Akademia, a university in South Africa that offers courses exclusively in Afrikaans, is gearing up for a significant year in 2025.

After experiencing impressive growth since its founding in 2012, the university is now focusing on expanding its reach and influence within the country.

New initiatives and investments are in the works to double the number of students by 2025, a goal that reflects the growing demand for Afrikaans-language higher education.

A Look Back at Akademia’s Rapid Growth

Founded by the Solidarity labour union, Akademia started as a small educational institution offering part-time distance learning and a study center in Centurion.

Over the past 15 years, the university has evolved into a fully-fledged institution with a growing number of campuses and degrees.

The year 2021 marked a major milestone, with Akademia launching a full-time campus in Die Hoewes, Centurion, complete with student accommodation.

Since the pandemic, the university has witnessed exceptional growth, attracting more students and offering a broader range of degrees in fields like economics, business, education, law, and the sciences.

Expanding Infrastructure to Meet Demand

With rapid growth comes the challenge of expanding facilities to accommodate more students.

Akademia is addressing this issue by developing a new R3-billion campus in partnership with Kanton, a real estate developer.

Located on Boschkop Road in Pretoria East, the new campus will be able to house 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,500 postgraduate students.

The campus will feature state-of-the-art lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, a large auditorium, a chapel, dining facilities, and staff accommodation.

Plans are also underway for student residences, with space for 1,500 students in both men’s and women’s dormitories.

Expanding to the Western Cape

In addition to expanding its campus in Pretoria, Akademia is planning to launch a new full-time campus in the Western Cape by 2026.

This campus will serve the growing number of Afrikaans-speaking students moving to the area, especially due to the “semigration” trend—Afrikaans speakers relocating to the Western Cape.

The new campus will be strategically located in the triangle formed by the northern suburbs, Stellenbosch, and Paarl, and will complement the university’s existing part-time study centers in George, Paarl, and Somerset West.

A Dream Realized for Afrikaans Higher Education

Marthinus Visser, managing director of Akademia, describes the growth of the university as the realization of a long-held dream.

He sees it as a monumental achievement for Afrikaans higher education in South Africa.

With the continued support of its community and strong cooperation, Visser believes Akademia is on track to create a lasting legacy for Afrikaans-speaking students seeking quality education in their native language.

This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!

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