four ‘dysfunctional’ Educor colleges have been deregistered, says Nzimande

The Higher Education Department has recently cancelled the registration of four colleges owned by Educor – Damelin, City Varsity, Icesa City Campus, and Lyceum College.

These institutions were deregistered on 26 July 2023 for allegedly failing to provide financial statements and comply with regulations.

Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Blade Nzimande said the four institutions “failed to submit their annual financial statements and the tax clearance certificate for the 2021 and 2022 years as proof of their financial viability”.

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Reasons for deregistration of Educor colleges

The deregistration of these colleges was primarily due to their failure to submit financial statements and comply with regulations.

Additionally, there have been allegations of poor quality education, non-payment of staff salaries, misrepresentation of student numbers, and corruption.

“The four Educor institutions were required to lodge an appeal with the minister before the 26th of September last year, 2023,” said Nzimande.

The minister said the colleges requested an extension for their appeal which was due on 28 February. However, despite being granted the extension, the organisations asked for an additional extension.

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According to Director Registration of Private Higher Education Institutions Dr Shaheeda Essack, this second extension is under consideration and its deadline is October.

The Department of Higher Education and Training had been trying to address these issues since 2012, but the institutions failed to rehabilitate and restore their credibility. Following the institutions’ inability to submit the required documents, Nzimande said their functioning was defective.

“The four Educor brands can be deemed dysfunctional and this is mainly measured against the daily complaints and grievances received from students, most of which remain unresolved,” added the minister.

Nzimande highlighted the numerous complaints received from students, including poor quality of teaching and learning, lack of administrative support, corruption, and lack of professionalism.

The students allegedly also complained about exploitation of poor students; non-payment of staff salaries; and under-payment of staff salaries.  

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Impact on students and institutions

More than 13 000 students have been affected by the cancellation of these Educor colleges, with some students left stranded without accommodation.

The colleges have been given until the end of the year to phase out the enrolled students. They are not allowed to register any new students during this time.

Nzimande announced that some of the institutions’ sites have closed suddenly after failing to pay the rent, staff salaries and/or the municipality. 

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These institutions include City Varsity in Braamfontein, which closed because staff withdrew their services for non-payment of salaries and students were left stranded; and Damelin in Braamfontein, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, East London, which were closed suddenly as they were in arrears with the municipality and rental, leaving students stranded.

Additionally, Lyceum College was also closed due to an eviction order by the landlord for failure to pay the rent. 

Educor’s dysfunctionality

The minister suggested that the Educor institutions were trying to inflate their numbers so as to hide their declining student population.

Educor claimed it had 50 000 students, however its 2022 annual reports indicate a total enrollment of 13 096 students across all four institutions.

Nzimande revealed that some students’ examination marks were fabricated. This, he said, was caused by failure to pay the lecturers resulting in the papers remaining unmarked.

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“For the learners who did not write exams and where the were irregularities in the writing of the exam in the final certificate received – we would have to look at the merits of each case together with the Council of Higher Education,” Essack said.

She encouraged the affected students to transfer to other colleges. She also said the department had been trying to get Educor’s institutions to sort out their issues since 2012, and now they’ve run out of patience.

She agreed with Nzimande’s statement that Educor’s institutions are “dysfunctional”.