Members of Parliament have demanded stricter scrutiny of university hiring practices after the Department of Higher Education and Training admitted it cannot accurately determine how many foreign academics hold permanent residency, critical skills visas or other immigration statuses.

Members of Parliament serving on the parliamentary committee on higher education have called for universities to provide evidence that no suitably qualified South African could fill academic posts 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, 6,739 foreign academic staff members were employed at South African universities in 2024, based on audited data. Zimbabwean nationals accounted for 27% of the total, while Nigerians made up 14%, making them the two largest groups of foreign academics in the sector.

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However, the department acknowledged significant shortcomings in the data available to it, including uncertainty over how many foreign academics are permanent residents, naturalised citizens or holders of critical skills visas.

The issue has come under increased scrutiny since several universities, including the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch University, appeared before the committee to account for their employment practices.

When UCT previously briefed MPs, committee members expressed concern that at the professor level, foreign national academics outnumbered black African, coloured and Indian academics combined....