As South Africa’s universities gear up to welcome new students for the 2025 academic year, institutions are urging applicants to remain vigilant against scams promising placements in programmes in exchange for money.
Both the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have issued firm warnings to protect prospective students from falling victim to fraud.
DUT reported receiving 147 076 applications for only 9 454 first-year spaces. UKZN, similarly overwhelmed, received over 290 600 applications for approximately 8 600 first-year places. The intense competition for placement has made many students vulnerable to opportunistic scam artists.
“No walk-ins are allowed at DUT,” the university stated, emphasising that all registration processes for the 2025 academic year will take place online.
It added that on-campus support will be available only for students facing challenges with the online system.
