In Africa, SA is the only country with a diverse and differentiated higher education system. In a 2016 ranking of universities in emerging economies, The Times Higher Education Supplement places three SA universities in the top 12 (UCT 4th, Wits 6th and Stellenbosch 11th). China has five in the top 12; Taiwan has two; Brazil and Russia have only one each; and India and the rest of Africa did not have one university in this ranking. This positive evaluation of the SA system is based largely on the postgraduate level, which in SA constitutes about 16% of the total higher education system (compared to less than 5% in the rest of Africa). By contrast, the SA undergraduate system is characterised by low participation (20%). Participation rates represent the proportion of those aged 18-24 in higher education. The system also has high attrition rates (only 30% of contact students graduated in the minimum time and 53% after six years), as well as insufficient capacity for adequate skills pr...
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