As the 2025 new academic year starts, many students in South Africa are facing a severe shortage of accommodation, leaving them without a place to stay and threatening their academic prospects. South Africa currently faces a shortfall of over 500 000 student beds, making it impossible for institutions to house all students who require accommodation. This is where private service providers step in – with students then required to find their own accommodation themselves. For students from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular, engaging with private landlords can lead to them being exploited or misled. There are concerns that students may be left without accommodation when the academic year begins, due to NSFAS's outstanding debt of R44 million for student accommodation from the previous year. In the past years students have also protested over the shortage of student housing and poor living conditions at some of the university's outsourced residences.

The latest research from the Zero Dropout Campaign reveals that an alarming 40% of South African learners who start Grade 1 do not progress to matriculation. This high dropout rate is attributed to various challenges, including insufficient financial support, inadequate educational resources, limited parental guidance, and social pressures such as teenage pregnancy. The discussion features insights from Colin Wardle of the Zero Dropout Campaign and Realeboga Mageledise from Equal Education.

School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs either inside or outside of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time. Bullying is one of the main reasons behind South Africa's school dropouts, according to the Zero Dropout Campaign. The recent incident of bullying at Sutherland High School has drawn a lot of attention, a young girl was bullied because of her body shape. The Gauteng education department has launched an investigation into an alleged bullying incident at Sutherland High School in Centurion. “The department has deployed its psychosocial support unit to offer support to learners and their parents in an effort to assist in managing the emotional and psychological effect of the incident,” he said.

In this episode of expressions, our focus is on the high influx of new students to South African universities that don’t have space to accommodate the new students. We will also focus on the issue of application fees. Are universities making millions from application fees? Where does the money go? Tens of thousands of matriculants who studied hard to gain a university pass will be disappointed this year, as many face rejections from public universities unable to meet the demand for space. As the 2025 academic year resumes. The country's universities received applications that were more than 30 times higher than they could accommodate. Topping the list was the University of Johannesburg with 639 990 applications. Meanwhile, the University of KwaZulu Natal received over 290 600 applications for approximately 8 600 1st year places, this is three times more than the available spaces.

On today's show we put a spotlight on ID issues, as we still on back to school. Due to popular and flooding messages from the young people in the group requesting assistance. Some have been taken pillar to post by home Affairs Department regarding their birth And Id documents. Expressions ask Are government department failing young people especially Home Affairs?

In this episode, we dive into the ongoing issue of school uniform monopolies in South Africa. Parents are grappling with inflated prices and limited choices due to exclusive supplier agreements, despite the Competition Commission raising concerns about these practices in 2021. We explore the challenges families face, the lack of action from some schools, and the financial burden on parents as they continue to fight for more affordable options

NSFAS faces significant sustainability challenges due to South Africa's economic constraints, including high youth unemployment (around 60%) and unemployed graduates, which reduce potential economic returns on investment. Constrained public finances which limit government funding for higher education are also contributing factors. The expanding demand for NSFAS assistance due to rising education costs and increasing student numbers is a big issue as Expressions asks, Is NSFAS in a stable condition? Is the fund prepared for the 2025 academic year? What immediate steps ought to be taken to address NSFAS challenges?

Education and employability are closely linked, and it is essential that the education system adapts to the changing needs of the workforce. Graduate employability is the ability of a student to find a job following completion of studies and graduation. More specifically, it is the degree to which students can use their skills and knowledge to find work.