Students reeling after Damelin cancels year-end exams, urged to transfer without clarity

15 Nov 2024

Multiple students were shocked by Damelin announcing that it would not be holding its end-of-year exams, leaving them with no clear direction for their academic futures. The move adds to an ongoing crisis at Damelin, already dealing with a series of financial and administrative issues.

Students at Damelin’s East London campus were left stunned and scrambling this week after the institution unexpectedly announced that it would not be holding its end-of-year exams. The statement, which came without prior warning, instructed affected students to transfer to other colleges — an option that leaves many with limited time and no clarity about their futures.

Damelin’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Thurley informed students in a brief message that final exams would not be taking place at the campus due to “circumstances beyond our control” and advised students to seek alternative Further Education and Training (FET) colleges nearby.

Thurley spoke about “intentional disruptions” by former employees, although he offered no specifics on what these disruptions entailed.

The decision has left many students, particularly those preparing for the National Accredited Technical Education Diploma exams, in a state of confusion and frustration.

“I’ve done all my assignments for one communication subject. I tried to get a hold of them to say to them, what is the plan of action and no one answered me. So I was a bit reluctant to do more assignments because they’re not marking them and I’m paying them. I’ve already paid them R15,000-R16,000 for the course I’m on now, and I haven’t been able to speak to anybody since the beginning of the year, when they registered my course. I’m paying every single month, but no one is communicating with us. You can’t get hold of them, your email doesn’t go through and so I’m actually very worried,” Levey Bush, a student at Intec in Gqeberha told Daily Maverick, explaining that Intec uses Damelin campuses to write exams.

“There is a huge amount of students being ripped off. They are not giving us any information. They’re not saying anything. They’re just encouraging people to do more courses. So if you phone them, send them an email, I want to join this course, you’ll get a call. That’s pretty much where it dies.”

“It is honestly a nightmare. There is no assistance. Every day of the week I send an email, no one responds. I tried calling but all numbers are not going through, my experience is terrible,” said one student who asked to stay anonymous.

Long-running crisis

The exam cancellations are the latest in a series of controversies for Damelin, which has struggled for months with serious internal issues, including staff salary disputes and growing student dissatisfaction.

In March, previous Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced the deregistration of Damelin, CityVarsity, Lyceum and Icesa for failing to submit their legally required 2020 and 2021 annual financial certificates and annual reports. These documents are anticipated to disclose crucial information, including student enrollment numbers, course offerings, the institution’s financial status, and staffing details.

In addition to the institution’s failure to comply with financial regulations over the past two years and its inability to provide tax clearance to demonstrate financial stability, Nzimande accused Educor — owner of Damelin, CityVarsity, Intec and Lyceum College — of engaging in unethical practices, operating with dysfunction, and being involved in bribery and other forms of corruption.

Educor has also been criticised for neglecting to pay staff salaries, failing to address numerous student grievances, and being found dishonest regarding exam grading and student enrollment figures.

Read more: Nzimande lashes Damelin, CityVarsity, Intec and Lyceum for ‘worst sin’ committed by an education institution

In August, the Damelin College campus in East London suddenly closed, leaving hundreds of students and staff stranded. Students and parents were sent a letter saying that campus operations would be suspended for the rest of the academic year due to low student numbers. At the time of the closure, the campus employed 16 staff members, both permanent and contracted, including lecturers, administrators and cleaners.

The Department of Higher Education and Training announced in August that it was going to provisionally reinstate the four institutions on condition that:

Educor complies fully with the Council on Higher Education (CHE) accreditation requirements before commencing any teaching and learning activities.

Educor submit comprehensive monthly reports to the department. These reports must include detailed financial statements, student enrolment statistics, and progress updates on compliance with CHE accreditation standards.

Minister of Higher Education and Training Nobuhle Nkabane said the provisionally reinstation was on “purely humanitarian grounds” and the decision was made to minimise “disruption to the education and future prospects of the students currently enrolled”.

Ongoing complaints and uncertainty

Other Educor students have voiced widespread concerns about financial mismanagement, delayed salaries and lack of communication.

One such student, Lesley-Ann Levey Bush, described her frustration with the institution’s lack of support and transparency, adding that she had paid thousands in fees without receiving adequate guidance or even confirmation on whether her exams would take place.

Another Intec student, who asked not to be named, said that since October she has no longer received any communication.

“I heard the offices are closed, they definitely don’t answer any phones anymore either. I’m sure it has to do with Educor not paying their staff, maybe it is a strike or walkout,” she said.

Levey Bush said she faced challenges with a previous qualification from the institution but at least she had assurance when it came to exams. If she paid, she received confirmation that the exams were scheduled, and they took place on the planned dates.

“But now, with Damelin being deregistered, we rewrite exams at the Damelin campus. If that’s deregistered and closed, where are we rewriting exams?” she asked.

The abrupt cancellation throws a spanner in the works of her future plans.

“I’m frustrated because I need this for my job, and it’s not happening, and it’s more expensive to do it through a varsity. But with varsity you have to go to classes and with Damelin I could self-study, which I’m happy to do,” she explained.

“You hear that the employees aren’t being paid, so they’re leaving, so Damelin doesn’t have staff to mark the papers because they don’t have the money. We want to know where the money’s gone because we’re paying our fees so somebody is mismanaging the school on a hectic level.”

At the time of publication Damelin owner Educor had not responded to Daily Maverick queries seeking detailed answers about the scale of the exam cancellations, how many students are impacted, or what steps the institution is taking to assist those left stranded. DM

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Long-running crisis

Ongoing complaints and uncertainty