By Johnathan Paoli
In an ongoing issue impacting students across South Africa, Umalusi has withheld the results of students from 128 private colleges due to accreditation concerns.
Higher Education and Training Department spokesperson Lucky Masuku said private colleges that were allowed to register students for N1-N3 Engineering Studies exams despite not being accredited by Umalusi.
When the department conducted the exams from 18 November to 4 December, some colleges, accredited only by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) for N4-N6 programmes, erroneously enrolled candidates for N1-N3 exams.
However, according to regulations, accreditation by QCTO for N4-N6 does not automatically grant institutions the right to offer N1-N3 courses.
Masuku said upon discovering this discrepancy, the executive committee of the Umalusi council convened to discuss the approval of exam results.
Given the concerns over the institutions’ accreditation status, the committee resolved to block the release of results until an investigation was conducted.
Masuku said a preliminary inquiry has since been completed, and its findings have been submitted to Umalusi for review.
To address the issue and ensure that students are not unfairly disadvantaged, he said Umalusi and the department were working together to facilitate the release of results for students who sat for the N2 and N3 Engineering Studies exams.
The resolution process aims to protect students who were unaware that their institutions were not accredited for these programmes, however there is no confirmation yet on when the results will be released.
Beyond addressing the immediate problem, the department has also committed to strengthening regulatory oversight of private colleges.
The department plans to work closely with these institutions to ensure strict compliance with accreditation and examination registration requirements in the future and aim to prevent similar incidents.
Deputy Minister Mimmy Gondwe previously urged learners and parents to visit official websites to verify accredited institutions and encouraged the public to report fraudulent colleges.
Launching awareness campaigns in November, Gondwe said the aim was to raise awareness and safeguard the overall integrity of the education system.
Gondwe said that while education was a fundamental right and tool for personal and national development, unscrupulous institutions exploited students’ aspirations, wasting their time and resources while providing unrecognised qualifications that hindered employment opportunities.
INSIDE EDUCATION
