Universities South Africa
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Assessing the scholar, not just the thesis: Senior academics challenge postgraduate evaluation models
How South African universities assess master’s dissertations and doctoral theses is no longer a narrow technical matter. It is increasingly bound up with wider questions...
A USAf-hosted webinar to tackle governance threats in public universities
On 23 March, Universities South Africa (USAf) will host its first webinar addressing a critical governance challenge facing the country’s public universities. Themed Institutional Governance:...
HELM facilitates understanding of the three institutional types provided for in a new policy
“We do not need all of our institutions in higher education aspiring to become universities. We need a differentiated higher education system.” This...
Inspiring stories from young entrepreneurs
South Africa's young entrepreneurs are increasingly recognised as critical drivers of change, positioned at the intersection of solving the country's severe unemployment crisis and advancing...
New competition aims to turn waste into opportunity and something of value
South Africa generates between 110 to 125 million tonnes of waste annually, of which 2.5 million tonnes is plastic waste, with a mere 10% recycled or recovered....
How waste can be a valuable commodity thanks to innovation
“Africa is the continent where the big challenges facing the world will be solved. This is also the continent where the destiny of humankind will...
Entrepreneurship development and successes in KZN universities
Collaboration – ranging from system-level partnerships to inter-institutional resource sharing – is critical for innovation and enhancing the quality of education at South African universities....
A Bachelor’s pass on its own does not open doors to university education
It is a perennial challenge, yet it manifested in unprecedented ways in January 2026, as parents increasingly turned to Universities South Africa (USAf) for assistance,...
Mathematics as a key determinant of university entry sparks a fierce debate
Professor Martin Gustafsson sparked intense debate when he asked an audience of 130 education practitioners whether all learners should be permitted to study Pure Mathematics...
The hard facts informing enrolment planning and admissibility at public universities
Faced with a sustained demand for spaces against limited capacity to absorb aspiring students, universities are confronted with two pressing questions: Is the growing National...
Rethinking Access: Could distance learning resolve the capacity conundrum in Higher Education?
Proponents of distance teaching and learning in the university sector often encourage a shift to distance education as one of numerous solutions to the space...
Private Higher Education as the “Cinderella” of South Africa’s post-school education and training landscape
Private higher education remains on the margins of South Africa’s post‑school education and training (PSET) system, where access, mobility, and progression remain uneven. At Universities...
Public and private universities can co-exist in harmony in South Africa
At Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) Thought Leadership Dialogue on 2 October 2025, Dr Carin Stoltz-Urban, Chief Operations Officer of Inscape Education Group, reflected on the...
South Africa must grow TVETs to solve the tertiary space crisis and drive youth employability
During Universities South Africa’s (USAf) inaugural Thought Leadership Dialogue on 2 October 2025, Dr Denyse Webbstock, Senior Director for Institutional Planning, Evaluation and Monitoring at...
Youth employability is about possessing appropriate skills and not where the skills are sourced – Professor André Roux, Stellenbosch University
Plumbers and other tradesmen are as important to the economy as professionals, said Professor André Roux, Associate Professor (Emeritus) and Principal Lecturer in Economics at...
Beyond youth access to Post-School Education and Training to employability: Recommendations from USAf’s inaugural Thought Leadership event
What emerged from the Inaugural Thought Leadership event of Universities South Africa (USAf) on 2 October 2025 was not a single solution, but a set...
Thought Leadership insights and recommendations to influence priority focus decisions of USAf Strategy Groups
Universities SA (USAf) takes very seriously the issues laid bare at its inaugural Thought Leadership event on 2 October, said the USAf CEO, Dr Phethiwe Matutu,...
Generating Talent: Transforming Support for the Research Landscape in South Africa
In March 2019, 20 of South Africa’s 26 public universities converged on the University of Johannesburg grounds to explore developing the capacity of early-career researchers...
Universities South Africa welcomes a new cohort of vice-chancellors in 2026
Universities SA (USAf) begins 2026 with fresh leadership, as incoming vice-chancellors join the USAf Board ahead of their formal appointment as directors later in the year....
Professor Francis Petersen remains the Universities South Africa Chairperson for a second term
The Chairperson of Universities South Africa (USAf), Professor Francis Petersen, who is also the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, has retained this...