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Students left stranded by the unravelling of City Varsity and the failures of Educor

Students left stranded by the unravelling of City Varsity and the failures of Educor
At the time of writing, Educor continues to list City Varsity as a registered institution on its website. (Photo: Somila Zonke)
Sara Falcon
By Sara Falcon
11 Feb 2025
Facebook
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This is not just the story of the failure of an academic institution, but that of systemic negligence, blatant disregard for students’ futures, and a higher education system that refuses to hold scam artists accountable.

In early 2024, students of City Varsity, a subsidiary of Educor, started the academic year, many of them with hopes of graduating and joining the work force later that year. Yet, within weeks, their optimism gave way to uncertainty, fear, and ultimately devastation. 

What began as rumours of financial misconduct and administrative “misunderstandings” soon spiralled into a full-scale institutional collapse, leaving students without degrees, and without financial compensation, or any form of meaningful intervention from the very authorities responsible for overseeing higher education.

This is not just the story of the failure of an academic institution, but that of systemic negligence, blatant disregard for students’ futures, and a higher education system that refuses to hold scam artists accountable.

The first signs of disaster: Braamfontein branch 


For years, students at City Varsity’s Cape Town campus had little reason to follow the affairs of their sister campus in Braamfontein. That changed in early 2024, when a group of displaced students arrived in Cape Town, forced to abandon their studies after the Braamfontein campus was permanently shut down without warning. The students in question had shown up for their first day of classes in Braamfontein, only to find the doors locked, with a notice citing “fumigation” as the reason for the closure. Weeks of silence followed, until they finally received an email informing them that their institution had closed its doors permanently. They were advised to transfer to other institutions — at their own expense, with no support from the school or the Department of Higher Education.

Read more: Students’ dreams on hold amid ongoing instability at Educor campuses

Cape Town branch followed


In Cape Town, City Varsity students soon found themselves on the same doomed trajectory. In March, City Varsity administrators issued a vague statement dismissing closure rumours as “old news” — a claim that was proven false, not long after, when the former minister of higher education, Blade Nzimande, publicly announced the deregistration of some of the Educor-owned institutions. 

At the time of writing, Educor continues to list City Varsity as a registered institution on its website. (Photo: Somila Zonke)



This was only the beginning of a deliberate strategy by Educor and City Varsity: restricted and often contradictory communications that left students unable to seek clarification, and a series of misleading reassurances designed to keep fee payments flowing throughout 2024, while the institution unravelled behind the scenes. These communications were more often than not sent minutes before close of business on Friday, not giving students the time to respond, or ask questions. 

The government’s empty promises


In March 2024, Nzimande announced that some of the Educor-owned institutions, including City Varsity and Damelin, among others, had been deregistered. While he acknowledged the crisis, he also stated that “pipeline students” (those already enrolled for their third academic year) would be allowed to continue studying and earn valid degrees at the end of 2024.  

Instead, the government left them to navigate a bureaucratic nightmare on their own. Nzimande’s responses across 2024 were an exercise in deflection. He suggested that students should have checked the department’s website before enrolling — despite City Varsity still being listed as a registered institution while students were registering and enrolling for 2024. It was only after tuition had been paid, and classes had commenced, that the department finally published the deregistration list. His statements placed the blame on students while failing to acknowledge the impact on their lives and the Department of Higher Education’s responsibility for allowing Educor to operate for years, despite its misconduct. 

An institution in freefall


City Varsity students clung to reassurances from both the Department of Education and university administrators that they would still be able to complete their studies and graduate, but the cracks in the façade only deepened. By July 2024, lecturers had stopped receiving salaries, forcing them to suspend classes. Yet, students continued to be billed for tuition and were reassured that the situation was merely a misunderstanding that would soon be resolved.

In November, students were still receiving letters from City Varsity management demanding payment for outstanding fees, with promises that the academic year would extend into 2025 in order to ensure the graduation of the pipeline students. These letters also implied that lecturers would come back to work, unpaid, a claim lecturers immediately disputed. Meanwhile, students continued to receive misleading communications and bills, further complicating their ability to make informed decisions about their futures.

The consequences: lost futures, broken promises


As students scrambled to salvage what was left of their education, many faced insurmountable barriers. Transfers to other institutions meant starting over, repeating years of course work, and incurring additional financial burdens. Some were forced to drop out entirely, unable to afford the costs of restarting a degree elsewhere. 

Other students lost their sponsors. International students had to leave the country, with their academic dreams shattered. These students not only missed the opportunity to graduate, they were robbed of three years of their lives, and had their lives derailed. Furthermore, they had their trust in South Africa’s higher education system irreparably damaged

At the time of writing this article, Educor continues to list City Varsity as a registered institution on its website. City Varsity still advertises enrollment for 2025 on social media platforms, a cruel — and fraudulent — joke, at the expense of those affected by the deregistration. 

The collapse of City Varsity is not just an example of Educor’s negligence — it is a demonstration of failure on behalf of an entire regulatory system that allowed a deregistered institution to operate freely, collect tuition, and deceive students until the very end. 

The Department of Higher Education failed to implement any meaningful intervention or phase-out plan, leaving students and lecturers to bear the fallout. 

A stricter oversight mechanism for private institutions is needed. Mitigation and phase-out plans for such circumstances are needed, too. Without these reforms, the downfall of City Varsity will not be an anomaly. The question is no longer whether another institution will collapse, but whether or not those in power will act before it does. DM

Sara Falcon is a young author with a focus on writing, media sciences, and production. A former City Varsity-Educor student, she is one of 13,000 students affected by the institution’s abrupt deregistration by the Ministry of Higher Education in the middle of her final year in 2024, due to Educor’s financial irregularities.

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