Saftu calls on education department to ensure workers’ rights are upheld at Educor colleges

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has called on the department of higher education and training to ensure the rights of workers are recognised after it decided to reinstate the registration licence of private learning group Educor. 

The department, which in March cancelled Educor’s registration over its failure to submit audited financial statements since 2020, said the decision to reinstate it was made “purely on humanitarian grounds” after it was reported that more than 13 000 students registered at Educor institutions could be left stranded. 

It said the decision was made “with the primary aim of minimising the disruption to the education and future prospects of the students currently enrolled”.

Saftu had urged the department to ensure that the company “does not continue with the violation of workers’ rights and operates effectively to ensure the education services are delivered to the students who are registered”, spokesperson Trevor Shaku told the Mail & Guardian.

According to the Higher Education Act, private tertiary institutions are obliged to submit financial statements to the department as part of the accountability process. However, a private company is not required to disclose financial information to the public.

Educor, the largest private education provider in Southern Africa, owns the Damelin, CityVarsity, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum colleges. It manages 10 educational brands on more than 60 campuses and sites in South Africa and internationally.

As part of the conditions set out by the department of higher education, Educor must fully comply with Council on Higher Education accreditation requirements before commencing any teaching and learning activities. This includes an evaluation of the institution’s policies, systems, strategies and resources for quality management of the core functions of teaching and learning. 

Educor must also submit comprehensive monthly financial reports to the department, including detailed financial statements, student enrolment statistics and progress updates on compliance with Council on Higher Education accreditation standards.

Earlier this year, then higher education minister Blade Nzimande slammed Educor for its “gross governance and compliance failures” and gave it until December to “conclude the remaining examinations or assessments for the remainder of the current academic year”.

Saftu — which has been pushing for fair labour practices at the Educor colleges — said it had been receiving complaints about maladministration and the non-payment of salaries to employees at campuses nationwide since November 2023.

“Educor abused their lecturers and other staff in several ways, including late payment of wages, unilateral change of conditions of employment, firing workers who dared stand up for their rights and lacking basic functions that any employer is obliged to have in their workplaces, such as grievance mechanism and handling,” Shaku said. 

Despite the department’s decision to reinstate Educor’s registration, it warned that it reserved the right to revoke it should the company fail to adhere to the stipulated conditions.

“The provisional reinstatement does not in any way waive the department’s rights and powers entrusted to it in terms of the Higher Education Act or invalidate the legal proceedings that the parties were involved in,” it said.

A student at Damelin’s Braamfontein college told the M&G that, after months of uncertainty, the department’s decision had come as a relief.

“I’m glad the department decided to prioritise the students but we can only hope that the institution will do its part in adhering to the conditions,” the first-year accounting student said. 

A student at CityVarsity in Braamfontein also hailed the decision, adding that “private institutions offer you options that public universities often do not”.