Parliament, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training is concerned that some of South Africa’s public universities are relying too much on foreign academics, particularly at professor levels, despite significant government investments in developing local academic talent over the past decades.
The committee received a briefing today from the Department of Higher Education and Training on updated figures relating to the employment of foreign academics across South Africa's 26 public universities and technical and vocational education and training colleges. The committee also considered the department's fourth-quarter expenditure report for the 2025/26 financial year.
The committee Chairperson, Mr Tebogo Letsie, said the figures presented to the committee raise important questions about the effectiveness of government interventions aimed at growing the country's academic and research capacity.
“The committee is concerned that, despite substantial public investment in higher education, research development and academic support programmes, some institutions continue to employ a disproportionately high number of foreign academics at senior academic levels. We must honestly assess whether these investments are producing the desired outcomes,” said Mr Letsie.
“Twenty years later, the numbers have not improved. Government has spent a lot of money, yet there are no tangible results from the investments made. We need to ask whether we have produced enough South Africans to occupy these positions, especially now that we have made this investment.”
The committee highlighted statistics indicating that at some institutions, including the University of Cape Town, the number of foreign national professors exceeds the combined number of African, coloured and Indian professors. Similar patterns were observed at other institutions, including the universities of Pretoria, Free State and Venda.
Mr Letsie emphasised that the committee's concerns are rooted in transformation, skills development and accountability rather than opposition to internationalisation. “When we raised this issue last year, we knew we would be attacked. This is not about xenophobia. We must invest in developing South Africans and creating pathways for them to reach professor level.
“To use UCT as an example, saying that there are more foreign national professors than African, Indian and coloured professors combined may not tell the full story. The full picture is this: 39.7 percent of professors at UCT are white, 39.3 percent are foreign nationals, and only 22. 6 percent are African, Indian and coloured professors combined. These statistics should shock all of us. Yet we are not surprised, because when we asked these questions last year, we were immediately attacked. There appears to be an attempt to prevent us from confronting these statistics,” added Mr Letsie.
The committee concluded that it would revisit the issue of foreign academics again in the last quarter of this year. Mr Letsie is concerned that at least four institutions foreigner outnumber black South Africans.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING, MR TEBOGO LETSIE.
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