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HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL FORFEITS E28M

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 mfanukhona@times.co.sz


MBABANE – Handicapped!  It is still unclear how one of the most important bodies in the education sector, the Eswatini Higher Education Council survives.
This is due to the fact that for the past two financial years (2017/2018 and 2018/2019), the Council, which registers and accredits colleges and universities, has not received its money to perform its functions.


Government had set aside E14 million for each of the two financial years but the money was not accessed, resulting in the money being taken back to the Consolidated Fund at the Central Bank of Eswatini where government accounts are held.
In total, the Council, which is mandated to foster and promote the quality of education, forfeited E28 million. According to sources, the body does not have money to execute operations.


Investigations revealed that it depended on registration fees, which were insufficient to sustain the organisation. The registration fee is collected from the institutions of higher learning.


There are four applications that are considered by the Council if one wants to set up an institution of higher learning – application for accreditation, application for establishment, application for registration and application for certificate verification.
It could not be immediately ascertained how much the colleges and universities were paying to the Council.

Council under staffed


There are six employees of the Eswatini Higher Education Council who are currently on the government payroll. It must be said that the Council is supposed to be a parastatal in terms of the law. It has emerged that the staff is thin on the ground and could not reach out to institutions that needed to be investigated.
It was established in 2015 in terms of the Higher Education Act of 2013 to regulate higher education provision in the country.


Its mandate is to develop and implement a quality assurance system for higher education, covering among other areas, registration, accreditation, institutional audits, quality promotion and setting of standards.


The Higher Education Act defines higher education as all learning programmes commenced after secondary education and leading to a higher qualification.  For an institution to operate and be recognised in Eswatini, it must be registered in terms of the Higher Education Act, 2013.
Mboni Dlamini, the Executive Director of the Council, vehemently declined to comment on the issue, and referred enquiries to the Ministry of Education and Training.


Bheki Gama, the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training, referred enquiries to the Minister of Education, Lady Mabuza, believing she would handle the issue as she was aware of it. The education and training minister said she was aware of the issue and it was being addressed.


 Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg said his ministry’s communications department would revert to the publication. In February last year, the council closed down four unregistered institutions of higher learning.


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