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Research

Every number on this site has a source.

Last updated: 2026-04-15

We build for SA TVETs, colleges and schools. That means our marketing claims have to survive the same procurement scrutiny the product does. Here are the primary references behind every figure we quote — and the claims we decided not to make because the data did not support them.

Students collaborating around a table
Photo · Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash
Students in a further-education classroom
Photo · Husniati Salma via Unsplash
01 · TVET sector scale

TVET sector scale and throughput

South Africa has 50 public TVET colleges across every province. Enrolment grew 8.8% between 2022 and 2023 — but throughput against the National Development Plan target is a fraction of where it should be.

  1. Actual NC(V) L2 → L4 throughput9.2%
  2. National Development Plan target (2030)75%
DHET / LMI-Research (Nov 2023). NC(V) Level 2 2016 cohort, 88 771 students → Level 4 completion by 2018.
  1. 01
    Public TVET headcount enrolment (2023)
    564 089 duplicated · 413 290 unduplicated · +8.8% YoY (+45 505)
    DHET — Statistics on Post-School Education and Training (SPET 2023)
    2023
    https://www.dhet.gov.za/Information%20Systems%20Management/Statistics%20on%20Post-School%20Education%20and%20Training%20in%20South%20Africa,%202023.pdf
  2. 02
    TVET share of total post-school enrolment
    26.6%
    DHET — SPET 2023
    2023
    https://www.dhet.gov.za/DHETResearchBulletin3/statistical-publications.html
  3. 03
    NC(V) throughput (cohort analysis)
    NC(V) L2 2016 cohort (88 771) → L4 completion by 2018: 8 135 students · 9.2% throughput in expected time vs 75% NDP 2030 target
    DHET / LMI-Research Fact Sheet, November 2023
    2016–2018 cohort
    https://lmi-research.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fact-Sheet-Throughput-Rate-of-TVET-College-NCV-Students-November-2023.pdf
    This is the single most-quoted TVET throughput figure in procurement conversations. The gap between actual and NDP target is why attendance and retention are front-page issues.
  4. 04
    NC(V) Level 4 completion rate — trend
    55% (2019) → 65% (2022)
    DHET via Parliamentary Monitoring Group briefing
    2019–2022
    https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/38450/
  5. 05
    Certification rates by level (2023)
    NC(V) Level 4: 58.2% · N3: 50.8% · N6: 64.2%
    DHET — SPET 2023 infographics
    2023
    https://www.dhet.gov.za/Information%20Systems%20Management/Infographics_Statistics%20on%20Post-School%20Education%20and%20Training%20in%20South%20Africa,%202023.pdf
  6. 06
    Public TVET colleges in South Africa
    50 (of 365 PSET institutions)
    DHET — SPET 2023
    2023
    https://www.dhet.gov.za/
  7. 07
    Geographic spread of public TVETs
    All 9 South African provinces have at least one public TVET college
    DHET — Public TVET Colleges directory (backed by the constitutional 9-province structure, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, s. 103)
    2024
    https://www.dhet.gov.za/SitePages/TVETColleges.aspx
Secondary-school learners walking between classes
Photo · Ben White via Unsplash
02 · Schooling pipeline into

Schooling pipeline into TVET (context)

TVETs inherit a pipeline that leaks heavily between ages 15 and 18. Fixing attendance at the college doesn't help the pipeline — but a campus that cannot measure its own attendance has no chance of addressing it.

97.3%
Age 15 in school
63.6%
Age 18 in school
StatsSA GHS 2023. Drop of 33.7pp over three years — the leak that feeds TVET intake.
  1. 01
    Learners attending school
    15.4m · 97.3% participation at age 15 · 63.6% still in school at age 18
    StatsSA — General Household Survey (GHS) 2023
    2023
    https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182023.pdf
  2. 02
    Main self-reported dropout reason (poor academic performance)
    Males 30.8% · Females 27.4%
    StatsSA — GHS 2023
    2023
    https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182023.pdf
Financial paperwork and a calculator on a desk
Photo · Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash
03 · NSFAS administration

NSFAS administration

NSFAS funds most TVET students. It also carries the heaviest compliance burden on the sector — four years of qualified or adverse audit opinions on the trot.

  1. TVET beneficiaries (monthly disbursement, Oct 2023)143 423
  2. Students at risk of losing funding (2024)87 000+
NSFAS PMG briefing 2023 / GroundUp 2024. One in five NSFAS-funded students was flagged at-risk during 2024 budget cuts.
  1. 01
    NSFAS budget (2023)
    R47 billion projected, funding ~1.835 million students
    NSFAS statement on 2023 funding disbursement, Parliamentary Monitoring Group
    2023
    https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/36375/
  2. 02
    NSFAS TVET living allowance
    R6 000 per annum
    NSFAS media statement
    2023
    https://www.nsfas.org.za/content/media.html
  3. 03
    TVET beneficiaries in one monthly disbursement
    143 423 students · R681 051 078 (Oct 2023)
    NSFAS closing-out report (reported in PMG minutes)
    2023
    https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/36375/
  4. 04
    NSFAS audit opinions
    2021/22 adverse · 2022/23 qualified with findings · reconciliation between institution and NSFAS records outstanding since 2017
    Auditor-General of South Africa, reported via IOL and PMG
    2023, 2024
    https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/auditor-general-makes-damning-findings-against-nsfas-9840a33b-6467-4332-b35b-c5804ecd51a9
  5. 05
    TVET + university students at risk of losing NSFAS funding (2024)
    >87 000 students
    GroundUp, citing DHET and Mail & Guardian reporting on NSFAS budget cuts
    2024
    https://groundup.org.za/article/nsfas-budget-cuts-could-leave-more-than-87000-students-without-funding-in-2024/
  6. 06
    NSFAS accommodation arrears owed to institutions / landlords
    Over R1.4 billion (2023 academic year)
    South African Students Association (SASA) via Parliamentary Monitoring Group
    2023
    https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/40646/
  7. 07
    TVET NSFAS budget (projected)
    R9.7bn (2024/25), R10bn (2025/26) — cuts of R970m and R1bn against prior trajectory
    GroundUp / Mail & Guardian analysis of National Treasury figures
    2024
    https://groundup.org.za/article/nsfas-budget-cuts-could-leave-more-than-87000-students-without-funding-in-2024/
A dimly lit desk lit by a single lamp during a power outage
Photo · Rob Lambert via Unsplash
04 · Load-shedding and teaching

Load-shedding and teaching continuity

Load-shedding is now a year-round planning assumption for every SA campus. CSIR and EskomSePush track it; two peer-reviewed SA papers document the classroom impact.

844h
2020
1153h
2021
2773h
2022
6950h
2023
CSIR Energy Centre / EskomSePush. 2023 alone saw more load-shedding hours than 2020–2022 combined.
  1. 01
    Load-shedding in 2022
    2 773 hours · 11 529 GWh shed
    CSIR Energy Centre statistics (widely reported)
    2022
    https://www.csir.co.za/load-shedding-statistics
  2. 02
    Load-shedding in 2023
    ~6 950 hours · 332 days of load-shedding · 19 793 GWh shed (Jan–Sep)
    CSIR Energy Centre / EskomSePush
    2023
    https://www.csir.co.za/load-shedding-statistics
  3. 03
    Load-shedding in SA higher education
    Qualitative study of Schools of Music documents disrupted teaching, lost practice hours and pivot to hybrid/asynchronous delivery
    Cogent Education (peer-reviewed) — Influence of load shedding in South African higher education
    2024
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2359338
  4. 04
    Load-shedding in SA schools
    "Powerless to Learn" — documented impact on teaching and learning in SA schools
    Kurdish Studies journal (Kuey), peer-reviewed
    2024
    https://kuey.net/index.php/kuey/article/view/6372/4658
Student holding a smartphone in daylight
Photo · Hush Naidoo Jade via Unsplash
05 · Digital access in

Digital access in SA households

Mobile-first, not PC-first. A portal that requires a laptop and uninterrupted WiFi excludes the majority of SA students before the pedagogy even starts.

  1. Households with at least one mobile phone96.1%
  2. Households relying only on cellular phones91.2%
  3. Households with any internet access78.6%
StatsSA General Household Survey 2023. Designing for a laptop-and-Wi-Fi student excludes most of the country.
  1. 01
    Households with at least one mobile phone
    96.1%
    StatsSA — GHS 2023
    2023
    https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182023.pdf
  2. 02
    Households relying ONLY on cellular phones (no landline)
    91.2%
    StatsSA — GHS 2023
    2023
    https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182023.pdf
  3. 03
    Households with any internet access
    78.6% (up from 28% in 2010) · Western Cape 88.1% · Limpopo 69.7%
    StatsSA — GHS 2023
    2023
    https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182023.pdf
  4. 04
    South Africans accessing internet via mobile
    78.7% of population · 72.3% overall internet penetration (Jan 2023)
    DataReportal — Digital 2023 South Africa
    2023
    https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-south-africa
  5. 05
    Smartphone penetration
    Over 80% (trending up)
    ICASA — State of the ICT Sector Reports
    2024, 2025 editions
    https://www.icasa.org.za/legislation-and-regulations/state-of-the-ict-sector-in-south-africa-2024-report
  6. 06
    Mobile internet affordability
    Mobile internet in Africa 12× Europe (2023), 14× (2024); ~50% of SA remains unconnected; 33% of SA internet users say data is unaffordable (RIA After Access)
    Research ICT Africa · ITU / GSMA comparisons
    2023–2024
    https://researchictafrica.net/2019/05/16/after-access-africa-comparative-report/
Circuit-board pattern evoking software infrastructure
Photo · Adi Goldstein via Unsplash
06 · Peer pricing (SA

Peer pricing (SA school/college management software)

Publicly quoted per-student pricing from SA vendors — used as the baseline for our flat-tier comparison on the /pricing page.

  1. Education Portal · Campus tier (2 500 students)R11 500 / mo
  2. Peer per-seat at 2 500 students (R18/student)~R45 000 / mo
SchoolBase public pricing (2026). Flat-tier pricing scales sub-linearly; per-seat pricing breaks TVET budgets as enrolment grows.
  1. 01
    SchoolBase (SA schools SIS)
    R18 / student / month · R180 / student / year
    SchoolBase public pricing page
    2026
    https://schoolbase.co.za/
  2. 02
    Rise School Management (SA schools SIS)
    On request — public messaging references R10 000+ annual savings claims
    Rise School Management website
    2026
    https://riseschoolmanagement.co.za/
Transparency

What we are NOT claiming (and why)

"Ghost attendance cut by 71%" — we looked for published SA evidence of ghost attendance in TVETs and found none. The phrase is common in US higher-education fraud literature (Department of Education flagged $150M in 2025 aid paid to ineligible enrolments) but does not map cleanly to SA classroom attendance. Any such figure on an earlier version of this site was illustrative and has been removed.

"12 400 students across pilot campuses" / "94% attendance" — these were placeholder product metrics. They have been replaced with sector-wide figures that are publicly verifiable.

"Campus X saved N teaching hours during load-shedding" — the portal is designed to work offline during outages. Whether that saves hours depends on the campus, lecturer habits, and outage schedule. We quote Eskom/CSIR totals (real) and explain the design response (verifiable in the product) rather than producing campus-level hour-savings.

Specific campus testimonials — none of our "Central TVET" or "Motheo College" quotes from earlier builds were from real named individuals. The case studies on this site are now labelled as illustrative scenarios anchored in SA sector baselines.

Talk to us honestly
Image credits

All images are editorial photography licensed under the Unsplash License. Credit remains with each photographer.

  • Photo · Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash
  • Photo · Husniati Salma via Unsplash — TVET sector scale and throughput
  • Photo · Ben White via Unsplash — Schooling pipeline into TVET (context)
  • Photo · Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash — NSFAS administration
  • Photo · Rob Lambert via Unsplash — Load-shedding and teaching continuity
  • Photo · Hush Naidoo Jade via Unsplash — Digital access in SA households
  • Photo · Adi Goldstein via Unsplash — Peer pricing (SA school/college management software)