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Students in limbo as higher education dept deregisters Damelin, Lyceum College and CityVarsity

Source: News24, 26/03/2024

Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College are reportedly being shut down after failing to submit their financial statements for 2021 and 2022.
• The department of higher education has cancelled the registrations of Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College.
• The announcement was made in the Government Gazette on Friday.
• The department`s action follows the failure by the owner of the colleges, Educor, to submit audited financial statements for the 2021 and 2022 annual reports.
The fate of hundreds of thousands of students registered with Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College hang in the balance after the institutions` registrations were cancelled by the department of higher education.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande would address the issue on SABC on Monday night, according to department spokesperson Veli Mbele.
In a notice carried in the Government Gazette on Friday, the department`s director-general, Nkosinathi Sishi, published his decision to cancel the registrations of these private higher education institutions following their failure to submit audited financial statements for the 2021 and 2022 annual reports.
Private tertiary institutions are obliged to submit financial statements as stipulated in the Higher Education Act.
Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College are owned by Educor which, according to its website, is the largest private education supplier in southern Africa. It manages 10 educational brands across its more than 60 campuses and sites in South Africa and internationally.
The website states that the group `possesses a rich heritage with brands that have been in existence for many years`.
`Since our inception in 2008, Educor has evolved into an education giant offering face-to-face, distance and online learning. Our face-to-face brands include Damelin and CityVarsity. Distance brands include INTEC College, Damelin Correspondence College (DCC) and our higher-education distance brand, Lyceum,` Educor said.
Mbele told News24 that the department would not be giving `parallel interviews` until the minister had made his statement.
`We will do our best to ensure that the minister addresses the queries that we have received from all media institutions,` he said.
Mary Metcalfe, professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg, said she hoped that the owners of the colleges would urgently comply with the requirements, `as this will affect many students`.
Professor Labby Ramrathan from the University of KwaZulu-Natal said that, in the context of expanding private higher education, accountability was key.
She said:
Strong signals need to be made to protect prospective students. Cancelling registration of these institutions will have a significant impact on current students` registration and past student/graduates.
`For current students, the uncertainty of obtaining their qualifications remain high. For past students, the reputational damage will impact on them.`
Educor had not responded to media queries at the time of publication.

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