South Africa aims for 520,000 technical college students
The government is also funding 700,000 students through its aid scheme this year, and offering full scholarships to China, Germany and Hungary.
Pietermaritzburg — South Africa's higher education department is aiming to enrol more than 520,000 students in technical and vocational colleges this financial year, as part of efforts to widen access to post-school education, workplace learning and artisan training, the government news agency reports.
The deputy minister, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, set out the targets at a gathering for final-year pupils in Pietermaritzburg, days before the school-leaving exams began.
This year's targets
- more than 520,000 enrolments at technical and vocational colleges;
- more than 1.15 million students at public universities;
- more than 700,000 students funded through the national student financial aid scheme;
- 91,800 places for workplace-based learning;
- 22,000 artisans certified.
Post-school education and training has a budget of R443 billion over the medium term.
Scholarships abroad
Ms Dube-Ncube also drew attention to fully funded places overseas, through partnerships with China, Germany and Hungary, in which tuition, travel and living costs are covered. They are aimed particularly, she said, at pupils from no-fee schools and rural areas. Details are on the department's international scholarships website.
Her advice to school-leavers
- Apply for student aid for 2027.
- Apply to more than one institution, colleges as well as universities, so there are options when results come out.
- Research careers properly: which jobs are growing, what they pay and what study they need.
- Use the wait for results to learn something digital, with free online courses, a phone and a library.
She reminded her audience that KwaZulu-Natal was the best-performing province in last year's exams, with a pass rate of 90.6% and 89,161 passes good enough for degree study, up from 84,470 the year before.
Source: SAnews, 9 October 2026.
