New private Afrikaans university officially launches in South Africa
Private Afrikaans university Akademia has officially started enrolling full-time students at its new Paarl campus in the Western Cape, setting the stage for the 2026 academic year.
The campus, located at 1 Bredastraat, Esterville, was officially introduced to the public and prospective students on Wednesday, 15 October 2025.
Full-time students will begin their studies at the campus from 2026, with after-hours and distance studies also connecting there.
According to Marthinus Visser, Managing Director of Akademia, the launch of the campus represents a bond of trust between the group and the broader Afrikaans language and cultural communities of the Western Cape.
“This campus does not belong only to Akademia; it belongs to everyone in the community who believes in the value of mother-tongue education,” Visser said.
Akademia was established by the labour union Solidarity and has been providing lectures in Afrikaans to students since 2012.
When it was founded, the university only offered part-time distance learning with contact classes at a study centre in Centurion.
This changed in 2021 when Akademia launched a small campus in Die Hoewes, Centurion, that offers full-time classes and includes accommodation for students.
The private and independent tertiary education group has now added the Paarl campus to its physcial locations, with another R3 billion campus expected to open in Pretoria in 2028.
The campus facilities include:
- Lecture halls and various collaboration spaces;
- A fully equipped library;
- A Sowel-As coffee shop;
- Die Winkel (for Akademia-branded merchandise); and
- Access control and secure parking.
Akademia said that the campus will open with a staff complement of 52 full-time employees, and it is already in the process of filling posts for 2026.
When the academic year launches, it will have 25 academic staff members and 27 departmental staff employed on-site. It is projected that by 2028, nearly 88 full-time staff will be working on the campus.
Approximately 340 first-year students are expected to be welcomed in 2026, with that number projected to surpass 2,000 by 2032.
In terms of courses, Akademia now offers BCom degrees in economics and law, business management, and financial management.
It also offers a BEd in intermediary education, LLB, a BSc in mathematical sciences, a BA in communications and journalism, and a BSocSci in politics.
Akademia added its first tech-focused degree, a BSc in Computer Science, in the 2023 academic year.
For the new Paarl campus, the group will offer the following for the 2026 academic year:
- Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences: BCom (Economics and Law), BCom (Financial and Management Accounting), BCom (Business Management)
- Faculty of Humanities: BA (Communication and Journalism), BSocSci (Politics, Philosophy and Economics)
- Faculty of Natural Sciences: BSc (Computer Sciences)
- Faculty of Education: BEd (Foundation Phase Education), BEd (Intermediate Phase Education)
- Faculty of Law: LLB
All courses are in Afrikaans.
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