Higher education access in South Africa for students with criminal records

The post-1994 South African democratic State has been successful in reconfiguring the national higher education system from one based on racial divide to a more inclusive regime1. While access has improved tremendously, there are still challenges which include: student success; funding; unemployed graduates; and infrastructure to accommodate growing student numbers, etc.2 These challenges are better illustrated by the 2015-2016 #FessMustFall student protests.3 Nixon expounded on the role of higher education institutions in a modern society as follows.