UNISA strengthens its standing two years after court halted administration bid

The University of South Africa entered a significant milestone on Monday as it marked two years and twenty three days since the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria stopped the 2023 attempt to place the institution under administration. What was once a moment of deep uncertainty for the university has since become a turning point that strengthened its academic output, financial resilience and strategic confidence.

The contested decision by the then Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation followed the release of the Report of the Independent Assessor into the Affairs of the University of South Africa. The report painted a picture of governance failures and alleged administrative weaknesses, and it was expected to provide the basis for a dramatic takeover of the institution. Unisa leadership insisted from the beginning that the report was fundamentally flawed and its recommendations misplaced. The Council and Management approached the High Court seeking an urgent interdict, arguing that the minister’s move was premature and would create unnecessary harm to the institution. The court halted the decision, giving Unisa space to continue operating under its existing governance structures. The university subsequently took the report on legal review, a process that remains ongoing.

For many observers the 2023 crisis echoed earlier moments in Unisa’s long history in which the university faced pressure to transform, modernise or restructure. During the early years of democracy Unisa was challenged to integrate formerly segregated higher education institutions. In the early 2000s it navigated the complex merger with Technikon Southern Africa and the Vista University distance education division. Each chapter required major organisational shifts, yet the university emerged stronger and more resilient. The 2023 attempt to place it under administration now appears to be another point in that long historical arc.

Unisa management has consistently maintained that its governance systems remain functional, its finances stable and its academic programmes secure. Far from being in decline, the institution has posted some of its strongest results in recent years. Since 2021 the university has outperformed expectations in rankings, research output and graduation figures.

The most recent University Impact Rankings for 2025 released by Times Higher Education reflect this progress. Unisa’s performance on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals rose to a composite score of sixty six point three compared to sixty five point three the previous year. In the three goals for which it submitted evidence, namely decent work and economic growth, quality education and gender equality, it achieved scores in the top quartile worldwide. The institution also placed seventh among the thirteen South African universities included in the index.

The Times Higher Education rankings reinforce that upward trajectory. Unisa improved its research environment score from thirteen point eight to seventeen point eight and lifted its research quality score from forty eight point one to fifty one. Publication output has also increased, with the university moving from eighth to sixth position nationally between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three.

On the global stage the 2025 Shanghai Rankings Academic Ranking of World Universities placed Unisa among the eight strongest universities in South Africa and within the top one thousand universities internationally. This continued recognition strengthens Unisa’s standing in the global distance education landscape.

The university’s output of graduates remains one of its most significant contributions to the country. On average Unisa produces fifty thousand graduates each year which represents roughly one third of all graduates produced in the national university system. In 2025 alone approximately sixty five thousand students completed their studies through Unisa, including more than five hundred doctoral graduates and over nine hundred masters graduates.

Financially the institution continues to demonstrate strong governance. It has secured consecutive unqualified audit opinions since 2018 which signals sustained adherence to high standards of transparency and prudence.

Unisa staff, students and partners have acknowledged the role played by the Council, including former chairperson James Maboa, current chairperson Dan Mosia and Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula, in maintaining stability and supporting the institution through a period of scrutiny.

From the disputed bid for administration in 2023 to the release of strong performance indicators in 2025, Unisa has positioned itself as a stable institution with improving academic and financial metrics. The university’s continued rise in global rankings, steady graduate output and repeated unqualified audits now form the factual basis on which it asserts that external intervention is unnecessary. As legal proceedings to set aside the assessor report continue, Unisa leadership maintains that the data confirms its governance systems are functioning and that the institution remains on a firm upward trajectory.