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25/01/2018

Registration is proceeding well at Nelson Mandela University, with more than 5000 students successfully registered to date.

Despite some initial uncertainties due to the presidential announcement of free higher education for students from households whose annual income does not exceed R350 000, a total of 6853 students have registered so far, with 3178 of these being first time entering undergraduate students and 211 entering  their first year of postgraduate studies.

Online registration opened on Monday, 15 January, with assisted registration taking place at the University’s various campuses from Monday, 22 January, to 2 February.

The 2018 registration figures fare better compared to last year, when a total of 5188 students had registered at this time, with 1831 being first years.

Mandela University is expecting more than 6100 first year students to register for 2018 studies, as part of the 27 000-plus strong student population.

Financial Aid

Students have been receiving SMSs from the government’s NSFAS loan scheme organization informing successful applicants to proceed with registration at Mandela University.

This has caused confusion among such students, who were either unsuccessful in their application for studies or the course they applied for is already too full.

It is to be noted that applications to NSFAS for funding and those to the University for tuition are separate, yet parallel processes, and success in one does not result in the automatic success of the other.

Prospective students must ensure that they have been accepted to study before attempting to register at Mandela University.

Welcoming Ceremony

As many as 6000 students and their parents or guardians will descend on Mandela University for the Welcoming Ceremony on Saturday, 27 January, ahead of Orientation next week. Here, Vice-Chancellor Prof Sibongile Muthwa will deliver a welcome address – her first formal speech -, before students engage in their respective faculty meet and greet sessions.

Nineteen venues across the North, South and Second Avenue campuses have been prepared to receive the students and their parents, who are all urged to come early to allow for the anticipated large traffic volumes.

Security and other measures are firmly in place to assist where necessary on the day, with both the main University entrance and Marine Drive gate available for entry into South Campus.

How2Buddies (students who are assisting with logistics) will be available on campus to assist the new students and parents with any queries they may have.

Conclusion

Nelson Mandela University looks forward to welcoming new and returning students to its campuses for the official start of the 2018 academic year on 5 February and wishes them well for the year ahead.

Contact information
Ms Zandile Mbabela
Media Manager
Tel: 0415042777
Zandile.Mbabela@mandela.ac.za