By 
By Bahle Gama
Eswatini Higher Education Council (ESHEC) CEO Dr. Lorreta Mkhonta is allegedly receiving threats from institutions of higher learning that have not been complying with the regulator’s standards.
ESHEC was recently engaged in the assessment of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) which are operating under partial or provisional registration and those who applied for full registration as well as accreditation of programmes offered in terms of the Act.
ESHEC Board Chairperson Makhosazana Madondo said the ESHEC Secretariat made certain findings, recommendations, and resolutions concerning the suitability of the institutions and programmes.
Some of these findings included franchise programmes from other countries being offered in the country which had been suspended from the country of origin by their regulator.
“ESHEC had to follow suit to ensure that students in the country do not find themselves continuing with scrapped off courses and further ensure to get their money’s worth and appropriate qualifications,” she said.
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It turned out that some of the HEIs were only offering the franchise courses, which when they were removed, these institutions had to suspend operations compelled by these circumstances.
Madondo stated that it has come to their knowledge that some HEIs are displeased with the outcome from ESHEC and have resorted to contacting the ESHEC Secretariat and the office of the CEO to relay their despondency.
They have at the same time threatened and uttered unpalatable words and threatened the life of the CEO.
“ESHEC considers this conduct to be unbecoming by the perpetrators.
The Secretariat and the office of the CEO are not responsible for the decisions taken with respect to any institution, therefore any threats directed to them in unwarranted,” she said.
Madondo stated that ESHEC has an academic planning and development committee that scrutinises all assessment reports and gives recommendations to the Council which further reviews these and makes resolutions.
For example, if an institution wants to register, they are given a provisional authority based on a certain period of operation when there are things that need to be fixed and a duration to ensure those things are in place.
And if the Board is satisfied with the report or assessment, they are given the full registration in time.
“When we passed these regulations, they were first approved by the HEIs. Now, we are implementing them and faced with problems whereby some institutions are displeased by the feedback and recommendations,” Madondo said.
She clarified that ESHEC is the arm of government that operates through the Ministry of Education and Training that assesses and regulates HEIs, who in turn are expected to adhere to and cooperate with the regulator.
“The assessments were conducted to ensure these institutions are adhering to the regulations and standards as it was agreed upon when they were given the certificates to operate in the country and provide the best and updated courses to emaSwati students,” she said.
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The Chairperson requested members of the public, stakeholders and HEIs to desist from any conduct that includes threats or intimidation towards ESHEC officials, members of staff and the Board, as this constitutes a criminal offence and the perpetrators of such can be prosecuted.
She reminded stakeholders that ESHEC was established to promote and regulate the quality of higher education in Eswatini, adding that ESHEC assesses institutions that provide learning environments and learning programmes and does not approach such undertakings from a business perspective.
“Lastly, if any concerned institution is displeased with either the outcome of an assessment or a report from ESHEC, there are laid down procedures on how a decision is to be challenged and parties are encouraged to use those forums to voice out their displeasure or grievances,” said Madondo.
She added that the approach by the HEIs is not a way of working together with ESHEC and urged all involved parties to be respectful and lawful instead of issuing threats because this does not sit well with ESHEC.
