CCollegeMatcher

South Africa · Northern Cape

Sol Plaatje University

Kimberley, Northern Cape · Comprehensive university

spu.ac.za →

Students, 2024

5,972

0.5% of all public university students

First-time undergraduates

2,079

entering in 2024

Graduates, 2024

1,245

State funding, 2024/25

R767 million

total amount allocated

Who studies what

Students by field

  • Science, engineering & technology1,613 · 27.0%
  • Business & management726 · 12.2%
  • Education1,742 · 29.2%
  • Other humanities & social sciences1,891 · 31.7%

Students by qualification

  • Undergraduate certificates & diplomas1,482 · 24.8%
  • Undergraduate degrees3,844 · 64.4%
  • Advanced diploma & PGCE278 · 4.7%
  • Postgraduate, below master's282 · 4.7%
  • Master's degrees86 · 1.4%

First-time undergraduates, 2014–2024

2014: 1242024: 2,079

Graduates, 2024

By field

  • Science, engineering & technology323 · 25.9%
  • Business & management144 · 11.6%
  • Education331 · 26.6%
  • Other humanities & social sciences447 · 35.9%

Graduation rate by level

  • Undergraduate certificates & diplomas22.3%
  • Undergraduate degrees14.2%
  • Postgraduate, below master's61.0%
  • Master's degrees25.6%

A graduation rate here is the year's graduates as a percentage of everyone enrolled at that level — the Department's proxy for throughput, not the share of an intake that finishes. For a three-year degree in which every student graduates on time it would be about 33%, so 15–20% is typical, not a failure rate.

State funding

2019/20R692 million
2020/21R763 million
2021/22R668 million
2022/23R730 million
2023/24R627 million
2024/25R767 million

Total amount the Department allocated to the university each financial year. It is not what students pay.

Fees and entry requirements

South Africa has no national register of fees or admission point scores (APS): each university sets and publishes its own. International-student numbers per university are not in the Department's report either. For both, go to SPU's own site.

University type (traditional, comprehensive, university of technology) follows the Council on Higher Education's VitalStats 2022, Appendix 1. The Department counts the same 26 universities as 11 / 9 / 6; the Council lists them 13 / 7 / 6.

Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa: 2024 (released May 2026). University type from the Council on Higher Education, VitalStats Public Higher Education 2022. City and province added by CollegeMatcher.

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