Foreigners dominate senior posts at SA universities as data gaps raise alarm

Labour department finds foreigners make up 16% of senior management at public universities despite being 2.1% of wider education sector. The department of employment and labour, backed by Special Investigating Unit (SIU) findings, paints a troubling picture of foreigners dominating key posts in South Africa’s higher education sector, often aided by fraudulent entries facilitated by corrupt home affairs officials. Universities frequently invoke “internationalisation” to justify hiring abroad, but parliamentarians warn this policy is being misused to bypass local recruitment. Some MPs say when foreign nationals occupy senior management, they may prioritise compatriots in hiring, sidelining South Africans. MPs warn internationalisation sidelining South African academics The department of higher education and training, as the line department, admitted it lacks a reliable national picture of foreign recruitment and relies instead on incomplete and inconsistent data supplied by institutions. This gap was exposed during recent briefings to the portfolio committee on higher education and training, where the department, SIU and home affairs reported on foreign employment in the post school education and training sector, fraudulent visas and the internationalisation framework. The department of employment and labour’s investigation covered 14 of the 26 public universities, but only five provided usable figures. It said terminology used by institutions varied from “foreign national”, “international academic” to “international staff” – making comparisons difficult. MPs questioned how the department of higher education and training could monitor compliance or assess the impact of international hiring without reliable data. The clearest evidence came from department of employment and labour’s report that found foreigners make up 2.1% of the wider education workforce but 7.1% of staff at public universities, which accounted for nearly 78% of all foreigners employed in the sector. Foreigners make up 16% of senior management Alarmingly, concentration rises at senior levels where 12.8% of professionally qualified university staff and 16% of senior management are foreigners. This compares to 4.4% and 5.2% respectively across the broader education sector. The department warned this upward progression into senior and top management poses a long term transformation risk. MPs suspect the problem may be deeper, with SIU investigations still underway. Compliance failures compound the issue. The department reported that of 3 324 institutions targeted for inspection in the fourth quarter, 1 948 were inspected and 91% were non-compliant with the Employment Equity Act. Gauteng was the worst offender, with 99.6% non-compliance. MPs asked whether the department of employment and labour’s inspection regime was too advisory and welcomed its pledge to shift to active enforcement from October 2026. Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley had the highest proportional concentration of foreign nationals at the professionally qualified level at 39.2%, or 31 of 79 staff, against a reduction target of 32.9%. Previously, the University of Mpumalanga and Bloemfontein’s Central University of Technology were flagged for excessively high foreign staff numbers with no justification. Both struggle to explain the excessive number of foreign academics and staff in their employ, while locals were clearly sidelined. SIU reveals visa fraud schemes Wits and the University of Cape Town had the largest reduction targets, while Stellenbosch reflected limited change in senior management representation. MPs warned that allowing foreigners to dominate leadership pipelines risks undermining local empowerment and transformation in the country. Parallel SIU investigations revealed systemic fraud in the system. Between 2017 and 2025, 14 proclamations were issued in the higher education portfolio of which eight had been finalised and six ongoing. The SIU also probed fraudulent study and work visas, uncovering schemes involving fake university acceptance letters, medical certificates and medical aid documentation – allegedly facilitated by corrupt home affairs officials for payment. Home affairs was identified as being at the centre of a corruption storm. SIU reported manipulation of DNA results to secure permanent residence, abuse of retirement visas and misuse of asylum permits as pathways to citizenship. Investigations led to 278 referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority, 205 administrative referrals for visa revocation and deportation, but only seven internal disciplinary referrals. Parliamentarians asked if these represented only a fraction of cases. The SIU has set up a monitoring unit.