This is how much money South Africa’s 26 universities made in 2019
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has published a report on the annual financial statistics of higher education institutions, showing how much money the country’s 26 universities made through tuition fees and state grants in 2018.
The revenue cash flow from all operating activities at the universities amounted to R83 billion (an increase of R9.3 billion from the year before), and the expense cash flow for operating activities amounted to R66 billion, Stats SA said.
This resulted in a net cash inflow from operating activities of R17 billion for the financial year ending 31 December 2018.
The net cash outflow from transactions in non-financial assets amounted to R5.7 billion for the 2018 financial year. The cash surplus for 2018 was R11.4 billion.
The largest contributor to total revenue cash flow from operating activities for the 2018 financial year was other receipts (R44.4 billion), followed by grants (R38.6 billion).
The increase of R4.7 billion in grants received was mainly due to an increase in transfer payments from the Department of Higher Education and Training to the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Stats SA noted.
The increase of R4.5 billion in other receipts was mainly due to an increase in tuition fees received by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand.
Biggest earners
South Africa’s 26 universities drew in a total of R27.5 billion from tuition fees in 2018, with Unisa – the largest university in the country by registered students – seeing the biggest pull at R3.37 billion in tuition revenue.
This is followed by the University of Pretoria (R2.25 billion) and the University of the Witwatersrand (R2.22 billion).
Unisa was also the university to receive the largest government grant (R3.69 billion) – but it’s the University of Cape Town which saw the biggest portion of revenue come from ‘other receipts’ (R2.65 billion).
According to Stats SA, other receipts refers to revenue derived from interest, dividends, sales of goods and services and transfers not elsewhere classified.
Taking grants, tuition fees and other receipts into account, the top-earning university in the country is also Unisa at R7.97 billion.
The graphs below outline the highest earners across these three categories, as well as a final graph showing the top earners overall.
Grant Revenue
Tuition Revenue
Other Revenue
Total Revenue
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