Most South African universities must be closed

Renowned economist Dawie Roodt says that most public South African universities should be closed, and that the government should allocate more funds to private institutions.

Roodt, the chief economist at Efficient Group, told RSG that South Africa has one of the worst primary education systems in the world.

This is not due to a lack of money. The South African government allocates a significant portion of its budget to education.

According to the second edition of South Africa’s 2025 Budget, the country will spend R509 billion on learning and culture.

This includes R332 billion on basic education, R55 billion on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, and R48 billion on university transfers.

Roodt argued that South Africa has far too many universities. “Everyone wants a university degree while there is a big shortage at other skill levels,” he said.

“Only approximately 10% of the population should attend university, and it is crucial that these institutions produce high-quality graduates.”

South Africa has nineteen public universities and seven universities of technology, totalling 26 state-owned institutions.

Many of these institutions are poorly run, with qualified audits or such messy financials that audits could not be finalised.

The country also has 126 registered private tertiary education institutions. Many of these institutions are private universities. “The private universities are improving all the time,” he said.

Roodt highlighted that private universities face challenges, including high fees and a lack of campus life compared to traditional institutions.

Another problem is that private universities do not make significant contributions to research, which is a crucial aspect of the academic field.

However, public universities also face challenges. “Over the years, the quality of public universities deteriorated significantly,” Roodt said.

“South Africa still has brilliant universities, but as a whole, the quality of state-owned universities has gone backwards.”

How to improve South Africa’s tertiary education system

The way forward, Roodt argues, is that public universities should be more selective in admitting students, and private universities should receive more support.

One proposal Roodt supports is that South Africans should get educational vouchers which they can spend at an institution of their choice.

That will support the best institutions, as most people will use their vouchers to attend quality universities rather than poor ones.

It will also level the playing field between state-owned and private universities, which will foster healthy competition in the sector.

Another suggestion is that the state should also provide funding to private universities for research, similar to public universities.

“The state gives a lot of money to public universities when they produce published research papers,” Roodt said.

“The government should offer the same incentives to private universities to encourage them to produce quality research.”

Roodt said South Africa should face the reality that many of its public universities are poorly run and underperforming.

As with other sectors, like healthcare, schools, and security, the private sector is ready to step in and provide quality tertiary education.

There are already many quality private universities, including Stadio, Akademia, and the Independent Institute of Education’s Varsity College.

“We should close down many of our public universities and give the money to private universities,” Roodt said.