Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) embarks on private colleges inspection to enforce compliance
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) will be embarking on a three week-long nationwide public awareness campaign aimed at enforcing compliance with the relevant legislations in the private college sector.
The campaign will consist of inspections and public awareness activities in major towns and cities around the country including Rustenburg, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Bloemfontein.
The DHET officials will be conducting impromptu inspections in partnership with local law enforcement authorities as well as public awareness campaigns in major public venues and taxi ranks aimed at exposing fraudulent private higher institutions that are rampant this time of the year.
The campaign - in partnership with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) - will kick off on Thursday 18 January 2017 at the main Rustenburg taxi rank and will conclude on 3 February at 52 the Church Street taxi rank in Polokwane, Limpopo.
As a new legislative requirement all private Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) accredited providers are now required to register with the Department as private colleges. All private higher education institutions are governed by the Higher Education Act, 1997 and the Continuing Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006.
The purpose of the legislations is to ensure that institutions operate within the law, have the necessary resources, capacity and expertise to offer acceptable standards of higher education qualifications that are aligned to the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
Students are therefore urged to verify the accreditation and registration statuses of private colleges and private higher education institutions, their programmes and sites, with the Department, the relevant SETAs and the QCTO.
Prospective students can also access the private and public higher institutions registers on the Department’s website at www.dhet.gov.za/resources/Registers or call the DHET at 0800 87 22 22.
