The public university system can only offer about 235,000 first-year places for the 2026 academic year, a number that is substantially fewer than the number of qualifying candidates.
The scope of this issue was revealed on Thursday during a social services cluster media briefing by the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Tebogo Letsie.
“We have 235,000 spaces for first-time entering students at our public universities, whereas basic education produced 245,000 students with bachelor’s passes. So, the difference there is 10,000 students. It is not what we desire,” Letsie said.
He added that the higher education sector has also increased spaces for first-time entering students this year by 33,000 because last year they had 202,000 spaces.
“We’re now at 235,000. It’s a gradual increase, and we’ve indicated that the reason why we’re increasing this way is that we have enrolment targets that are linked to the budget.
“It will be very dangerous for us to increase, let’s say, for example, to 250,000 university spaces this year when we can’t afford to pay for those students. So, it’s a gradual increase that is linked to the budget,” Letsie said.
He also urged prospective students to watch for emails from universities, as there are timelines to follow when accepting or declining admission offers.
He said that overall, the post-school education and training (PSET) system, including universities, TVETs and CETs, has a combined admission capacity of 535,000 – this includes universities: 235,000, TVETs: 170 000 and CETs: 130,000.
“The number of candidates passing matric exceeds the number of opportunities in these three institutional types. There are registered private higher education institutions and colleges, and their programmes are accredited. The committee encourages prospective students to also consider them.
“Before registering, prospective students and their parents should first check with the DHET the registration and programme accreditation status of the private institutions, as some are bogus/fly-by-night, but masquerading as registered institutions. Students and parents should be vigilant and report such institutions.
“TVET and CET colleges offer occupational programmes aligned with industry needs. We encourage prospective students to view these institutions not as a last resort, but as providers of skills that lead to employability or self-employment,” Letsie said.
“SETAs and NSF also have a combined budget of almost R26 billion meant for skills development. These skills levy institutions fund skills development providers to deliver skills training to youth and adults across the country. They have many opportunities that should be explored and exploited.”
He said the government is in the process of expanding access to education and training through the establishment of the North West University Mining School in Rustenburg, Tshwane University of Technology Satellite Campus in Giyani, University of Zululand Satellite campus in Ulundi and the new TVET college campuses across the country.
The University of Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje University are also growing their enrolments annually and introducing new postgraduate programmes.
As for NSFAS, Letsie said that they have received 893,852 applications for the 2026 academic year, of which 520,544 were from SASSA recipients, and 766,253 were from first-time entering students.
NSFAS has reported that 609,403 applications have qualified for financial aid, 49,538 have been rejected, 218,043 are still awaiting documents, and 16,863 were withdrawn.
“Senior students and prospective students whose applications cannot be processed due to outstanding documents should urgently submit the required documents to avoid disappointment. NSFAS cannot wait forever as it needs to complete the processes.
“We call upon institutions of higher learning to submit students’ registration data so that NSFAS can proceed with upfront payments and ensure that neither students nor institutions suffer. We welcome NSFAS’s decision to remove the middleman and pay private accommodation providers directly. This supports the sustainability of providers’ businesses and ensures students receive necessary services.
“We also urge NSFAs to ensure proper audits and monitoring to ensure they pay for the services rendered. Regarding governance at NSFAS, the committee is concerned about instability at the entity, delays in filling vacancies and over-reliance on consultants. We urge the minister and the board to ensure that vacancies are filled to bring stability to the entity,” Letsie said.
