Why South Africa’s universities are in trouble
Universities are battling to make ends meet. NSFAS, caps on enrolments and residence fees, and now proposed curbs on tuition fees, are making matters worse
05 June 2025 - 05:00
The returns to a university education in South Africa are among the highest in the world. But years of economic stagnation mean ever larger numbers of poor, eligible students are beating against the doors of a university system and labour market that cannot absorb them.
The government’s response has been to plough an increasing proportion of the higher education budget into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)...
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