Manamela clarifies employment of foreign academics at TVET colleges

Higher Education Minister, Buti Manamela, says more than half of the academics often identified as “foreign nationals” in South Africa’s TVET college sector are, in fact, naturalised South African citizens or permanent residents who should be afforded the same employment opportunities as other South Africans.

Manamela briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Wednesday, amid growing public debate over the employment of foreign academics in the country’s post-school education sector.

The Minister revealed that, of the 265 academics identified as foreign nationals in TVET colleges, 158 are either naturalised South African citizens or permanent residents.

His briefing comes as youth unemployment remains high and anti-illegal immigration protests continue across parts of the country, with growing calls for public institutions to prioritise South African citizens for employment.

However, Manamela cautioned against what he described as misinformation surrounding the employment of foreign nationals in institutions of higher learning.

“South Africans are entitled to expect that public institutions prioritise them for employment, that everyone who teaches does so lawfully, and that transformation is not quietly deferred. These are not xenophobic concerns,” he said.

The Minister added that universities and colleges also depend on highly skilled academics from across Africa, particularly those with doctoral qualifications who supervise postgraduate students and lead research programmes.

He stressed that all institutions are required to comply with South Africa’s immigration laws.

To improve transparency, Manamela said the Department of Higher Education and Training plans to upgrade its information systems to accurately record citizenship, nationality and visa status across the sector.

He added that the department is working with the Department of Home Affairs and Universities South Africa to address visa backlogs and strengthen compliance measures.

“I also intend to meet with the minister of labour. It’s not just with Home Affairs,” said Manamela.

Meanwhile, Rise Mzansi MP, Ashley Sauls, rejected the Minister’s view that naturalised citizens or permanent residence should enjoy the same employment priority as South African citizens.

“My position is that the Department of Higher Education is intentionally using the law to give foreign nationals jobs that South Africans can do and are qualified to do,” said Sauls. 

The Department of Higher Education and Training rejected the allegation, saying it has several programmes aimed at developing South Africans’ skills.

“We are aware that a new Employment Services Act is currently being discussed in Parliament. The current one makes no difference between South African citizens and permanent residents in terms of employment. So, I think the current law and the future law under discussion may be different. That’s why the legal advice is also very important. There is, however, no evidence that universities are intentionally using the law to employ foreign nationals,” the department said.

Minister @ButiManamela is appearing in Parliament at the Portfolio Committee on updated figures on the employment of foreign academics in the PSET Sector.https://t.co/vUZOCeuLzX #DHET

— HigherEducationZA (@HigherEduGovZA) June 24, 2026