Education and Training Quality Assurance Bodies (ETQAs) keep databases that contain, among others, their constituent providers and the unit standards and qualifications that they are accredited to offer. Therefore, you need to contact the relevant ETQA for the information. For a list of ETQAs see http://www.saqa.org.za/show.php?id=5742.

To verify whether a private FET college is registered and accredited consult the List of Registered Private FET Colleges at:
http://www.dhet.gov.za

To verify whether the institution or programme is registered and accredited consult the Register of Private Higher Education Institutions at: http://www.dhet.gov.za/

To view the list of public FET Colleges click here:
http://www.dhet.gov.za

Only programmes accredited by the HEQC can be offered by a higher education institution, whether public or private. Private providers are also required to be licensed and registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

Accreditation refers to a recognition status granted to a programme for a stipulated period of time after an HEQC evaluation indicates that it meets minimum standards of quality. One of the main reasons for programme accreditation is to protect students against poor quality programmes.

To view the list of public universities click here: 
http://www.dhet.gov.za

Public higher education providers are institutions that have been established and funded by the state through the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Public providers include universities, universities of technology and comprehensive universities.

Private providers, on the other hand, are owned by private organisations or individuals. Although many of them offer the same qualifications as public providers, private provider institutions are mainly privately funded or sponsored and are generally not subsidised by the state.

'Higher education' means all learning programmes which lead to qualifications which meet the requirements of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF), which is a sub-framework of the National Qualifications Framework as contemplated in the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995).