Speaking at the Universitas 21 Leadership Summit in Glasgow, Mpedi said that while enrolment across South Africa’s public universities has almost doubled since the end of apartheid, institutions are still turning away large numbers of qualified applicants and grappling with financial and infrastructure constraints.
Public university enrolment has grown from around half a million students in 1994 to almost a million by 2011, and that growth has continued since, he explained.
However, capacity has not kept pace. For the current academic year, Mpedi said, the University of Johannesburg received around 450,000 applicants, generating roughly 850,000 individual applications, for just 11,200 first‑year places.
“Many of you may say it’s a good place to be, but it’s difficult also to turn away people who meet your minimum requirements,” he said.
Mpedi highlighted infrastructure and capacity constraints in the higher education system, coupled with student accommodation shortages and funding challenges, including an estimated 16.5 billion rand in accumulated student debt across public universities.
South Africa’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme is intended as a safety net, but “not everyone is covered,” said Mpedi. A large group of students fall into what he described as the “missing middle” – students who fall outside financial aid thresholds yet remain unable to afford higher education.
Mpedi said his university is looking to digital provision as a way to extend opportunities.
“In 2025, the University of Johannesburg launched what we call UJ Digital,” he explained – “a comprehensive online learning platform designed to extend learning opportunities beyond the limits of campuses”.
Last year, UJ Digital enrolled around 20,000 people, with more than 130 offerings ranging from short learning programs upwards, and more being added each year.
While some see online as a “cheap” option, Mpedi argued that – done properly – digital education is “something to consider” both for quality and for equity.
“The digital divide is a big challenge that we are having,” he acknowledged, but said the university ensures that online learners are not treated as second‑class students. His aim is a “digital twin of the brick‑and‑mortar campus” which includes access to support and counselling.
Mpedi positioned the university’s strategy explicitly in terms of social impact.
“We don’t want to be the best university in the world. We say we want to be the best university for the world,” he said. “One of the themes of our strategic plan is that everything that we’re doing as a university must have a positive impact on the society.”
We don’t want to be the best university in the world. We say we want to be the best university for the world… everything that we’re doing as a university must have a positive impact on the society
Letlhokwa Mpedi, vice‑chancellor and principal, University of Johannesburg
Many of Johannesburg’s students are the first in their families to attend university, and Mpedi said watching them graduate remains a source of optimism.
“When they graduate, they don’t only change their own lives, they change the lives of their families, the communities they come from,” he told the summit. “That gives me hope.”
The University of Johannesburg is the only South African university and the only African member of the U21 network with Mpedi noting that “UJ’s participation ensured that African perspectives form part of global discussions on the future of higher education”.
“We remain focused on strengthening global partnerships and ensuring that collaboration translates into real impact for society, both in South Africa and globally,” he added.
“It was a privilege to engage in a Leaders’ Summit that was so thoughtfully preceded by the U21 Annual Network Meeting, which set a strong collaborative tone for these critical discussions.”
