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After Grade 12 2027 applications

News

What is changing in funding, applications and colleges, and where to follow it yourself.

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Announcements that affect what you can study, and how you pay for it, come from a handful of places. This page keeps the ones worth following in one list, and carries anything written for this site.

Latest

How to check an education announcement before you act on it18 August 2026, Every year students lose money to adverts that were never real. Here is how to tell a genuine announcement from a copy of one.

Where to follow the news

This site does not republish other people's reporting. These are the places worth following directly, split by whether they announce something or report on it.

Official sources

Department of Higher Education and Training The department that runs public universities and TVET colleges. Policy, statements and the official position on anything post school. NSFAS The funding scheme itself. Application windows, allowance payments and eligibility changes are announced here first. Umalusi The quality council that signs off the National Senior Certificate. Where matric results standards and exam integrity are dealt with. SAnews The government news service. Plain reporting of official announcements, including education budgets and NSFAS briefings. South African Government media statements The primary source for ministerial statements and media briefings, before news outlets summarise them.

Education journalism

Inside Education A South African outlet covering the education sector specifically, from schooling through to universities and colleges. GroundUp Non profit journalism that reports closely on student funding, accommodation and access, often from the student side. Daily Maverick Investigative reporting with consistent coverage of NSFAS, university governance and higher education funding. Mail and Guardian Long running national weekly with a strong education desk and analysis of sector policy. Skills Portal Focused on skills development, learnerships and training. Useful if you are following the work based routes.

Sector and research

Universities South Africa The body representing the public universities. Sector wide developments, straight from the universities themselves. University World News Higher education news with a dedicated Africa edition. Good for seeing South Africa in a wider context. The Conversation Africa Articles written by academics and edited by journalists. Useful when you want the reasoning behind a policy, not just the headline.

Links open on the source's own website. Dates, figures and requirements reported by any outlet should still be confirmed with the institution or with NSFAS before you act on them.