TimesLive reports that, after five years of trying to clamp down on unregistered colleges, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is still battling to shut down these bogus institutions.  

Since 2012 the department has laid 21 criminal charges with the police against the owners of the bogus colleges nationwide.  Out of the 21 cases, one owner fled the country stalling the case, three have no case numbers and the rest are still under investigation.  The colleges have been accused of making false claims about the qualifications they offered and operating without registration.  The department admitted it was aware that several bogus colleges had resurfaced under different names in different locations.  Caroline Long of the faculty of education at the University of Johannesburg said the department needed a multifaceted approach to monitor college standards.  According to her, students were desperate to get into tertiary institutions and a larger vision to address the demand should be pursued.

• Read this report by Kgaogelo Masweneng in full at TimesLive

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