Govt shuts down 368 illegal colleges, VTCs

Freeman Razemba, Senior Reporter

Government has, with immediate effect, closed 368 technical and vocational training centres countrywide for operating without requisite documents in terms of the Manpower Planning and Development Act (Chapter 28:02).

Those found non-compliant include Christian academic centres, computer training schools, beauty and therapy colleges, and schools of dressmaking.

The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development confirmed the development in a statement yesterday.

“The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development is carrying out its mandate of inspecting private and independent education and training institutions to ensure that they are compliant with the Manpower Planning and Development Act (Chapter 28:02) subsection 1 and Statutory Instruments 333 of 1996 and 26 of 2001, on critical issues of registration that guarantee improved access to quality and equitable inclusive education and training,” the statement read.

In the ongoing exercise, institutions in Bulawayo Metropolitan, Harare Metropolitan and Chitungwiza, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces have been inspected.

The inspection was conducted by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) quality assurance and standards compliance inspectorate.

In Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, eight institutions were de-registered, while 39 others are operating illegally.

In Harare Metropolitan Province and Chitungwiza, 13 were de-registered while 199 were found to be operating illegally.

Manicaland Province has 18 institutions that are operating illegally, while seven were de-registered. Mashonaland Central has 16, Mashonaland East (one), Mashonaland West (20), Masvingo (16), Matabeleland North (two), Matabeleland South (five), while the Midlands has 24.

The full list of these institutions was published in The Sunday Mail yesterday.

This is not the first time the Government has clamped down on unregistered institutions to curb the proliferation of such centres.

In February 2022, the Government descended on Harare Metropolitan Province and closed more than 300 schools that were operating illegally.

The then Harare Metropolitan Province Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Tafadzwa Muguti, said they launched a blitz to flush out all illegal schools across the province.