Africa-Press – South-Africa. STADIO has partnered with the City of Cape Town to develop a first-of-its-kind bachelor’s degree in municipal policing to professionalise and expand training for metro police across South Africa.
On 9 April, the City of Cape Town announced that it is working with STADIO Higher Education to develop a bachelor’s degree in municipal policing.
The city explained that it plans to open enrolment nationally through the Metro’s Public Safety Training College.
STADIO will, in the interim, offer this content as part of its bachelor’s programme while the city’s college gains full degree accreditation.
The city’s Public Safety Training College is already formally accredited by the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority and the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
It is also accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations and the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a training service provider for the Further Education and Training Certificate: Road Traffic Law Enforcement.
The Public Safety Training College also has category five registration from the Private Firearms Training Council, which is the highest level of registration.
The college first opened its doors in 2008 with the goal of facilitating training for the Metro Police Department.
It expanded over time to now provide training and development to both permanent staff and volunteers across all of the city’s enforcement services.
“We can make our cities much safer with well-trained metro police working in strong partnerships with the SAPS,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
He explained that, for this reason, the city has decided to invest in expanding its Public Safety Training College. It can now handle thousands of students annually thanks to more teaching staff and cutting-edge training facilities.
“This investment enabled us to add over 1,300 new officers to Cape Town’s streets in this term alone,” Hill-Lewis said.
“We now aim to take the municipal policing profession to new heights, with a fully-fledged bachelor’s degree, which will open for national enrolment via the city’s college.”
Cape Town partners with STADIO
Hill-Lewis explained that the first-of-its-kind partnership with STADIO is an important step towards elevating the municipal policing profession.
“By investing in training excellence, we are ensuring our officers are immediately ready to take their rightful place at the forefront of the fight against crime,” he said.
“The time has come for our city police to go beyond crime prevention, to also take on criminal investigation powers to help SAPS get more prosecutions for gang, gun, and drug crime, especially.”
STADIO already offers a Bachelor’s in Policing Practices that will form the foundation for the crafting of the municipal qualification.
The JSE-listed company is one of South Africa’s largest private education providers, both in terms of student numbers and financial performance.
The company boasted more than 53,000 students in the second semester of 2025, leading to a compound annual growth rate of 9% over the past five years.
For its 2025 financial year, it reported revenue growth of 14% to R1.84 billion, and a profit of R341.22 million, up 24% from 2024.
STADIO now plans to offer over 100 qualifications, up from 96 currently, ranging from programmes in education, information technology, accounting, law, and engineering.
Under the company’s new memorandum of agreement with the City of Cape Town, qualifying students will receive a STADIO qualification, and the city will be recognised in the awarding of the degree.
“This agreement is part of our long-term vision for our city’s college,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.
He explained that the agreement will solidify the institution’s position as a leading national training facility for the security sector.
The degree programme will also unlock new opportunities for our enforcement staff and create a pipeline for career progression within the city.
“More than that, the programme and the qualification will be open to anyone who meets the criteria, so we have an opportunity to positively influence municipal policing across the country,” Smith said.
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