By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela says his department is strengthening coordinated enrolment planning across the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system, guided by matric trends and labour-market intelligence.
He was speaking during the media briefing on the state of the PSET sector and readiness for the 2026 academic year on Thursday,
Manamela said rising matric pass rates reinforce the need to move beyond a university-centric approach to post-school education.
The Matric Class of 2025 achieved the highest pass rate in the country’s history, achieving a pass rate of 88%, an improvement from 87.3% in 2024.
Manamela highlighted that 46.4% of candidates achieved a bachelor’s pass, 28.1% achieved diploma and 13.5% achieved higher certificate pass.
He noted that this meant that over 40% of learners did not achieve a bachelor’s pass, noting that even such a pass did not guarantee entrance into a university.
Manamela said the country’s post-school system was deliberately designed to be differentiated with universities, TVET colleges, community colleges, occupational qualifications, skills programmes, and work-based learning, all forming part of the system.
“And so when people look up to our system, it should not just be that we want to go to universities. When people look up to our system, it must be that I either want to pursue an academic or a vocational stream or a hybrid of those streams. And so choose on the basis of what is available out there in terms of this particular stream. And they are provided across all of our institutions,” he explained.
His department wants to strengthen coordinated enrolment planning across the education system, linking with basic education.
He explained that the newly established just energy transition skills desk would play a critical role in linking demand to priority economic sectors, particularly renewable-energy construction, grid infrastructure, and electric mobility.
He said given the infrastructure and staffing constraints, the department would increasingly prioritise short courses and modular qualifications, particularly at TVET colleges and community colleges.
The department wants to encourage the growth of occupational programmes that can be scaled up speedily.
Manamela explained that this was the first year the department was rolling out its occupational programme on a large scale. The programme included apprenticeships, learnerships, and internships, which would be the emphasis of the education and training authorities.
“[That is] three pathways which offer faster labour market entry while allowing articulation into further learning. So if you could not get a spot at university, it does not mean that it is the end. We have all of these options and that we encourage learners together with their parents to look for and find these opportunities. Your TVET colleges, as I said, community colleges,” he stressed.
Manamela said institutions across the PSET sector have undertaken extensive preparations for the 2026 academic year.
“This morning, the Ministerial War Room convened to assess readiness. We are confident of a stable opening of the academic year, with ongoing monitoring,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of student well-being, encouraging the use of Higher Health to address mental health challenges.
“Higher Health remains the designated wrap-around support institution, operating a 24-hour Toll-Free Crisis Helpline (0800 36 36 36). Over 61 000 students have been supported through this service in recent years,” Manamela said.
The department is also strengthening sector-wide responses to mental health, gender-based violence, food insecurity, accommodation and campus safety through national norms, preventative interventions and coordinated protocols.
The Minister urged students to rely on official departmental websites, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and institutional platforms for accurate information.