Privacy Policy & POPIA Notice

1. Introduction

Amasiko Training Centre ("Amasiko", "we", "us" or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you apply for a programme, enrol as a student, or interact with our website (atc.amasiko.co.za), and how that information is used, stored, shared and protected.

By submitting an application, enquiry, or using any part of our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the processing of your personal information as described below.

2. Information We Collect

When you submit an application or interact with our website, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identity information: full names, date of birth, gender, South African ID number or passport number
• Contact details: email address, phone number, postal address, province
• Educational information: highest qualification, study mode preference, programme of interest
• Supporting documents: certified copy of ID, proof of qualifications, and other documents you choose to upload
• Next of kin / emergency contact information: full names, relationship, contact number and email of an emergency contact
• Financial information: payment records, proof of payment and banking references relating to course fees (we do not store full card numbers)
• Account information: login email and securely hashed password for the student portal
• Communication records: messages sent to and from our admissions team, enquiry form submissions, and live chat conversations
• Technical information: IP address, browser type and device information collected automatically for security and analytics purposes

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To process and assess your application for admission
• To create and manage your student account and provide access to the student portal
• To communicate with you regarding your application status, enrolment, fees and academic progress
• To issue official documents such as Proof of Registration and Fee Statements
• To process payments and maintain accurate financial records
• To comply with SETA, QCTO and other regulatory and accreditation requirements
• To contact your next of kin in the case of an emergency
• To send important notices relating to your studies, including assignment, quiz and grading communications
• To improve our website, services and academic offerings
• To comply with our legal and statutory obligations, including record-keeping requirements

4. Our Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on one or more of the following legal grounds recognised by POPIA:

• Consent: you have given consent for the processing of your personal information for one or more specific purposes (e.g. submitting an application)
• Contractual necessity: processing is necessary to enrol you as a student and provide educational services to you
• Legal obligation: processing is necessary to comply with SETA reporting, QCTO accreditation, tax and other regulatory requirements
• Legitimate interest: processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in operating and improving our training centre, provided this does not override your rights

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with the following third parties, strictly for the purposes described in this policy:

• SETAs and QCTO: where required for accreditation, learner registration, and reporting on SETA-funded programmes
• Payment processors: PayFast, for the purpose of processing online payments securely. Amasiko does not store your full card details
• Service providers: hosting providers, email service providers, and IT support providers who assist us in operating our systems, under confidentiality obligations
• Legal and regulatory authorities: where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights

All third parties who process personal information on our behalf are required to implement appropriate security measures and to only process information for the purposes we specify.

6. Storage, Security & Retention

Your personal information is stored on secure servers hosted within South Africa. We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure, including:

• Encrypted connections (HTTPS/SSL) for all data transmitted to and from our website
• Securely hashed passwords — we never store passwords in plain text
• Role-based access controls limiting which staff members can view certain information
• Regular security updates to our systems and software

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, including any applicable legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Academic records may be retained for extended periods as required by SETA and QCTO regulations, even after a student completes or discontinues their studies.

If your application is rejected and you do not reapply, your application record (including uploaded documents) may be deleted from our systems upon request or after a reasonable period.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: you may request confirmation of what personal information we hold about you and request a copy of it
• Right to correction: you may request that we correct or update inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information
• Right to deletion: you may request that we delete personal information we hold about you, subject to our legal retention obligations
• Right to object: you may object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint: you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your information has been processed unlawfully

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details provided at the bottom of this page.

8. Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies required for the student and admin portals to function correctly (such as session cookies for login). We may also use analytics cookies (such as Google Analytics) to help us understand how visitors use our website, in order to improve our content and services. You can disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect the functionality of the student portal.

9. Information About Minors

Some of our programmes may be open to applicants under the age of 18. Where this is the case, we collect next of kin / guardian contact details as part of the application process, and may require parental or guardian consent before processing an application from a minor. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted information without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately using the details below.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements or other factors. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when this policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

11. Contact Us / Information Officer

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise any of your rights under POPIA, please contact our Information Officer:

You may also contact the Information Regulator of South Africa at www.justice.gov.za/inforeg if you believe your complaint has not been adequately addressed.