St Augustine College Puts Premises up for Sale

by Admin · June 14, 2022

The St Augustine campus in Victory Park, Johannesburg, which is going to be sold while the College will keep going.

South Africa’s only Catholic university has decided to put its premises in Victory Park, Johannesburg, up for sale — but it will not mean the end of St Augustine College, which will continue to operate.

“The last three years have put enormous strain on St Augustine due to Covid and related issues. The board of directors persistently endeavoured to resolve the College’s financial difficulties. Eventually, it was decided, in principle, to sell the premises of the college, thereby generating cash to meet its commitments and retain a substantial portion of the proceeds for future development,” a statement issued by St Augustine College said.

“The proposed sale of the property must not be confused with a termination of the college itself,” the statement stressed.

The undergraduate degrees will remain in suspended in 2023, but the college continues to offer its present programmes at Certificate, Honours, Masters and Doctoral levels.

The College noted that due to the restrictions of the Covid pandemic, it has been able “to provide the high quality of our degrees to all students through online teaching and learning, with limited time needed to be personally present”. This applies mainly to postgraduate degrees.

“Hopefully the proposed sale will allow us to move forward and remain on a more secure and stable financial basis to further the growth and service that have marked the institution since its inception in 1999,” the College said.

The Victory Park property has been put up for auction, which takes place on June 28 and 29. “It was a decision of the Board of Directors to do so in order to meet the financial requirements of maintaining the institution. Meanwhile, the board continues to give anxious consideration to various strategic issues with a view to ensuring a sustainable future for the College,’ the College said.

“We ask your consideration to donate and prayerful support in the weeks ahead for the decisions that will need to be made relative to the continuation and flourishing of the mission and vision of the College. “