Matriculants be aware of bogus nursing colleges, says DENOSA

While congratulating the 2023 matriculants for the outstanding achievement and performance, DENOSA, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, has cautioned students in their chosen fields of study to remain vigilant and be cautious of potential fraudulent nursing colleges.

“It has come to our attention that numerous institutions will be actively seeking study opportunities, and it is crucial for students to be aware of the existence of fake colleges,” says DENOSA spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo.

According to Delihlazo, fly-by night schools tend to increase rapidly in numbers during this time of the year, taking advantage of the high desperation levels by many school leavers who are looking for space to pursue their studies at institutions of higher learning.

“Those who look forward for nursing studies tend to also encounter these bogus colleges, where they will be asked to pay fees to secure and register for the offered courses, “says Delihlazo.

DENOSA wishes to advise those who will be looking for nursing courses to be extra careful and look out for suspicious signs of fake institutions which may be nowhere by the time they have to commence with their studies.

He further added that beginners should know that many public nursing collages have closed applications for 2024 academic year in 2023 already.

However, every institution of higher learning that offers legitimate nursing studies must, by law be registered and accredited by the South African Nursing Council (SANC), which is the country’s regulator body for nursing.

The SANC has a list of all accredited public and private nursing schools, colleges and universities.

Those who wish to study nursing, must first visit the SANC website (www.sanc.co.za) to check if the institution they want to enroll with appears on the SANC website.

Furthermore, an institution may appear on the SANC website as an accredited institution, but it is required by the law that every nursing programme that is offered at such institution also be accredited by the SANC.

Post-matrics must also double check with the SANC whether such a programme is accredited by the SANC. They can contact the SANC on 012 420 1000.

The dangers of registering and pursuing nursing courses with an unaccredited nursing institutions is that students will never write the SANC exams as required or be allowed to practice as a nurse in any healthcare facility in the country.

“DENOSA encourages young people to consider nursing as a career of choice, because there are many opportunities for work due to the shortage of nurses that the country experiences.

“Nursing is known as a Noble Profession, also one of essential careers that brings life to the world, cares for it when it is sick and ensures that every person is able to heal and partake in the country’s economic activities for the best of their abilities, ” added Delihlazo.