Institutions – Page 2 – SA Education Hub

University Accredited Not Confirmed

University of Venda

Limpopo

The University of Venda (Univen) was established in 1981 under the then-Republic of Venda government during the apartheid era, originally intended to serve the Venda homeland but drawing students from across the wider northern Transvaal region. Since South Africa’s democratic transition in 1994, the university has undergone significant transformation, shifting focus toward science and technology programmes.

University Accredited Not Confirmed

Walter Sisulu University

Eastern Cape

Walter Sisulu University (WSU) was established on 1 July 2005 through the merger of the former University of Transkei, Border Technikon and Eastern Cape Technikon, in terms of South Africa’s post-apartheid higher education restructuring. It is named after Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, a leading anti-apartheid struggle icon and close comrade of Nelson Mandela.

University Accredited Not Confirmed

University of Zululand

KwaZulu-Natal

The University of Zululand (UNIZULU) was established in 1960 as the University College of Zululand, academically affiliated with the University of South Africa, opening with a first class of just 41 students. It was created under apartheid-era legislation to serve black students, primarily Zulu-speaking, and was granted full independent university status in 1970; admissions opened to students of all races in 1986.

University Accredited Closed

University of Cape Town

Cape Town, Western Cape

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university and South Africa’s oldest university, tracing its origins to 1829 as the South African College, initially a high school. It grew into a tertiary institution after the 1880s mineral (gold/diamond) boom funded expansion, and was formally granted university status in 1918 following bequests from Alfred Beit, Julius Wernher, and Otto Beit.

University Accredited Open

University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)

Johannesburg, Gauteng

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) traces its origins to the South African School of Mines, established in Kimberley in 1896, which relocated to Johannesburg and evolved through several names before being proclaimed a full university on 1 March 1922. It is one of South Africa’s oldest and most research-intensive universities and a member of the international Worldwide Universities Network.

University Accredited Closed

Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch, Western Cape

Stellenbosch University (SU) was formally established on 2 April 1918 under the University Act, growing out of Victoria College, the Stellenbosch Gymnasium (1866) and the Dutch Reformed Church’s Theological Seminary (1859). It opened with four faculties, 503 students and 40 lecturers.

University Accredited Open

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

The University of KwaZulu-Natal was formed on 1 January 2004 through the merger of the University of Natal (founded 1910 as Natal University College) and the University of Durban-Westville (established in the 1960s, granted university status in 1971). It is a large public research university with roughly 46,000-47,000 students.

University Accredited Open

University of Pretoria

Pretoria, Gauteng

The University of Pretoria (UP) traces its origins to 1908, when the Pretoria campus of the Transvaal University College opened with 32 students in a house called Kya Rosa; it became a fully independent university in 1930. UP has grown into one of South Africa’s largest research universities, with over 56,000 total students (around 53,000 contact and 3,000 distance students), roughly 36,000 undergraduates and 12,500 postgraduates.