The impasse between dental technology students countrywide and the South African Dental Technicians Council (SADTC) looks unlikely to be resolved any time soon, with the regulator’s decision to oppose legal action brought by three universities likely to escalate the ongoing tensions and battle over the accreditation of training programmes, reports IOL.
The SADTC said it had received court papers from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), the Durban University of Technology and the Tshwane University of Technology, and had instructed its legal team to oppose the matter.
The long-running dispute over the accreditation and regulation of the dental technology programmes has disrupted academic programmes, delayed graduations, and raised concerns about whether affected students, who have been left in limbo, will be able to practise professionally.
But despite the court challenge, the SADTC says its position remains unchanged, and that it has the statutory authority to oversee the education and training of dental technicians and to ensure that programmes meet the required standards before graduates can be registered.
The dispute centres on compliance requirements, including the approval of laboratory facilities and the alignment of university programmes with regulatory standards.
The council has previously warned that students graduating from non-accredited programmes risk being unable to register and work in the profession.
Universities, however, have argued that the regulator has overstepped its mandate and that programmes remain accredited at an institutional level through the Council on Higher Education.
The three universities said they would issue a joint statement but had not done so before publication.
At CPUT, students have spent months without classes while negotiations between the university and the regulator stalled. Teaching disruptions began in 2025, and although plans have been outlined to resume classes, progress remains tied to regulatory approval of facilities and programme conditions.
The latest legal action now places the dispute squarely in the courts, even as government has attempted to broker a solution.
The Department of Higher Education and Training previously indicated that it was engaging with the Department of Health on the matter, but attempts to obtain an update on the outcome of those engagements have been unsuccessful.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Dental accreditation stand-off impacts student training and graduates
Cape dental students protest against delayed lectures
Wits dental students complain about ‘inhumane’ working conditions