School leavers warned of fly-by-night colleges

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) is urging matriculants, who will be looking to their studies in 2024, to be vigilant of bogus nursing colleges.

Last week, the Basic Education Department announced that 82.9% of the grade 12 class of 2023 had passed their national senior certificate exams, showing a 2.8 percentage point increase in the pass rate.

Denosa says students, who will be looking for institutions of higher learning to attend, need to be careful to not fall prey to the scams.

The union says fly-by-night schools tend to mushroom during this time of the year, taking advantage of the high desperation levels by the many school leavers.

Denosa Spokesperson, Sibongiseni Delihlazo, says those who look to pursue nursing studies are particularly vulnerable to these bogus colleges, where they will be asked to pay fees to secure and register for the offered courses.

Delihlazo warns that many public nursing colleges are likely to have closed applications for the 2024 academic year in 2023 already.

He is advising aspiring students to check whether the colleges they apply to are registered and accredited by the South African Nursing Council (SANC), which is the country’s regulatory body for nursing.

Aspiring students have also been urged to visit the SANC website (www.sanc.co.za) to check if the institution they wish to study at appears on website, where there is a list of all accredited public and private nursing schools, colleges and universities.

The union has also encouraged young people to consider nursing as a career of choice, as there are many opportunities in the health sector.

Forensic investigator, Calvin Rafadi, says fake institutions, often operating online or disguised as legitimate colleges, lure victims with the promise of quick and easy qualifications.

They may offer unaccredited degrees, inflated job prospects and minimal effort pathways to success.

Education activist, Hendrick Makaneta, says it is government’s responsibility to get rid of the fake colleges and to ensure that all courses offered at any institution of learning is accredited.

 

Beware of fake schools and colleges!

Learners and parents are urged to be aware of bogus colleges when applying to institutions of higher learning.

For more information and to get a list of unregistered institutions, visit: https://t.co/cEB2y8InVr@DBE_SA @HigherEduGovZA… pic.twitter.com/GWM32j7WfC

— NYDARSA (@NYDARSA) January 19, 2024

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa #DENOSA warns 2023 matriculants to be aware of bogus Nursing colleges taking advantage of their desperation to be registered in 2024 @eNCA pic.twitter.com/LUy1MG2eyP

— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) January 22, 2024

Your future is your concern. Take the time to verify the legitimacy of your desired institution. #BogusColleges #UnaccreditedInstitutions #HigherEducation pic.twitter.com/oEwv1tsoou

— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) January 22, 2024