Unisa To Accept Fewer Students This Year

Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - 2:51pm

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Many students hoping to be enrolled to study at Unisa will have to think again, as the university will be accepting fewer students in 2021.

This is following a request from the Minister responsible for Higher Education, Minister Blade Nzimande.

Last year, the Minister raised concerns about the high number of First Time Entering students that were enrolled in 2020.

“It has come to my attention that the university enrolled 77 840 FTEN students in 2020. This is an over enrolment of 20 137 students, 35% over the approved target. It will have a significant impact on the sustainability of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas),”

“In light of the current fiscal constraints and the impact that over enrolment has on the whole sector, I am now issuing a directive to Unisa to reduce its 2021 FTEN by 20 000 to accommodate the over enrolment in 2020 and the impact this will have on NSFAS over the next year,” said Nzimande

The Minister had previously warned Unisa about the over enrolment of students in 2018. The university was then told that it would be penalised in 2021 if it did not do something to reduce its intake of students.

Unisa has now confirmed that it will be following the directive given by the Minister, as it will accepting fewer first time entering students in the 2021 academic year.

"This resolution is meant (1) to enable the university to effectively support the students, and (2) to guarantee the sectoral financial resources and sustainability of the university and the sector." said Unisa.

Much like other universities, Unisa's academic year will begin in March 2021. Registration has started and will be taking place over the course of the next 2 months.

"In order to ensure that the students are not unduly disadvantaged, registration of returning students will proceed during the next two months. This decision was taken to ensure that the university does not have a backlog when the academic year starts in March 2021." said Unisa.

Registration for 2021 semester 1 and year modules will only be done online and only a limited number of students will be allowed to visit Unisa's offices.

"Due to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, all semester 1 and year module registrations for the 2021 academic year must be submitted online. All Unisa's self-help registration facilities countrywide will be unavailable during the upcoming registration period."

Students have been encouraged to make use of the service centre instead of visiting the offices.

The Service Centre is available for phone calls on 080 000 1870 or via e-mail at [email protected].

The university has advised students to register before 12 March 2021 to secure their spots.