{"id":89913,"date":"2025-09-16T10:02:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:15:19","slug":"manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","title":{"rendered":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic year begins \u201cfairly, on time and without unnecessary barriers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Pretoria on Monday, Manamela said readiness was not \u201cticking boxes or filing reports\u201d, but about \u201cthe lived experience of every student and family in South Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the bursary systems are working, application processes are clear, institutions are safe and welcoming, infrastructure is in place, and teaching and learning can begin without disruption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Manamela acknowledged the pressure on the post-school system, with more matriculants qualifying for university each year. For 2026 about 235,000 first-year university spaces will be available. However, he stressed that universities were not the only option.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearners must apply on time, explore multiple options, and recognise that Setas, TVET colleges and CET colleges are equally important pathways to work, skills and further study.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department has acted to stabilise the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) after financial challenges in 2025. Funds of R13.3bn were reprioritised to support 34,000 students with blocked registrations and a further 15,000 with second semester registrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks a significant moment in the stabilisation of NSFAS for the 2025 academic year,\u201d he said, but warned the scheme remained at financial risk due to growing demand, rising living costs and \u201cdeclining state resources in real terms\u201d.<\/p>\n

NSFAS applications for 2026 will open on Tuesday. \u201cThis is the gateway through which hundreds of thousands of young people \u2014 especially from working-class and poor households \u2014 will be able to realise their dreams of studying,\u201d said Manamela.<\/p>\n

The application process has been \u201csimplified and strengthened\u201d through the online myNSFAS portal, with automatic verification through Sassa, Sars and home affairs to cut paperwork.<\/p>\n

He urged schools, parents, municipalities and even internet cafes to help pupils apply early. \u201cNo deserving student must be left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manamela said TVET colleges, with 527,000 spaces in 2026, remained \u201cthe engines of industrialisation, entrepreneurship and community development\u201d. He confirmed the department was moving to ensure TVET students were funded on a fee-free basis in line with the Heher Commission’s recommendations.<\/p>\n

On CET colleges, which serve about 130,000 learners, the minister said they were being repositioned as \u201cvibrant centres of lifelong learning\u201d, with a stronger focus on skills linked to local economies.<\/p>\n

To keep the system stable, Manamela announced the establishment of a \u201cwar room\u201d to monitor and resolve issues in real time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis war room brings together the leadership of the department, NSFAS, universities, TVET and CET colleges, student formations and quality councils in one space, meeting weekly to resolve challenges as they arise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manamela thanked staff, student leaders and institutions for their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlowly, but surely we are restoring public confidence in the post-school system. As the Freedom Charter proclaimed, and as our democracy demands, the doors of learning and culture shall be opened \u2014 not only in 2026 but for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic year begins \u201cfairly, on time and without unnecessary barriers\u201d. Speaking in Pretoria on Monday, Manamela said readiness was not \u201cticking boxes or filing reports\u201d, but about \u201cthe lived experience of every student and family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-89913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nManamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\"},\"wordCount\":492,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"culture and art\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\",\"name\":\"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":695,\"caption\":\"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year - South Africa","description":"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year","og_description":"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":695,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year","datePublished":"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year"},"wordCount":492,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg","keywords":["South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","culture and art"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year","name":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-16T10:02:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T10:15:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela says the department is working to ensure that the 2026 academic yea ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/09\/sm_1758005042.198725.jpg","width":1000,"height":695,"caption":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/manamela-outlines-readiness-for-2026-academic-year#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Manamela Outlines Readiness for 2026 Academic Year"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}