South Africa has 26 public universities with over one million students enrolled at institutions across the country.
Although the Department of Higher Education has made progress in the expansion of the sector, there is still a long way to go in making sure that all South Africans have access to higher education.
Speaking on the expansion of the tertiary education sector, Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande noted that government plans to increase university enrolment to 1.62 million by 2030.
According to Nzimande, his department aims to develop a concrete plan to change the size and shape of the post-schooling education and teaching system to expand access for the youth and relieve pressure on universities.
Nzimande says that since 1994, the university student intake has more than doubled over the last 28 years and these numbers are expected to continue increasing.
He said that every year more students from disadvantaged backgrounds want to access higher education. However, the sector is not adequately prepared, adding that mainly Infrastructure and costs is not prepared for the massive intake increase.
Most of the expansion and student intake is due to higher enrolment of black students. “A lot more black African students having access to education,” said the minister.
Nzimande noted that an increase in student intake is being seen mostly amongst females, as more than 60% of university students are female.
More Resources Needed
The minister noted that financing is another major challenge faced by the department. “Redress costs money, and we need to find the resources.”
Furthermore, the department also plans to build two new universities. One being a Detective Services Academy and the other a Science and Innovation institution.
In addition to the two new universities, Nzimande says planning for the build of two new campuses in Limpopo and KwaZulu- Natal has begun as well.
He revealed that building and construction of new campuses is set to begin in the next year, adding that the universities will be built in around 1-1.5 years.