President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed the government's commitment to ensuring education remains accessible to students around South Africa. This comes as the president acknowledged that in the long term, one of the most effective instruments to end poverty is education.
Speaking at the African National Congress (ANC) national conference, Ramaphosa explained that the 54th National Conference resolved to improve access to higher education through, among other interventions, the provision of free higher education for students from poor and working-class backgrounds.
The expansion of access to higher education is a great achievement that will benefit the economy and the country for many years to come.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) provides bursaries to poor and working-class backgrounds that cover all the costs associated with studies. This includes covering tuition costs, accommodation costs, transportation costs, stationery costs and living costs.
Ramaphosa explained, “As a consequence, funding by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme for poor and working-class students in universities and TVET colleges rose from R21 billion in 2018 to R38.6 billion in 2021. The total number of students funded increased from 580,000 to 770,000 over the same period.”
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) anticipates that more than 1 million students will enrol in academic programmes at public universities in 2023. This comes as the department projects more than 1.1 million enrollments.
It is expected that 196,324 students will be enrolling in courses at public universities for the first time in 2023. Around 66,000 of these students will be studying a course in scarce skills areas. They are:
- Engineering: 17 306
- Life and Physical Science: 16 199
- Animal Sciences: 593
- Veterinary Sciences: 208
- Human Health: 9 233
- Teacher Education: 22 534
Universities South Africa (USAf) says the male-to-female ratio for 2023 university enrollments is predicted to be 40:60 (40% male, 60% female).
The group expects that 65% of students will be situated at residential universities while the remaining 35% of students will participate in distance learning.
Here Are South Africa’s 2023 University Enrollment Numbers
|
University |
Returning Students |
First Time Entering Enrolment (FTEN) |
FTEN Applications |
Academic Year Start Date 2023 |
|
Central University of Technology |
23,998 |
4,515 |
211,147 |
31 January - 6 February |
|
Cape Peninsula University of Technol |
23,443 |
8,878 |
359,261 |
13 - 27 February |
|
Durban University of Technology |
22,519 |
8,564 |
172,873 |
3-17 February |
|
Mangosuthu University of Technology |
11,000 |
3,300 |
83,133 |
3 - 17 February |
|
Nelson Mandela University |
27,300 |
7,185 |
95,940 |
20 February |
|
North West University |
43,219 |
12,726 |
193,515 |
17 February |
|
Rhodes University |
7,501 |
1,455 |
19,500 |
13 February |
|
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University |
5,800 |
1,000 |
70,048 |
3 - 17 February |
|
Stellenbosch University |
16,100 |
5,615 |
64,500 |
16 - 20 January |
|
University of Cape Town |
13,929 |
4,039 |
102,813 |
30 January |
|
University of Free State |
33,734 |
8,000 |
342,203 |
3 - 17 February |
|
University of Fort Hare |
3,630 |
16,000 |
219,017 |
6 - 11 February |
|
University of Johannesburg |
41,841 |
10,504 |
319,577 |
16 - 20 January |
|
University of KwaZulu-Natal |
29,560 |
10,100 |
>200,000 |
23 January |
|
University of Limpopo |
17,093 |
5,143 |
203,537 |
26 January - 10 February |
|
University of the Western Cape |
19,900 |
5,400 |
140,000 |
13 February |
|
University of Pretoria |
40,000 |
9,272 |
44,241 |
20 February |
|
University of South Africa |
331,912 |
45,000 |
170,000 |
3 - 17 February |
|
Vaal University of Technology |
13,545 |
4,782 |
97,965 |
16 - 26 January |
|
University of the Witwatersrand, |
25,000 |
5,552 |
100,000 |
1-17 February |
|
Walter Sisulu University of Technology |
23,000 |
7,15 |
461,444 |
23 January |
There is still time for students to apply for enrollment in selected academic programmes at universities during the 2023 academic year. Information on these universities can be found on the Careers Portal.
