While congratulating the 2023 group of matriculants for the outstanding achievement and performance and wishing them well in their chosen fields of studies post-matric, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) wishes to forewarn this cohort to be extra vigilant and beware of possible bogus nursing colleges as many of them will start seeking study opportunities at various institutions from tomorrow onwards. Fly-by night schools tend to proliferate during this time of the year, taking advantage of the high desperation levels by the many school leavers who are looking for a space to pursue their post-matric studies at institutions of higher learning.

Those who look for nursing studies to become nurses tend to also encounter these bogus colleges, where they will be asked to pay fees to secure and register for the offered courses. DENOSA wishes to advise those who will be looking for nursing courses to be extra vigilant and look out for suspicous signs of bogus institutions which may be nowhere by the time they have to commence with their studies. For starters, many of the public nursing colleges would have closed applications for the 2024 academic year in 2023 already.

Secondly, 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 regulatory 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, as a first stop, must visit the SANC website (www.sanc.co.za) to check if the institution they wish to study at appears on the SANC website.

Furthermore, an institution may appear on the SANC website as an accredited institution, but it is a matter of 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 first if such a programme is accredited by the SANC. They can contact the SANC telephonically on 012 420 1000. The dangers of registering and pursuing a nursing course with an unaccredited nursing school or college is that the student will never write the SANC exams as required or be allowed to practice as a nurse in any healthcare facility in the country. Essentially, they would have wasted both their money and time.

DENOSA encourages young people to consider nursing as a career of choice, because there are plenty of opportunities for work due to the shortage of nurses that the country experiences. Nursing, or the Noble Profession as it is known, is also one of the 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 to the best of their abilities. DENOSA wishes all the young people all the best in their chosen post-matric studies.