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Higher Education in South Africa

Introduction

The higher education system in South Africa is currently witnessing tremendous transformation. A country where the apartheid legacy still lingers on, the main challenge is to provide quality and competitive education to the people of the country. Most institutions of higher education in the country have changed their policies to suit the needs of the present day competition.

The universities and technikons in the country are autonomous in nature providing more than a million students in the country quality education. The 21 public universities, 15 technikons and a number of colleges are reporting to their own respective council rather than the government. A number of universities in the country are known the world over for imparting cutting edge research education. Of late, there has been huge addition in the number of privately held institutions that are offering quality education.

Education is one of the main priorities of the government and hence a huge slice of the budget – almost 20 percent – goes to it. The government has plans to increase the outlay on education further. The objective is to better the overall education scenario.

Most institutions vary greatly in quality and size. However, one common thing about them is that they bring rich diversity to the education sector in the country.

Admission Season in South Africa

The universities in South Africa have a full and balanced semester system. The South African academic year is different from the academic years in other nations. Semester I runs from February through June. Semester II begins in late July and ends late November. There are breaks in December and January as well as mid-semester breaks during the continuation of the program.

List of Major Universities

South Africa Universities
Name & Address	Phone & Email
University Of Limpopo Medunsa Campus	Ph: +27 12 521 4105/4551/4647/4302 Fax: +27 12 521 5911 Email: cilliers@medunsa.ac.za Web: www.medunsa.ac.za
University of Johannesburg P.O. Box 524 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa	Ph: +27 11 489 2637 Fax: +27 11 489 2191 Web: www.uj.ac.za
North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) Private Bag X6001 Potchefstroom 2250 South Africa	Ph: +27 18 299 1111 / 2222 Fax: +27 18 299 2799 Email: enquiries@puk.ac.za
North-West University Joon Van Rooy Building (Block F1) 11 Hoffman Street Potchefstroom- 2531 South Africa	Ph: +27 18 299 1111 Fax: +27 18 299 2799 Email: regcfvdw@puk.ac.za Web: www.nwu.ac.za
Rhodes University P.O. Box 94 Grahamstown 6140 South Africa	Ph: +27 46 603 8111 Fax: +27 46 622 5049 Email: registrar@ru.ac.za Web: www.ru.ac.za
Department of Biotechnology Rhodes University P.O. Box 94 Grahamstown 6140 South Africa	Ph: +27 46 603 8441 Fax: +27 46 622 3984
UNISA University of South Africa Preller Street Muckleneuk Pretoria	Ph: +27 11 670 9000 Web: www.unisa.ac.za
University of Cape Town Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701 South Africa	Ph: +27 21 650 9111 Web: www.uct.ac.za
University of Kwazulu-Natal (Howard College Campus) King George V Avenue Glenwood Durban South Africa	Ph: +27 31 260 2212 Email: enquiries@ukzn.ac.za Web: www.udw.ac.za
University of Kwazulu-Natal (Edgewood Campus) Cnr. Richmond & Marianhill Rd, Pinetown	Ph: +27 31 260 3414 Email: connawayn@ukzn.ac.za
University of Kwazulu-Natal (Medical School Campus) Umbilo Road Durban	Ph: +27 31 260 4248 / 4377 Email: undergrad@ukzn.ac.za
University of Fort Hare P.O. Box 1153 Independence Avenue Bhisho King Willams Town South Africa	Ph: +27 40 639 2445 Fax: +27 40 639 2445 Web: www.ufh.ac.za
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University University Way Summerstrand Port Elizabeth	Ph: +27 41 504 2111 Email: info@nmmu.ac.za Web: www.upe.ac.za
NMMU - Summerstrand Campus (South) University Way Summerstrand Port Elizabeth	Ph: +27 41 504 2111
NMMU Summerstrand Campus (North) Gardham Avenue Summerstrand Port Elizabeth	Ph: +27 41 504 3911
University of Pretoria Lynnwood Road, Hillcrest Pretoria South Africa-0002	Ph: +27 12 420 3111 Fax: +27 12 420 4555 Web: www.up.ac.za
University of Limpopo Student Administration Box 189 Medunsa 0204	Ph: +27 12 521 4058 Fax +27 12 521 3895 Email: anni@medunsa.ac.za Web: www.medunsa.ac.za
University of The Free State P.O. Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa	Ph: +27 51 401 9111 Email: info@mail.uovs.ac.za Web: www.uovs.ac.za
Universiteit-Stellenbosch University Private Bag X1 Matieland 7602 Stellenbosch South Africa	Ph: +27 21 808 9111 Web: www.sun.ac.za

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