PRESS statements by higher education minister Blade Nzimande confirm his eagerness to address issues in the public higher education arena. But what about the private education sector?
There are strong indications that demand for higher education is outstripping supply. In January, Gloria Sekwena died and at least 20 other people were seriously injured when about 5,000 people stampeded in a desperate attempt to register at the last minute with the University of Johannesburg. The university received more than 85,000 applications for fewer than 12,000 places last year.
Private education giant Educor is set to become the first South African institution to set up branch campuses outside the country as it expands its operations into four new African countries under its well-known Intec and Damelin brands.
While previously higher education was regarded as an equity instrument, now for the first time it is acknowledged as a major development driver in the information-knowledge system. Knowledge production and equity are linked within a more differentiated system. Two major policy goals are to double the participation rate and expand private higher education.
Monash South Africa and Laureate Education have unveiled a partnership agreement that will enable the local higher education provider operated by Australia’s Monash University to expand its student enrolment and academic offerings.
The Department of Higher Education and Training would like to place on record that Cida City Campus is a private higher education institution and as such is regulated by the department in terms of the Regulatory Framework for Private Higher Education Institutions so as to ensure that the post school system provides both youth and adults with opportunities to participate and gain an education to improve their lives and contribute towards the economic development of the country.
Private providers of higher education have welcomed a North Gauteng High Court ruling that the Department of Higher Education could not stop a local company from assisting foreign universities in providing education in SA.
Fly-by-night colleges operating in the Western Cape could soon be closed down, with police raids on illegal colleges expected to be continued across the country.
According to Carte Blanche, 12 of the courses offered by Damelin, one of the largest private higher education institutions in South Africa, are not registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training. Offering these courses without the requisite registration is an offence.
A decade after Monash University in Melbourne became the first foreign university to gain registration as a private higher education institution in South Africa, its ambitious goal of establishing a profitable campus in Johannesburg has still to be achieved. Meanwhile the university has changed its approach, switching focus from being 'for-profit' to 'public purpose'.