Cape Town – South Africa’s higher education sector is facing a financial crisis as universities struggle to manage escalating levels of student debt — a situation that has forced institutions to tighten registration rules and provoked student protests nationwide.
According to Eyewitness News, Universities South Africa (USAf) chief executive officer Dr Phetiwe Matutu said the debt burden has reached “unsustainable levels,” warning that it stems from two main groups of students.
“That student debt is emanating from two sources – the one is the missing middle; those students who cannot afford to pay fees, and then the second ones are the NSFAS students,” she stated.
Matutu added that universities are often caught between financial constraints and social expectations.
“It happens at the beginning of the year most of the time because there’s been hope that things are going to be cleared. That is the reason… It’s inefficiencies which are outside universities in most instances.”
The combined student debt across several South African universities stood at more than R7.2 billion at the end of 2024, with some institutions warning that continued non-payment threatens operational sustainability.
At the University of the Free State (UFS), tensions flared after management announced plans to phase out provisional registration — a system that allowed students with outstanding balances to begin classes while arranging payment.
UFS spokesperson Lacea Loader said the change was necessary to ensure accountability.
“Students will need to be fully registered once their fees or funding have been confirmed,” she said, as reported by TimesLIVE.
The decision drew sharp criticism from student leaders.
“My mother sacrifices daily so that I can study, pay rent and eat. Behind every tuition payment there’s a family suffering. This is not just a policy; it’s a test of whether transformation at UFS is real or just on paper,” the report quoted a student, Nozibusiso Mtshali, as saying.
UFS maintained that the system overhaul was part of a fairer and sustainable funding approach.
“Provisional registration is not an effective mechanism to support students with financial challenges,” Loader said.
The university explained that the revised system “will be rolled out in 2026,” noting that “from 2026, students will be fully registered once their fees or funding have been confirmed. ”
The growing crisis has also drawn attention to structural issues within the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). As stated by USAf, delays and administrative inefficiencies in NSFAS payouts often leave universities carrying the financial risk for students who have not yet received funding.
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Compiled by Lisabeal Nqamqhele
