South Africa’s higher education system consists of 23 publicly funded universities, consolidated since 1994 down from 36 separate institutions. Some of these are considered comprehensive and others are universities of technology (see http://www.studysa.co.za for a complete list). Both types of institutions offer Bachelor’s, Honors, Masters and Doctorate degrees, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas. Several of South Africa’s comprehensive universities are internationally recognized for their research in areas such as astronomy, business, paleontology, and public policy in Africa, as well as the
caliber of student produced. The Higher Education Act of 1997 stipulates that all higher education institutions come under the authority of the national government, while the FET colleges (listed at http://www.education.gov.za) report to the provincial governments.
Together, these institutions enroll over a million students per year, many from neighboring African nations. Students are admitted on a competitive basis, upon their admissions points score (APS) calculated from their matriculation examination marks. The required APS varies from course to course, and between universities. Students without the matriculation endorsement, or bachelor’s pass, from Umalusi (South Africa’s council for quality assurance) may enroll at universities of technology.
South Africa began restructuring its higher education system in 2003 to widen access to tertiary education and reset the priorities of the old apartheid-based system. Smaller universities and technikons (polytechnics) were incorporated into larger institutions to form comprehensive universities.
The so-called comprehensive universities, of which there are now six, offer a combination of academic and vocational diplomas and degrees, while the six universities of technology focus on vocationally oriented education. The 11 traditional universities offer theoretically oriented university degrees.
Subsidised by the state, South Africa’s universities are governed in terms of the Higher Education Act. They remain autonomous, however, reporting to their own councils rather than to the government.
Here’s a quick rundown of South Africa’s 23 universities, arranged according to type of institution.
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