'Consider a career in nursing': Denosa warns of bogus nurse-training institutions eyeing matric holders

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) congratulated the matric class of 2024 for the “impressive” 87.3% pass rate.

In the congratulatory message, Denosa encouraged young people to consider nursing as a career of choice.

“While encouraging them to consider a career in nursing, Denosa would like to caution this class to be extra vigilant as they will start navigating through various institutions of higher learning and beware of bogus nursing colleges that tend to flourish during this period,” said Denosa spokesperson, Sibongiseni Delihlazo.

“With many passing in large numbers this year, this means more learners will be forced to look for study opportunities throughout the cities and towns.”

Delihlazo said for holders of matric certificates choosing to pursue careers in nursing, Denosa would like to advise them to initially double-check if the college or university they will be enrolling at, for a nursing course, is accredited by the South African Nursing Council (SANC) as well as the nursing programme itself.

SANC is the regulatory body for nursing in South Africa and accredits both institutions and nursing courses.

“The risk with enrolling for a nursing course with an institution or a programme that is not accredited by SANC is that learners will never be allowed to practice as nurses upon completion of their studies,” said Delihlazo.

“Bogus schools and colleges will be taking advantage of the period of desperation from the learners,” he said.

“To double-check if the institution the learners wish to study at is accredited, they can visit the SANC website www.sanc.co.za and check under institutions.” 

Denosa highlighted that nursing remains “a fulfilling career” with many opportunities for growth and varied specialisations. 

“Employment opportunities remain high compared to many other qualifications as the country is faced with a gross shortage of nurses, which is going to worsen in the next five to 10 years as more than half the current nurses would be retiring,” said Delihlazo.

IOL reported on Monday that the matric class of 2024, which Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has likened to South Africa’s national flower, the protea, achieved an 87.3% pass rate. This is a significant increase from 82.9% achieved in 2023.

Gwarube was speaking at Mosaic Church in Johannesburg during the release of the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL