After 12 years of schooling, many bright-eyed matriculants dream of furthering their education, often aspiring to be the first in their family to attend a tertiary institution.

However, despite overcoming challenging socio-economic conditions, many are left behind or forced to find alternative paths to economic freedom due to the scarcity of university placements, as there are fewer universities than the number of qualifying matric pupils each year in South Africa.

According to a report in January, 19 universities received 4.2 million applications for just over 131,000 first-year places.

It stated that after a record 337,158 matriculants achieved admission to Bachelor studies, there were only 202,000 first-year places across all 26 universities.

According to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s June release, the 2023 Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system in South Africa consisted of 365 institutions.

These included 26 public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), 131 private HEIs, 50 TVET colleges, 149 registered private colleges, and 9 CET colleges.

The target in the National Development Plan (NDP) is 1.6 million enrolments by 2030.

To expand university access in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, the Department established the University of Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje University, both enrolling students in 2014. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University enrolled its first students in 2015.

Prof Andre Keet of Nelson Mandela University, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Engagement and Transformation and research chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation, stated that the need for more universities in South Africa isn’t straightforward.

“The growth in private higher education (HE) is also very noticeable; and the country should rather work towards an integrated public/private HE system that serves the socio-economic aspirations of our entire country and responds to the major challenges we are facing, including constrained growth and youth unemployment,” he said.

Currently, Keet said there are two universities in the pipeline, including the University of Policing and Crime Detection in Hammanskraal, and the University for Science and Innovation in Ekurhuleni.

According to Keet, the solution is not simply a matter of building new universities, but fixing the entire post-school education and training sector with a particular focus on the TVET sector.

“We should invest time, energy, and resources in generating a sense of status, prestige, and quality for and within TVET institutions to attract top staff and academically worthy students … This should be our main focus,” he said.

South Africa should have a diverse, healthy, and functioning ecosystem of public and private post-school institutions that respond to both the vast needs of school leavers and applicants, and the socio-economic development imperatives of the country and its people, he said.

Keet said that more students aspire to attend universities rather than TVET colleges, which is unsustainable and undesirable.

“The current throughput rate of TVETs is low (below 50%); and the unemployment rate of TVET graduates is high … this brings into question the quality,” he said.

For many South Africans, getting a university education is an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Parents want their children to do better than they did.

Asked if it is important to build more universities, Keet said: “Yes, education certainly is key … that is why the entire sector should and is expanding, but the TVET sector should expand the fastest to respond to skills shortages, contribute to economic growth, and address challenges such as youth unemployment.”

He said building more universities during a time when the government is turning South Africa into “a construction site” should be informed by what the data and evidence is telling us.

“Simply on this score, TVET and community colleges and other colleges and training entities should receive the same attention as universities; and not be regarded as lesser types of institutions. That is, the ideal would be to have a quality TVET sector that surpasses the university sector,” said Keet.

Dr Linda Meyer, managing director of IIE Rosebank College in South Africa, and president of Rosebank International University College in Ghana, agreed that South Africa must adopt a blended and pragmatic approach to higher education expansion.

Meyer said public universities alone cannot meet national demand under current fiscal constraints.

She highlighted the well-regulated, expanding private sector’s exclusion from state funding, infrastructure grants, and national bursaries, which hinders equity and growth, and stressed that policy reform, including the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding for students at accredited private institutions, is vital.

Meyer said the 2023 NSC examination saw 572,983 full-time candidates, with 278,814 qualifying for Bachelor’s degree study, 182,056 for Diplomas, and 111,612 for Higher Certificates.

“This means over half a million learners were eligible for entry into the post-school education system. However, the public university sector could accommodate only approximately 208,299 first-time entering students in 2023, leaving well over 360,000 qualified learners without placement,” said Meyer.

Compounding this issue, Meyer said the PSET report confirmed that available spaces at public universities have declined due to ongoing budget constraints, despite a growing school-leaving population.

She said enrolment growth has plateaued, and the report explicitly notes that funding shortfalls have limited the ability of public universities to expand infrastructure or academic staff capacity.

In comparison, South Africa’s Gross Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (GTER) stands at just 24.3%, significantly below the global average of 40%, and well behind the upper-middle-income average of 52.2%, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023.

“If South Africa is to meet the National Development Plan (NDP) target of 1.62 million higher education enrolments by 2030, systemic expansion is not optional—it is essential,” said Meyer.

Meyer further stated that socio-economic inequality remains the most pressing contextual factor.

Public universities are concentrated in urban centres, leading to under-provision and affordability issues in rural provinces like Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and parts of the Eastern Cape, impacting access, she said.

Meyer emphasised that too few universities result in lost opportunities for excluded matrics, leading to significant long-term social and economic consequences.

She said SA’s youth unemployment rate remains among the highest globally, standing at over 60% for those aged 15–24. 

The 2023 PSET report also indicates that enrolments in TVET colleges have declined slightly over the last reporting cycle, further narrowing available options for school leavers, she said.

In South Africa, where 55.5% of the population lives below the upper-bound poverty line, access to higher education remains a critical enabler of social mobility and economic empowerment, she noted.

“University education has consistently been linked to higher levels of employment, greater income security, and increased civic participation,” said Meyer.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported in 2023 that individuals with tertiary education in emerging economies can expect to earn 70% to 100% more over their lifetimes compared to those with less education.

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q1 2025, the unemployment rate among graduates is 11.7%, significantly lower than the general youth unemployment rate of 62.1% for those aged 15–24.

Meyer said this stark contrast underscores the protective effect of tertiary education against long-term labour market exclusion.

“It is also essential to recognise that higher education is not limited to Bachelor’s degrees. For many students, particularly those from under-resourced schools and historically marginalised communities, Higher Certificates and Diplomas offer accessible and credible entry points into post-school learning and employment,” she said.

Meyer said if South Africa is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, we must invest in institutions, both public and private, that offer a diverse range of qualification pathways.

Meyer said this is the optimal moment to foreground higher education infrastructure within the broader context of national investment.

The government’s National Infrastructure Plan 2050 prioritises investment in energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, but education must be recognised as an equally strategic domain.

As hubs of innovation, research, and regional economic development, universities are long-term infrastructure investments with compounding societal returns, she stated. 

“A coordinated and well-regulated public–private investment framework could unlock new campuses, decentralised learning hubs, and digital infrastructure capable of reaching rural and marginalised populations,” she said.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, recently declared Community Education and Training (CET) the “soul of inclusive” education in South Africa during his budget vote speech.

Manamela said CET is the bridge between learning and livelihood, between survival and opportunity, especially for those left behind by the formal education system.

“We will roll out e-learning platforms across all CET Centres to bridge the digital divide, and we will pilot blended learning models in partnership with universities and TVET colleges. We are finalising plans with provincial governments to repurpose over 200 unused schools and community buildings into vibrant, modern CET learning spaces—because education cannot be the preserve of urban centres alone,” said Manamela.

Manamela said the 2025/26 budget commits R1 billion to CET infrastructure upgrades, with a focus on digital labs, accessible classrooms, and community-linked centres of learning. “We will roll out skills programmes in 100 rural and township communities, placing women and youth at the centre of our skills revolution.”

The Department of Higher Education was approached for comment but did not respond.

karen.singh@inl.co.za

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