Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela says students will experience a 2026 academic year that is prepared for their needs.

Earlier this week, Manamela briefed journalists in Parliament on the department’s readiness for the next academic year.
He has set up a war room, where issues usually encountered during the registration period will be managed.

The Minister says he wants to rebuild trust between students and the department by addressing annual concerns such as funding issues, registration backlogs, accommodation shortages and weak communication that often lead to dissatisfaction and protest action.

Excerpts from Minister Buti Manamela’s opening remarks at the portfolio committee on higher education, a presentation on the state of readiness for the 2026 academic year.#DHET #2026AcademicYear pic.twitter.com/H68xvWDMGm

— HigherEducationZA (@HigherEduGovZA) November 26, 2025

He also chairs a war room, designed to instantly respond to issues and to pick up on early warning signs, so that potential triggers of protest or disruption are identified and addressed before they get out of hand.

He says one of the first issues they are tackling is funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

“NSFAS is working tirelessly to assess applications and prospective students will be informed of the outcome by the 15th of December. This period is essential to ensure that disbursements are not delayed in January; that is why we will not be reopening the application process. Reopening the process leads to delays and disrupts the system. As things stand, if half of the 856-thousand matriculants, who wrote exams this year, achieve a Bachelor Pass, the demand for University entrance will far exceed supply. Universities can accommodate 235-thousand first-year students. which means at least 193 000 aspiring students may not be absorbed into the university system.”

Manamela calls on learners to consider all options for tertiary education.

“Given all these figures, we encourage all learners not only to look at universities as a pathway for learning, but also to take full advantage of the opportunities available in TVET colleges and  where capacity is growing and where skills aligned to SA’s economic growth are being prioritised and where there are many employment opportunities.”

Manamela adds that a meeting will be held next month with security management at universities to discuss potential threats that may arise during the registration process.