Regulation of private colleges in South Africa

Abstract

This empirical study focuses on the regulation of private colleges in South Africa. The study aims to answer the research question: What policies and legislation govern private colleges and how do actors within the private Post-School Education and Training System experience them? This study found that there is a lack of policy coherence within the education and training system within which private colleges operate. A key factor causing confusion, contradiction, and inefficiency is the existence of three quality councils with three different set of rules that, at times, contradict each other. This seems to be causing frustration for private colleges, even where they do, at times, value aspects of the quality assurance framework. I argue that the regulatory framework is punitive and counter-productive to the sustainability of the private college sector. The sector is not prioritized and there is insufficient attention paid to strengthening this sector which may create room for private colleges to self regulate and operate without registration and accreditation in order to avoid dealing with the complexities of the regulatory framework