PSET Capacity

The South African government at the advent of democracy in 1994, inherited 36 higher education instiutions and 152 TVET colleges. As of March, 2025, South Africa's post-school education and education and training system (PSET) consists of 26 Public Universities, 131 private universities, 50 technical and vocational colleges, 9 community and education colleges and 21 Sector and education training colleges. The PSET system FACES persistent and systemic challenges around inequality. Issues include access to suitable education modalities, the quality of delivery, and repeated mismanagement around student funding and governance. NSFAS irregularities, and increasing graduate unemployment numbers has meant that provision of and access to PSET is as . At university level, only a third of students compete their degrees within three years and at vocational level, just over 10% complete their qualifications within three years. Demand for access and the concomitant inability to offer policy coherence and university places, threatens the democratic legitimacy of higher education. This disparity is most visible at traditional, campus-based universities.

University admission crisis

Application data from major South African universities illustrates the under-capacity of the country's traditional institutions. Major universities admit fewer than 5% of applicants. There is only space for of qualifying students. This gap between applications and available places, has been called a "capacity wall". In 2026, over half a million of eligible applicants were left facing university rejection, highlighting the systemic failure, with acceptance rates at major universities falling below 5%.

The unintended effects of transformation on PSET

A capacity wall in public higher education has meant that PSET provision comes from a variety of sources, including

1. distance education, particularly through the University of South Africa (UNISA), as a means of expanding access to higher education across the country.
2. the private education sector, who enrol 30% of tertiary students in the private national higher education sector
3. and the public higher education sector, who are facing a cash flow crisis as a result of NSFAS maladministration

Since COVID-19, all role-players have had to come to terms with different modes for provision, including contact, blended and distance learning.

Private Afrikaans higher education

Private sector growth, especially in the Afrikaans-exclusive private higher education sector, has been accompanied by criticism, by figures such as Nalendi Pandoor and Jonathan Jansen, who have expressed concern with ideological and racial isolation and the ongoing struggle against centuries of racism and colonialism. Pandoor has, at one time, endorsed private higher education and Jansen has also endorsed proprietary private sector partnerships and interventions.

AI

AI has been positioned as the solution to the problem.