Introduction
South Africa (SA) is a “third world” country with a quality of life that far exceeds those of many “first world” countries.  For a country that is renowned for its exports of gold, silver, and many more valuable materials, it is totally self-sufficient and has a population of approx. 50 million people. Furthermore, it is a country with a deep history, rich in culture, and has risen out of its Apartheid era to become a leading nation.

Education
South Africa has a high quality of tertiary education, with several very good universities to choose from (see below), situated in a number of uniquely different cities.  The education system itself, is based on the British system of research-based teaching.

Like the UK, the level of fees applied depends upon the country the student resides in at the time of application. Students from the South African Development Countries [SADC] (i.e. Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia & Zimbabwe) are considered as home students. The fees charged for these students are as follows:

FEES FOR STUDENTS FROM SADC COUNTRIES ONLY 

  
* $1,000 per course & $450 for dissertation     
** $900 per year of study       
*** This is dependent on the living style of the person and includes books   
(*) Estimated as brochures not available at the time
(**) No information available at the time of going to print

However, students from non-SADC countries are treated as foreign students making the fee base much higher.  However, these fees are cheaper by comparison for foreign students going to UK and US universities. Typical examples of foreign fee structures are shown in the following table:   
   
FEES FOR STUDENTS FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN SADC ONLY 

*** This is dependent on the living style of the person and includes books   
(*) Estimated as brochures not available at the time    
      
Please note that the above fees are almost an exact approximation based on brochures and face-to-face interviews with the Registrars.

Recommendation for Shia Students: 
For Shia students, the recommended place of study is the University of Cape Town.  The level of education at the University of Cape Town is very high and there is a huge presence of Muslims on the campus as well as Shia families around the campus who can accommodate our children.  Syed Aftab Haider also runs a mosque, which is quite close where all ceremonies are observed as per our religious beliefs. He also will take responsibility to oversee the welfare of the students and their progress.

Qualifications and Exemptions
(For further details, and for further information on the type of exemptions available, please refer to http://www.sauvca.org.za/mb/foreign/210550.htm)

A Perspective on the University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is rated as one of the best universities in Africa and  probably the best at the moment.  Enrolling 20,000 students a year, there are approximately 3,000 foreign / SADC students.  When  some student were approached and asked why they chose South Africa, in particular University of Cape Town, when they have the opportunity to study in the USA or the UK, most common replies were:

“Why settle for second best, more expensive education overseas, when you can get even better quality at a more affordable price?”

“Where will you find a campus on the slope of a mountain, with the ocean a few minutes away?”

Many of these students arrive at UCT as exchange students from the USA, UK, Germany, Norway and France and the majority of these do not actually go back, but rather prefer to finish their undergraduate degree at UCT.

Available Courses
For international students, certain courses are not available.  Amongst most universities in South Africa, medicine (and all courses in the Faculty of Health Sciences) is mostly unavailable to foreign students.  However, certain universities (such as the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg) do allow approximately 10 students a year to enrol for Medicine.  There are no restrictions on Post Graduate degrees.

Year Calendar
The tertiary system consists of 4 terms and 2 semesters.  Each semester contains 2 terms.
At the moment, several universities are undergoing a transition in the yearly timetable.  Many, such as the University of Cape Town are aiming to provide a more research-based system, following in the steps of Oxford and Harvard, to mention a few. The current two available options are as follows:

Option 1:
Academic year starts in mid-February
Semester I
Term one - 6 weeks
Term break - 1.5 weeks
Term two - 6 weeks
Study break/exams - 3 weeks
Semester break: 3 - 4 weeks
Semester II
Term three - 6 weeks
Term break - 1.5 weeks
Term four - 6 weeks
Study break/exams - 3 weeks
End of year: November

Option 2:
Academic year starts in mid-March
Semester I
Term one - 6 weeks
Term break - 11/2 weeks
Term two - 6 weeks
Exams - 2 weeks
Semester break: 7 weeks
Semester II
Term three - 6 weeks
Term break - 11/2 weeks
Term four - 6 weeks
Exams - 2 weeks
End of year - November

Immigration Procedures
In order to study in South Africa one would be required to obtain a study permit from the South African High Commission in the present country of residence.  In order to be eligible for a study permit, you would be required to produce the original letter of acceptance from the University, a deposit of approximately R2,000 (which would be refunded at the end of your degree), a valid passport and a few passport photos.

Please note that the issue of a study permit is at the discretion of the High Commission.  Therefore, having acceptance from a University doesn’t guarantee a study permit.  However, very rarely are study permit applications rejected.

Requirements for Universities in South Africa
Most acceptance requirements at South African Universities require graduation from Matric (South African high school exam), HIGCSE, AS or A-levels.  For more information, please refer to the above or contact the university directly.

Furthermore, once enrolled in a South African university, proof of medical insurance is compulsory.  The medical insurance company does not have to be South African based.

Cost
Compared to universities across the US and the UK, the tuition fees in SA are much lower (as shown above).  Although it is more cost effective, the quality and level of education is very high.

A huge bonus to the education system in South Africa is that if you are a citizen of a SADC country, you only pay local tuition fees, which do work out to be very inexpensive.

The currency is the South African Rand, and to the US Dollar it is approx between 6-7 Rand (as at March ’04). 

For a student in the SADC region, a fee example of a few available degrees would be:

Bachelor of Commerce    R16,500
Bachelor of Business Science R17,500
Bachelor of Science  R17,000 - R18,500
Bachelor of Arts    R 16,500

International students pay approximately $6,000 per year for the majority of their degrees.

Expenses
The cost of living in South Africa can be very reasonable if converting from a foreign currency (especially the British Pound). As a current student at the University of Cape Town, I have a rough idea of how much you would need to live comfortably per month, which I will give below.

Accommodation
Accommodation in University of Cape Town can be arranged with Shia families via a commitment with Syed Aftab Haider who is the resident Aalim and a charity worker of great repute. This is very much how he recommends it should be done at least for the ladies who intend to pursue further education.

For the less faint hearted, the cheapest option would be to stay in a campus residence.  Not to criticize the conditions, but it’s not the usual luxury we experience at home. 

More realistically, you have three options.  Either you could rent a single bedroom “bachelor flat” and stay alone, rent a 2-3 bedroom apartment and share with friends, which turns out a little cheaper, or table board with a Muslim family. 

Approximate costs:
1 bedroom apartment near campus   R 2,000 – R 2,800
2 bedroom apartment near campus   R 3,300 – R 4,200
Table boarding      R 2,000

Staying further away from campus will result in more savings, about R300. However, this isn’t really much.  The advantage of staying close to campus is that you wouldn’t need a car.  Walking is the normal mode of transportation.  However, I must mention the only negative aspect I can think of would be transport.  For example, to get from say your house to a shopping mall during the day you would catch a “combi” (a minibus jammed with people travelling the same route).  However, at night it’s normal to rent a shuttle (taxi), costing approximately R80 – R150, depending on where you want to go.  This expense would be shared between the people in the shuttle (about 14 students can fit in a normal shuttle). 

A lot of the food in South Africa is Halaal, and throughout South Africa there are a number of official Shia centres.  However, none of the communities are of a notable size.

The following are some examples of daily living expenses:
340 ml coke      R4.00
Pizza (large)      R40.00
Calls from cell phone (peak/off peak) per second  R0.06/R0.015
Milk per litre      R5.50
Petrol per litre   R4.08
Haircut (Gents)  R45-70

Student jobs are available on campus.  The pay ranges from R17 – R45 per hour.   

Alumni
George Ellis, one of UCT’s A-rated scientists, has won the R10 million 2004 Templeton Prize, the world’s largest annual monetary award given to an individual.

Professor Jennifer Thomson of the department of molecular and cellular biology won the L’Oreal / UNESCO award for women in science for 2004

Mark Shuttleworth, a UCT Business Science graduate, was the first person in space from the African continent.

R W James, a UCT professor (1937 – 1956) was the pioneer of X-Ray Diffraction and crystallography.

Activities
South Africa has plenty to offer in terms of activities.  Outdoor activities are plentiful, ranging from hiking, canoeing, surfing, camping and fishing. Even skiing is possible.  Student discounts are available almost everywhere.  For example, most hair salons offer a discount of about R15 per cut to students.  These small discounts add up and are quite handy.

Extra Information
For more information regarding the University of Cape Town, please refer to www.uct.ac.za.  For other universities in South Africa please refer to the following sites:

University of Port Elizabeth:   http://www.upe.ac.za
University of Pretoria:    http://www.up.ac.za
Rand Afrikaans University (RAU):   http://www.rau.ac.za
Rhodes University:    http://www.ru.ac.za
University of Durban-Westville:   http://www.ru.ac.za
University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg campus): http://www.unp.ac.za 
University of Potchefstroom:   http://www.puk.ac.za
University of South Africa:    http://www.unisa.ac.za
University of Stellenbosch:   http://www.sun.ac.za/international
University of Transkei:    http://www.utr.ac.za
University of Free State:    http://www.uovs.ac.za
University of Fort Hare:    http://www.ufh.cc.ufh.ac.za
Medical University of Southern Africa:  http://www.medunsa.ac.za
University of Venda:    http://www.univen.ac.za
Vista University:     http://www.vista.ac.za
Witwatersrand University:    http://www.wits.ac.za/

For more information on education in South Africa and for additional websites of colleges / universities, please refer to the following website:  http://www.afrikaselatan.com/education.htm

Acknowledgements:
CETAB would like to thank both The Education Board of Dubai and Alireza Somji (currently studying at UCT) for their contributions to this article. Further information on Universities in South Africa (and its Higher Education System) can be obtained by contacting CETAB at the following: cetab@world-federation.org