SOUTH AFRICA

International students at public universities, by country in 2006

Source: Department of Education, provisional figures, 2007.

Statistics from the Department of Education for 2005 show that over a third of international students are enrolled on distance education courses through the University of South Africa, a proportion in line with other destination countries, for instance in Europe. The University of Cape Town had the highest number of foreign students at a ‘contact’ institution, and there were also high numbers attending large institutions such as the Universities of North-West, KwaZulu-Natal and Pretoria, and Tshwane University of Technology.

In 2005 Rhodes University had the highest proportion of international students, with one in four (26.5%) of students from outside South Africa, followed by the University of Cape Town (22.4%). More than one in 10 students were foreign at the Universities of Fort Hare and Western Cape, while international students comprised more than 8% of students at the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan and KwaZulu-Natal.

South African universities have established international offices to market their courses and support foreign students, and to encourage and coordinate international research and linkages. Information on institutions is widely available, including on the internet.To remain a popular destination, in a global environment of increasing competition for international students, IEASA believes that South Africa will need to commit more resources to international recruitment, more vigorously market its courses and institutions, ease study visa processes, and finalise an international education policy framework that formalises, supports and advances international activities.