Members of Parliament have called for tougher scrutiny of university appointment practices after the Department of Higher Education and Training admitted it could not accurately determine how many foreign academics have permanent residence, critical skills visas or other immigration status.
Members of Parliament serving on the Parliamentary Committee on Higher Education have called on universities to provide evidence that no qualified South Africans can fill academic positions before appointing foreign nationals.
The demand emerged during a committee meeting on 24 June 2026, where the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) presented updated figures on the employment of foreign academics in the post-school education and training sector.
According to the department, based on audited data, there were 6,739 foreign academic staff members employed in South African universities in 2024. Zimbabwean nationals accounted for 27% of the total, while Nigerians accounted for 14%, making them the two largest groups of foreign academics in the region.
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However, the Department acknowledged significant shortcomings in the data it has, including uncertainty over how many foreign academics are permanent residents, naturalized citizens or critical skills visa holders.
The issue has come under greater scrutiny since many universities, including University of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch University, appeared before the committee to account for their employment practices.
When UCT first briefed MPs, committee members expressed concern that at professor level, foreign national academics outnumbered Black African, Colored and Indian academics….