Fake Durban Academy Shuts Down Amid Registration Woes, Over 200 Learners Affected
- Matric Scholars Academy in Durban has ceased operations over unresolved registration and compliance issues
- Over 200 learners are allegedly affected after having paid R10,000 each for enrollment in the academy
- Owner Nombuso Mtshali cited ongoing talks with education authorities regarding the school's status
Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.
Source: Getty Images
KWAZULU-NATAL, DURBAN - The owner of Durban-based Matric Scholars Academy, Nombuso Mtshali, has confirmed that the institution has shut its doors while she attempts to resolve outstanding registration and compliance problems.
Outstanding registration and compliance problems
According to Sowetan, Mtshali said the school is no longer operating and will not accept learners for the 2026 academic year as engagements with education authorities continue. She indicated that the issues relate to administrative requirements, including the school’s registration status, and said the process remains subject to departmental procedures and timelines.
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She said that she could not elaborate further at this stage because the matter is still being addressed through formal channels. According to Mtshali, the school would only issue a more detailed response once those processes have been finalised, adding that she believes the steps being taken are in the best interests of learners.
Learners had paid R10,000
The announcement follows last year’s revelation that the academy, which was operating from premises linked to the Durban University of Technology (DUT), was not legally registered.
More than 200 pupils discovered the school’s status only shortly before they were due to sit for their matric rewrite examinations. Those learners had paid in excess of R10,000 each to enrol at the academy in an effort to improve their matric results from the previous year.
Source: Getty Images
Other school-related stories
Learners from Naledi Ya Meso Secondary School in Limpopo, which achieved a 0% pass rate for the 2025 National Senior Certificate exams, blamed the teachers and school for failing. Matriculants from the school, which is based in Dikgalaopeng village, complained of the poor support from the school. One of the learners said she wanted to do subjects in the commercial stream and not subjects in the sciences stream. She said that from grade 10, the physical sciences teacher, who is the principal, had not taught them.
As the 2025 matric class receives its results, 50 former Limpopo pupils whose 2024 examination outcomes were withheld over alleged cheating are preparing to challenge the decision in court. The group, represented by public interest law centre Section27, has launched a judicial review application in the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane on behalf of the former Baphutheng Senior Secondary School learners. The application challenges findings that they were guilty of “group copying” during the 2024 National Senior Certificate examinations.
Department of Education confirms matric results will appear in newspapers
In a previous article, Briefly News reported that the matric results will still be published in newspapers despite ongoing legal challenges.
The Information Regulator (IR) continues to oppose the move, noting that publication should not proceed while its appeal is still pending.
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Source: Briefly News
