Speaking at the Vincent Tshabalala bursary and prize awarding ceremony in Alexandra, Johannesburg, he acknowledged the growing struggle among learners to secure placement at universities.

"You are right that we have less spaces in our universities for children that have passed. So it's a problem that we have to address urgently. Obviously, there is nothing other than building new universities. At the moment, because it takes time to build universities, we will see how we can accommodate these children. We are pushing others to TVET colleges, but the reality is that SA does not have enough universities, and I think we must start building," Mashatile said.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--