South Africa could get two new private universities

Advtech’s tertiary education groups, Rosebank International and Emeris, are preparing to apply for university status, which it believes will benefit students.

This comes after the government promulgated a policy in 2025 to recognise institutional types, including university, university college, and higher education college.

This policy created a formal pathway for private higher education institutions to apply for university status.

The regulations outlining the application process, timelines, and criteria are still being drafted.

However, once published, Advtech said Rosebank International and Emeris will both apply for university status.

This was revealed in Advtech’s results for the six months through June 2026, which were published on Monday, 24 August.

In these results, Advtech said that Rosebank International and Emeris attaining university status will ultimately benefit its students.

These students, it said, “will finally be afforded the same status as their peers who earn equivalently accredited qualifications from public universities”.

The issue of private universities has been a contested topic in South Africa for years, with many private higher education groups having pushed for university status.

In 2025, a major development took place in this regard when the Department of Higher Education and Training promulgated a new policy.

The Policy for the Recognition of South African Higher Education Institutional Types allowed for the classification of private universities for the first time.

Previously, only public universities could be classified as such, with 26 tertiary education institutions in South Africa currently carrying the title.

Now, the new policy has opened the door for private institutions to be officially classified as universities or university colleges.

For many private education institutions in South Africa, including Advtech and Stadio, this change has been a long time coming.

Advtech’s two higher education institutions, Rosebank International and Emeris, are both planning to apply for university status.

Advtech’s financial results

This policy change comes at a good time for Advtech, whose education brands continue to go from strength to strength.

For the first half of its 2026 financial year, the company reported an 8% increase in revenue to R5.06 billion. This represents an 11% compound annual growth rate since 2022.

This growth was largely driven by Advtech’s largest division, Tertiary Education, which grew revenue by 17% to R2.24 billion and operating profit by 19% to R592 million. 

The group’s Schools division also performed well, both in South Africa and the Rest of Africa.

In South Africa, the Schools division grew revenue by 8% to R1.86 billion, and operating profit was up 9% to R388 million.

Advtech saw similar growth in the Rest of Africa, with revenue up 8% to R303 million and operating profit up 11% to R91 million.

The group’s Resourcing division was a drag on these results, with revenue down 15% and operating profit down 12%.

This was due to a difficult South African environment and the ongoing impact of USAID’s closure in February 2025, which hurt Advtech’s Rest of Africa recruitment business.

However, this did not hurt Advtech’s bottom line, with the group reporting a profit of R726.2 million, up 13%, while its basic earnings per share rose by 15% to 129.4 cents.

Through a continued focus on collection processes, Advtech also saw its gross trade receivables increase by only 5%, compared to its 8% increase in revenue. 

Advtech’s loss allowances increased to R505 million,  representing 47% coverage of gross trade receivables. 

The group’s credit losses also decreased from R119 million in 2025 to R115 million in the six-month period due to an improved debtors’ book performance. 

Advtech’s cash generated by operating activities increased by 17% to R2.69 billion. 

It recorded capital expenditure of R403 million, which mainly went towards increasing capacity on existing sites to meet incremental demand.

The group also completed its new Emeris/Vega mega campuses in Sandton and Nelson Mandela Bay. Rosebank International in Braamfontein underwent refurbishments.

On the back of these strong results, Advtech declared an 18% increase in its interim dividend to 53 cents per share.