Universities expected to be under pressure as academic year starts

Universities across South Africa will once again be under pressure this year as thousands of students start the 2025 academic year in South Africa.

Accommodation, funding and late registrations are among the issues the institutions of higher learning will have to contend with.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology says it received more than 500 000 applications for 2025.

However, it only has around 40 000 places at its campuses. Similarly, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is also expecting thousands of students for 2025.

UWC’s newly appointed rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Balfour, says the university should develop more fund-raising programmes to assist missing middle students with funding.

“The institution has also got to rethink about how it approaches funding missing middle students. This particular group is not able to access either the loan scheme and the limits we have in terms of our bursary offerings are real. So, I think a way to deal with this is around a more concerted effort as an institution to raise funds for missing middle students and we are not alone. There are foundations and philanthropic initiatives in our country which see this also as a priority with us.”

VIDEO | Accommodation and funding issues often lead to protests at various institutions.