The Department of Higher Education and Training has warned students and parents not to be quick to register at private colleges without verifying the credentials of the institution.
Unsuspecting potential students are at risk of being duped by unregistered institutions and end up with unrecognised qualifications.
Spokesperson of the DHET Ishmael Mnisi says such scams are likely to happen towards the end of the year or in the beginning of the year because it is when enrolments take place.
Mnisi advises students and parents to request for a certificate of registration from any private college of their choice.
According to Mnisi a certificate of a private institution must have the following information:
1. A place of offering, meaning that they are authorised as a college.
2.Venue of offering, where the college was given permission to operate.
3. Lastly, it must reflect the courses that the college is allowed to offer.
Parents and students are urged to double-check with the department before paying for tuition fees to end up with worthless qualifications from unrecognised private colleges.
“If the registration certificate information can not be provided to parents or potential students, they can contact our departmental website where we have a register of private colleges.
“They will see if that particular college is registered or not before they can even pay a registration fee,” said Mnisi