South Africa’s top universities are facing increasing scrutiny over their first-year application process, with many raising concerns about the exploitation of hopeful students.
The crisis, which came to the attention of the public shortly after the release of the 2024 matric results, was sparked by a viral social media post, shown below. It claimed Wits University had received over 146,000 applications for just 6,200 available spaces (However, more recent reports place the actual number of applications at 86,000 for just 6,000 available spots).
As X user @ApostleDeza highlighted, this meant over 130,000 were supposedly rejected, despite each having supposedly paid R200 application fee.
This disparity — underpinned by the fact that some universities received applications exceeding their capacity by more than 30 times — has sparked heated online discussions about the fairness of application fees, especially since these fees are non-refundable for unsuccessful applicants.This, in reality, means that while 337,158 matriculants qualify for bachelor’s degree studies in 2025, the country’s universities lack the capacity to meet this demand. With a shortfall approximately 130,000 spaces, the gap is staggering and difficult to fathom.
Understably, the shortfall has led to questions over the fairness and transparency of the application process. As such, more and critics, are questioning if this is pure exploitation or a necessary cost; and are now calling for these fees – ranging between R100 and R300 – to either be scrapped entirely or refunded to those not accepted.
Startling figures expose the extent of the crisis
South Africa’s university application process at large has come under scrutiny, thanks to a viral post showing that it’s not just Wits University that is guilty of being a compulsive hoarder of first-year university applications.
Many universities continue to give hundreds of thousands desperate students – notably late applicants – false hope, while knowing very well they’re incapacitated. The crisis was further exacerbated by a report from News24, which highlighted the broader issue of limited spaces at many South African universities.
Indicative of how widespread the issue is, the figures below provide a breakdown of application figures versus available spaces at these institutions of higher learning. It shows that:
- The University of Johannesburg received the highest number of applications at 693,990 but can only admit 10,500 students, resulting in an acceptance rate of just 1.5%.
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) faced similar challenges, with 518,309 applications and only 9,235 available spots.
- North-West University reported 390,000 applications but could only offer 12,937 places — the most of any institution.
- Tshwane University of Technology, while receiving fewer applications (240,000), will admit only 15,000 students.
- Notably, the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa’s leading university, received a significant 98,844 applications for just 4,500 available spots, resulting in a competitive acceptance rate of approximately 4.6%.
What does this means?
To understand its impact, we must first grasp what at NOWinSA we see as a form of “hoarding,” albeit in a different context. Hoarding, as defined by Merriam-Webster and paraphrased by Erin Allday ,refers to an overwhelming desire to collect items and an inability to discard them, leading to stress and negative consequences on a person’s health, career, or relationships.
While this definition typically applies to material possessions, its metaphorical application here is striking — highlighting the greed of these institutions to gather more applicants than they can reasonably accommodate.
This practice, whether intentional or not, inflicts psychological and financial strain on students. The inability to reclaim these fees, coupled with the emotional toll of repeated rejections, creates a ripple effect that can impact not only a student’s confidence and the will to pursue their dreams, but can be burdensome emotionally. Furthemore, it unfairly burdens students and their families, many of whom are already financially strained.
With universities receiving hundreds of thousands of applications year-in-year-out, but accepting only a fraction of the students, the South African Union of Students (SAUS) spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa has strongly criticised the practice of charging application fees. He argues that these fees have become a profit driven scheme, enabling universities to generates millions of rands unfairly. Dlanjwa further contends that the practice creates a significant hindrance to poor students being able to apply to universities.
Not only that, he argues the students maybe left in limbo if they can’t afford to pay registration fees before receiving confirmation from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
“The students of the poor did not have money at hand and they were waiting for NSFAS, they ended up forfeiting their spaces to those that could afford. There are hundreds and thousands of students that unfortunately suffered this fate” — Asive Dlanjwa
Complete overhaul of the South African education system needed
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is among the most burdened academic institutions, with 120 000 applications processed for the 2025 academic year, but can only accommodate 4750 first-year students.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, UWC media and marketing manager Gasant Abarder explains that while this is the grim reality South Africa has to contend with across the 26 universities, other options such as TVET colleges can provide viable higher learning opportunities, even acting as stepping stones to postgraduate university studies. “For universities like ours, we’re always looking to recruit postgraduate students for honors and master degrees, and infact PHD programs. So the door of learning is never closed,” he said.
In order to meet the February 10 start of academic year for 2025, proper planning is needed, which is what also informed their decision to not accept late walk-in applications im January, as they present an additional challenge. “It’s also not fair to the students that have made an effort to apply on time and meet the deadline and requirements.”
However, as many South Africans highlighted (per X thread below), the crisis also reflects broader systemic issues. Decades of underfunding, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient government support have left universities unable to expand their capacity to meet rising demand.
Touching – a year ago – on the need for the Department of Higher Education and Training to build a more feasible higher learning infrastructure, Universities South Africa CEO Phethiwe Matutu said, in media interviews, the issue of application fees was one of many compelling reasons behind Higher Education’s interest in establishing a Central Application Service (CAS) 11 years ago.
“The idea then was for all university applications to be submitted and processed through one central facility,” she said, stating that this would have enabled aspiring students to pay once, listing their preferred institutions and career choices in one application – in the order of their preference.
Taking the conversation further with Newzroom Afrika this week, a question was raised to Matutu about whether there is any coordination between the Department of Education and universities ahead of the academic year to address the overwhelming demand for university placements. The aim would be for both parties to collaborate and ensure that students are not penalised for “doing well” academically, while working towards a viable solution.
In response, Matutu acknowledged that while such conversations could take place, “the real problem would be the resources that would have to be put into place, and also the amount of time it would require for extra support to be provided, the extra staff, recruitments, and all those kinds of things.” She further clarified that the challenge lies not so much in planning, but in implementing these plans, emphasising that effective implementation “requires at least time.”
Looking at this conversation, and all raised concerns, it’s clear that without decisive action and significant investment in both resources and time – and the willingness to reach a compromise – the gap between qualified students and available university spaces will remain a critical issue, ultimately impacting the future of thousands of learners.
Below is how the rest of South Africa’s top universities gares; application figures versus available places at
- Walter Sisulu University: 380,000 applicants, available places 7,300
- University of Pretoria: 355,829 applicants, available places 9,000
- Vaal University of Technology: 330,302 applicants, available places 5,558
- University of Limpopo: 304,856 applicants, available places: 4,995
- University of KwaZulu-Natal: 290,600 applicants,
- available places 8,600
- Nelson Mandela University: 207,089 applicants, available places 7,500
- Durban University of Technology: 147,076 applicants, available places 9,454
- University of Venda: 120,687 applicants, available places 3,684
- University of the Western Cape, 120,000 applicants, available places 4,705
- Mangosuthu University of Technology: 103,483 applicants, available places 3,223
- Stellenbosch University, 90,027 applicants, available Places 6,005
- Wits University: 86,000 applicants, available places 6,000
- Sol Plaatje University: 48,974 applicants, available places 2,273
- Rhodes University: 19,650 applicants, available places: 1,518
