Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mimmy Gondwe is appealing to parents not to fall for bogus colleges that prey on desperate students seeking tertiary education after failing to find a space at public institutions of higher learning.

Due to space constraints in public institutions such as universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, many people look for private colleges so they can continue to pursue education - however, not all private colleges are legitimate.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Dr Mimmy Gondwe is leading four intergovernmental campaigns that have uncovered serious issues with unregistered private colleges that offer non-accredited programmes that do not meet the standards of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Council on Higher Education (CHE), and the Quality Council for Trades & Occupations (QCTO).

During an oversight visit to the University of Western Cape (UWC) on Monday, 26 January, Daily Maverick asked Gondwe about bogus colleges. She warned parents and students to be cautious.

"This time of the year, they (bogus colleges) tend to prey on desperate parents and students because they know that there isn't enough space [in public institutions], so they prey on them, but I want to just appeal to students and their parents to do that bit of due diligence, do that bit of homework, such as visiting our website. We have around 146 registered institutions, private colleges or private institutions of higher...