South Africa’s debate over internationalisation in higher education has increasingly centred on one contentious question: how many “foreign nationals” are studying, teaching and working at public universities?
But according to the data and research cited by higher education professionals Divinia Jithoo and Tasmeera Singh, that debate risks reducing a complex issue to a convenient political narrative.
The authors argue that internationalisation is about far more than nationality. It encompasses academic collaboration, student and staff mobility, knowledge exchange and South Africa’s place within regional and global higher education networks.
They warn that increasingly hostile rhetoric around international students and academics could also undermine academic freedom, transformation and the constitutional principles underpinning South Africa’s universities.
The political debate is intensifying
The issue has gained renewed attention following moves by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training to seek a special presidential proclamation that would allow the Special Investigating Unit to examine the appointment of foreign nationals at South African universities over a seven-year period.
The debate has also extended to doctoral examination panels, with calls for greater scrutiny of foreign academics involved in these processes.
The authors do not dispute the need for universities to comply with immigration and labour legislation.
Their concern is how those legitimate compliance requirements are increasingly being connected to broader claims that foreign academics are displacing South Africans.
They argue that such claims need to be tested against evidence rather than assumptions.
What research says about academic jobs
Research cited in the article paints a more complicated picture.
Work by Precious Simba, Cyrill Walters and Jonathan Jansen on African academics in South African universities suggests that international academics are often concentrated in fixed-term or outsourced positions rather than benefiting from the security and career progression associated with permanent employment.
The authors therefore challenge the idea that foreign academics are simply occupying promotion opportunities that would otherwise belong to South Africans.
In their view, some international scholars face barriers to advancement themselves.
This has led researchers to describe a form of “academic xenophobia”, where scholars can be treated differently because of their nationality despite their qualifications, experience and academic contributions.
Compliance matters — but so does evidence
Universities have clear obligations when it comes to immigration and labour regulations.
The authors argue, however, that enforcement should be transparent, consistent and supported by reliable data.
They take issue with broad claims that foreign nationals are running entire academic departments or taking PhD opportunities from South African students when, they argue, detailed system-wide evidence has not been presented to substantiate such assertions.
The same concern applies to narratives around fraudulent study visas.
The authors contend that focusing predominantly on foreign nationals can obscure the wider institutional and administrative failures that allow fraud and corruption to occur.
Their position is that accountability should address the entire system rather than placing disproportionate blame on international students and academics.
South Africa’s own policy supports internationalisation
One of the strongest arguments presented in the commentary is that internationalisation is not foreign to South African higher education policy.
The National Policy on the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa, approved in 2019 and promulgated in 2020, provides a framework for student and staff mobility, academic partnerships, brain circulation and cross-border research collaboration.
The policy also calls for greater coordination between government departments to ensure international scholars can access South Africa through transparent and streamlined visa processes.
It further recognises the importance of attracting skilled workers from the African continent, particularly from the Southern African Development Community.
The authors therefore argue that restricting academic mobility would represent a departure from the broader policy direction South Africa has previously adopted.
The numbers challenge the ‘flooded universities’ narrative
Perhaps the most significant part of the debate is the data on international student enrolments.
According to the 2024 IEASA StudySA report cited in the commentary, South Africa’s public universities recorded 73,856 international students in 2013, representing 7.51% of the overall student population.
By 2022, that number had fallen to 43,279, or 4.02% of total enrolments.
The figures suggest that international student participation has declined considerably rather than continuing to grow unchecked.
The authors also highlight that most international students come from other African countries, particularly the SADC region.
That pattern reflects regional academic mobility and South Africa’s existing commitments to cooperation within Southern Africa.
Beyond numbers: the question of academic freedom
The debate is not only about enrolment figures or employment statistics.
The authors warn that persistent suspicion of international academics can also affect what they describe as epistemic diversity — the range of knowledge, perspectives and expertise represented within universities.
Research cited in the commentary suggests that some African academics can find their expertise questioned or their scholarship undervalued because they are perceived primarily through the lens of being “foreign”.
For the authors, this creates a contradiction.
South Africa’s post-apartheid higher education agenda has sought to promote transformation, decolonisation and Africa-centred scholarship. Excluding academics from elsewhere on the continent could, they argue, undermine those very objectives.
Why internationalisation still matters
South African universities operate in an increasingly interconnected academic environment.
International researchers and students can contribute to knowledge exchange, research partnerships, innovation and the development of skills that extend beyond national borders.
The authors argue that universities should therefore be spaces where students encounter diverse African and global perspectives rather than institutions focused primarily on policing national boundaries.
They also connect this argument to South Africa’s wider commitments to regional integration, pan-Africanism and multilateral cooperation.
The real challenge: balancing regulation with openness
The debate does not have to be framed as a choice between regulation and internationalisation.
Universities can enforce immigration and labour laws while continuing to welcome legitimate international academic participation.
For Jithoo and Singh, the more constructive approach would be to improve the quality of data, strengthen institutional accountability and ensure that policy decisions are based on evidence rather than sweeping generalisations.
The question, ultimately, is not simply whether foreign nationals are present in South African universities.
It is whether South Africa can build a higher education system that is lawful, accountable, academically free and open to the knowledge and expertise of the wider African continent and the world.
The commentary argues that the evidence points towards openness and evidence-based governance — rather than exclusion — as the more sustainable path forward.
