Advertising watchdog finds Kingsway College nursing ad 'misleading'

Kingsway College in Cape Town has been found to have made misleading claims in advertising one of their courses.

The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) responded to a complaint alleging that a banner advertising nursing courses on the school's website was misleading.

Under the heading "nursing courses", the advertisement announces classes offered "in collaboration with the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA)" – even though HWSETA qualifications are not nursing qualifications.

In finding the advertisement misleading, the ARB ruled: "These are HWSETA-accredited courses but none of them will qualify you as a 'nurse' per se ... In this context, the word 'nursing' has a very specific connotation with a qualified nurse."   

The college did not respond to the board's ruling but confirmed to TimesLIVE that they did not offer nursing courses.

"I don’t know how the person who's in charge of the website made that mistake," said Kingsway College's Bellville campus manager Ascencius Paul, adding that he was unaware of the complaint until he received a message from a college director earlier this month.

"A label such as 'healthcare courses' would be equally descriptive," suggested the watchdog organisation, which aims to protect consumers by encouraging responsible advertising.

However, about two weeks after the board's decision was made, the college's advertisement remained unchanged.