‘Road map’ to new South African university for Ekurhuleni on the cards
Mayor of Ekurhuleni Mzwandile Masina has invited professionals and academics to present a plan to the department of higher education for the possible establishment of a university in the metro.
Speaking to talk Radio 702 on Wednesday, Masina said that there was room for an institution with as many as 19 different faculties in the region. A ‘road map’ to the university will be discussed at university symposium being held in Benoni this week.
According to Masina, statistics showed that the metro had a lot of young people who are uneducated and have a low skills base, and that a new university in the area could address those needs.
“The issue of higher education is one for national government,” Masina said, “but we wanted to see how far we could make a contribution.”
The Ekurhuleni municipality is funding over 750 students with R100 million bursaries, the mayor said, but now they have started the process to provide empirical evidence for the department of higher education for the need of a university in the area.
“Even if it doesn’t happen in our (the administration’s) time, at least we have started the conversation about it,” Musina said.
The mayor said he has asked “a number of professionals” to compile and dissect a feasibility study, so that a solid plan can be presented to higher education minister, Blade Nzimande.
Ekurhuleni is one of the biggest metros in South Africa, and is home to approximately 1.3 million people, making up part of the greater Johannesburg area.
South Africa currently has 11 traditional universities and eight universities of technology, two of which – Sol Plaatje University and the University of Mpumalanga – were founded in 2013.
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