New ‘water school’ opening in South Africa

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06-02-2025
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Water utility Rand Water is building a new technical academy to expand its scope and help develop the technical skills needed to meet South Africa’s water challenges.

Presenting its corporate business plan to parliament on Tuesday (4 February), the group said that it identified the need for the academy when looking for ways to better strengthen capacity building in the water and sanitation sector.

The academy will also support Rand Water’s other strategic objections.

Rand Water already has an educational arm through the Rand Water Academy, which launched in 2012. The new facility will broaden its scope, market reach, and offerings, it said.

The new technical school aims to become a leading institution in water sector skills training and wants to play a role in addressing various water and sanitation challenges by providing technical skills that will enhance water management and develop water industry expertise.

“The Technical School will be a state-of-the-art educational facility is aimed at preparing skilled professionals for South Africa’s evolving water sector.

“It will incorporate cutting-edge technologies into its educational programs, concentrating on areas such as digital water management, automation, and intelligent water systems,” Rand Water said.

It will achieve this by building advanced laboratories, simulation tools, and taking on modern training in subjects like water treatment automation, Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, and data analysis.”

The group has already identified a suitable location for the school, repurposing an existing building. Construction is planned to be completed by November 2026, it said.

New universities

The new technical school is only one of at least five new universities and tertiary institutions that are being built in South Africa, including two public institutes being spearheaded by the government.

The University of Policing and Crime Detection in Hammanskraal and the University of Science and Innovation in Ekurhuleni will become two official public universities upon completion.

Meanwhile, trade union Solidarity is working on a R3 billion private Afrikaans university Akademia in Pretoria, and Stadio and ADvTECH are both expanding their private offerings.

University of Policing and Crime Detection 

Initially planned as a higher education insitution, a decision was made to turn the project into a fully-fledged university.

According to the department, the university will be government-owned, stressing the need for the institution to build capacity and professionalize the police service and crime prevention sector.

The site in Hammanskraal has already been identified. It already has bulk infrastructure on location – though interventions are needed to address supply shortages in the area.

University of Science and Innovation – Ekurhuleni

The University of Science and Innovation will be built in the City of Ekurhuleni, with a spot in Boksburg identified as the prime location.

This location is seen as idea as it is in a highly visible area with the “potential to establish an iconic identity overlooking the town”.

Key, however, is that the land is government-owned and offers enough room for future expansion.