Private university set to shut down in South Africa
Damelin College looks set to close its doors in the near future, with the Department of Higher Education stating that the private college cannot fulfil its mandate.
Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela issued a Notice of Intent to Cancel the registration of three private higher education institutions owned by Educor Holdings.
This referred to three schools: City Varsity, Damelin, and ICESA City Campus. The action follows a long pattern of non-compliance with the Higher Education Act.
The department said the decision was taken in the interests of protecting students and upholding the integrity of the sector.
The decision was due to several critical factors, including all three institutions failing to submit their 2024 Annual Reports despite a remedial deadline set for 6 June 2025.
The organisations also failed to demonstrate financial and operational sustainability, such as audited financial statements, SARS tax certificates, and occupational health and safety compliance.
While not relevant to Damelin, the department also found evidence of institutional cessation, with City Varsity and ICESA having ceased operations.
“Institutions that fail to meet their legal and educational obligations cannot be allowed to compromise the futures of the people they serve,” the department said.
The Notice of Intent to cancel will be published in the Government Gazette, and institutions will be allowed to make representations.
Speaking to News24, the department’s director-general, Nkosinathi Sishi, said that Damelin is unable to fulfil its mandate.
Although he said he cannot make up his mind until he has read every submission Damelin gives, he said the institution has already made several submissions that resulted in contradictions.
He is thus currently less optimistic about the institution’s survival than he was a couple of months ago.
Damelin has had issues over the last couple of years, including problems with exams, where the department at one point had to send screenshots to students so they could see their results.
Damelin’s owners, Educor, were also dealt a recent blow, with the CCMA ruling that they pay former employees over R1.3 million for unfair dismissals.
More private universities on the way
While Damelin and its fellow Educor campuses may be forced to shut down, several new private colleges are in the works.
JSE-listed education group AdvTech announced the launch of a new R420 million mega-campus in Sandton, which combines its Varsity College, Vega and MSA brands under a single brand, Emeris.
The new campus is opening its doors this year with an initial capacity of 9,000 students.
Fellow JSE-listed education provider STADIO Higher Education has also opened a new Durbanville Campus in Cape Town, with the first cohort of students arriving next month.
The new private university will have a capacity of between 4,000 and 5,000 contact-learning students, offering higher certificates, undergraduate, and postgraduate degrees.
Stadio’s new campus will offer 20 qualifications across seven schools, including Education, IT, Law, Media and Design, Commerce, Architecture and Engineering.
The Solidarity Movement has also begun construction of a new campus for the private Afrikaans higher education institution, Akademia.
The project is set to cost R1.8 billion, with the construction phase expected to run from January 2026 to December 2027.
BusinessTech has contacted Damelin for comment.
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