President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the government will move to build more universities and TVET colleges in an effort to expand access to higher education and meet the growing demand from young people completing matric each year.
Delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening, Ramaphosa said the country’s long-term economic success depends on investing in education and skills development.
“I have directed the Ministers of Finance [Enoch Godongwana] and Higher Education [Buti Manamela] to work on a proposal to build more universities and TVET colleges with specialised areas of focus,” Ramaphosa said.
Role of vocational and occupational training
The announcement signals a sharper focus on the role of vocational and occupational training. It’s building on commitments the president made in his 2025 address. At the time, Ramaphosa spoke more broadly about the need for workplace exposure. He called on business to partner with government in supporting young people.
“Drawing on the models that have proved so successful in other countries, we call on the private sector to offer young people experiential learning opportunities while they undertake their studies,” he said in 2025.
This year, Ramaphosa returned to the same theme but with a more detailed plan. He outlined an overhaul of the skills development system through the introduction of a dual training model. One that integrates education with practical workplace experience.
He said the government will also reform and reduce the number of Sector Education and Training Authorities to improve governance and better align training with labour market needs.
“These reforms will ensure that the various training programmes we have in government are a door to opportunity, not a dead end,” he said.
The president acknowledged that the expansion of higher education cannot succeed without addressing one of the sector’s most pressing challenges: the shortage of student accommodation.
Student accommodation
“An immediate problem is the great shortage of student accommodation at our institutions of higher learning,” Ramaphosa said.
He announced that Manamela has been instructed to work with financial institutions on innovative ways to provide housing for students.
Beyond higher learning, the president emphasised that the government is strengthening the education pipeline from the earliest years of a child’s life. He said access to early childhood development (ECD) is being expanded through the Bana Pele mass registration programme at facilities. Alongside increased subsidies for young learners.
“By making Grade R compulsory, we are getting all children off to a good start,” he said.
Similar to his 2025 address, Ramaphosa again highlighted efforts to improve the basic education system. With a focus on literacy, numeracy and bilingual learning.
Tribute to 2025 matrics
He then congratulated the matric class of 2025 for achieving an 88% pass rate, the highest in the country’s history.
“This is the highest pass rate in our history. It is reflecting both the commitment of these learners and the interventions we have made to improve learning and teaching in schools,” Ramaphosa said.
However, he warned that progress in pass rates must be matched by stronger support for learners drop outs.
“We must address the high dropout rate in the last few years of schooling. More learners must be able to write matric and to take subjects, like maths and science, that will enable them to progress further,” he said.
