The Department of Higher Education warns students and parents against bogus colleges

<h3><strong>The Department of Higher Education warns students and parents against bogus colleges<&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>The Department of Higher Education and Training &lpar;DHET&rpar; has warned students and parents to be careful of illegal or &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fly-by-night” colleges&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading" id&equals;"h-bogus-colleges"><strong>Bogus colleges<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><strong>Every New Year many prospective students across the country will be enrolling in several private higher learning institutions to further their studies&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>The challenge of bogus colleges spreading all over South Africa around this time of year still remains a problem for the DHET&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>The so-called &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fly-by-night” colleges are not registered as institutions of learning with the correct <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;dhet&period;gov&period;za&sol;SitePages&sol;SETAlinks&period;aspx" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">Sector Education and Training Authorities<&sol;a> &lpar;SETAs&rpar;&comma; the Department of Higher Education and Training &lpar;DHET&rpar; or other relevant bodies&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>The Minister of Higher Education Dr Blade Nzimande says these institutions lure and mislead prospective students into believing that they offer qualifications recognised by the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;saqa&period;org&period;za&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">South African Qualifications Authority<&sol;a> &lpar;SAQA&rpar;&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Nzimande has urged students and parents to first verify if institutions are registered with the department&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;These illegal colleges offer compromised qualifications which are not recognised for employment purposes or for further studying&comma;” said the minister in a statement&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"google-ad-m-og-mpu2-to-close" class&equals;"text-center mb-3 "><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p><strong>He said the department has been successful in shutting down these illegal operators&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>However&comma; while the department may be hard at work in eliminating these unregistered colleges&comma; there are still many students who continue to register and are unlawfully granted these fake qualifications&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The number of colleges that are operating illegally has decreased tremendously over the years&period; The decrease can be attributed to our monitoring awareness campaigns and our collaboration with both print and electronic media&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading" id&equals;"h-check-registration-status"><strong>How to Check registration status &lbrack;3 steps&rsqb;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><strong>Nzimande added that the department is working closely with law enforcement agencies to close down these colleges&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>1&period; He advised students who want to enroll at private colleges to check the registration status of such private colleges with the department or to contact the relevant SETA or SAQA directly&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>2&period; Students can also contact the department through its toll-free number 0800 872 222&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>3&period; Alternatively&comma; students can log on to the website of the department where the &OpenCurlyQuote;Register of Private Colleges’ is published and updated on a regular basis&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><strong>The website where you can check if the college is registered is&colon; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;dhet&period;gov&period;za&sol;SitePages&sol;DocRegisters&period;aspx" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">www&period;dhet&period;gov&period;za&sol;resources&sol;registers<&sol;a><&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;