New private university for South Africa coming in 2026

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07-11-2024
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Business Times
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JSE-listed Stadio has announced that construction of its new Durbanville campus has commenced, with the first phase set to launch in mid-2025.

Located in Durbanville, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, the new campus plans to offer schools in education, IT, law, media and design, commerce, architecture, and engineering, with a planned capacity of between 4,000 and 5,000 contact learning students.

The campus will officially welcome students in the 2026 academic year, it said.

Chris Vorster, Chief Executive Officer at Stadio, said the new campus is part of the group’s strategy, which is to broaden access to higher education in South Africa to accommodate 100,000 students in time.

He envisions that 80% of these would be distance learning students and 20% contact learning student – meaning the group is looking to accommodate 20,000 students at campuses.

STADIO’s strategy is to invest in a few comprehensive campuses as opposed to having various small campuses.

“In this regard, the Durbanville campus will offer higher certificate qualifications as well as undergraduate degrees and post-graduate programmes,” he said.

Vorster said the new campus will help to underpin Stadio’s national footprint by creating a private tertiary education hub that rivals the Western Cape province’s four public universities.

“There is huge demand for higher education in the province and just not enough tertiary institution supply,” he said.

“Our new campus will tap into the rapidly growing economy in the northern suburbs, including the planned Cape Winelands Airport, and create job opportunities, enable development in this new hub, as well as offer an alternative to commuting to one of the public universities in the region.”

The campus

The campus will be 13,000 square meters of buildings at completion and will be launched in phases, starting in mid-2025 with the access points, roads, first academic blocks, offices, lecture halls and parking facilities.

In February 2026, a rugby field complying with the International Rugby Board’s Artificial Rugby Turf specifications, will follow. This field will be suitable for international rugby games.

“For students, we’re offering a variety of qualifications, including higher certificates as bridging courses to degrees for those who passed Matric without university exemption.

“Those who choose to do their postgraduate studies with us automatically become shareholders through our Stadio Khulisa Student Share Scheme upon graduation.

“Additionally, students in the area will save on transport by not having to travel to other institutions in Stellenbosch or Cape Town.”

Stadio is also in discussions with developers to ensure a range of student accommodation options and other facilities are available.

“This includes, for example, an underpass built between the STADIO campus and Curro Durbanville, allowing for the campus’ sports facilities to be shared,” Vorster said.

Vorster said that Stadio Durbanville’s comprehensive campus will be equipped to offer a full student experience, on par with any other higher education institution in the country.

The addition of Durbanville will push Stadio’s physical campuses to seven, with structures in Bellville, Musgrave, Randburg, Hatfield, and Waterfall.