More public and private contenders in race to train vets

A third public university has entered the race to establish another veterinary school in South Africa, which is experiencing a shortage of veterinarians and veterinary nurses.

University World News reported recently on the race to establish a second veterinary school in South Africa – a country that relies solely on the University of Pretoria (UP) to train its veterinarians.

At that stage, attention centred on the University of Fort Hare (UFH) and the University of the Free State (UFS).

The University of South Africa (UNISA), has also entered the contest, while the identity of the previously unnamed private player has been revealed as Bronberg Veterinary School. These new entrants must still secure approval, but their entries underline both the urgency and the complexity of expanding South Africa’s veterinary training capacity.

Pressing national need

The shortage of veterinarians is widely seen as a national crisis, with implications for food security, rural economies and public health.

According to the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), South Africa has only about 68 veterinarians per million citizens, far below the international benchmark of 200-400. But, according to the profession’s representative body, the South African Veterinary Association (SAVA), the picture is even bleaker: it estimates that the country has only about 48 actively working veterinarians per million people.

The SAVC estimates that the country must double the number of veterinarians and quadruple veterinary nurses. Yet, only 150 veterinarians and 30 veterinary nurses graduate annually from Onderstepoort, and attrition rates are high. Each year, the council issues around 170 letters of good standing to professionals seeking to work abroad – nearly equal to the annual graduate output.

Dr Paul van der Merwe, acting managing director of SAVA, said previously that the reasons vets leave include burnout, poor working conditions and disillusionment.

“There’s no point opening the tap wider if we don’t fix the leaks,” he had told University World News.

Nevertheless, on the supply side, higher education institutions are lining up to increase the number of vets entering the profession.

First movers

UFH raised its hand as far back as 2018. It has since established a veterinary science steering committee and identified land on its Alice campus for a vet school. Senate and Council approvals are pending. The project has strong political backing, but funding questions remain.

UFS announced in June that it intends to build a veterinary faculty in Bloemfontein, complete with a new academic hospital. The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has given it in-principle approval to proceed, noting that UFS’s ability to co-fund strengthens its case.

A new facility will be built

UNISA claims it already enrols nearly a third of all of South Africa’s students, and describes itself as the largest open distance learning institution in Africa and the longest-standing dedicated distance education university in the world.

Now, it is “stepping up to one of the country’s most urgent challenges – the critical shortage of veterinarians, especially in rural, peri-urban and under-resourced communities,” the institution confirmed in a statement to University World News.

The university said it intends establishing a purpose-built veterinary school on a farm near Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria, complete with academic facilities, a clinic and an animal hospital.

Six veterinarians and two veterinary technicians have already been appointed, with two senior professors of veterinary science to follow this year. Three external vets are leading the feasibility study and will prepare applications to the DHET and the SAVC.

UNISA also says it is forging international links. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Bristol in the UK and will send a delegation to the University of Namibia (UNAM) in September to strengthen regional partnerships.

A draft curriculum has already been developed, and UNISA says it will “reimagine” veterinary training for accessibility and responsiveness to rural and under-resourced communities.

“As a leading open distance learning institution with a track record of innovation and reach, UNISA is uniquely positioned to expand the training pipeline in ways that traditional institutions cannot,” its college of agriculture and environmental sciences noted.

Yet, several questions remain. UNISA has not explained how a purpose-built campus aligns with its statutory identity as a distance-learning university. Nor is it clear exactly how the school would implement a blended model – with some coursework online and practical training on site.

Funding is also uncertain: unlike UFS, which reportedly has confirmed resources, UNISA has not said whether financing is secured, or what the estimated cost might be. Neither has it given a time frame for submitting applications or receiving the possible go-ahead.

Private upstart

While three public universities are making moves, a private group has also entered the fray. In Pretoria East, veterinarians at the Valley Farm Animal Hospital are pressing ahead with their plans to establish the Bronberg Veterinary School.

Dr Tim Krafft told University World News that preliminary discussions with the SAVC confirmed there would be no statutory barrier to a private veterinary school, citing precedent in other accredited institutions.

Equine-Librium College in Plettenberg Bay offers a BSc in veterinary physiotherapy with all the necessary accreditation.

The Bronberg initiative, led by Krafft and colleagues Dr Gareth Zeiler, Dr Etienne Basson and Chris Coetzee, was motivated by “a worrying lack of capacity in the South African and international veterinary training sphere”.

At the same time, Krafft said, the initiative draws on Valley Farm’s established record: “We are unique as a private veterinary facility in that we have a strong belief in training veterinary specialists – both vets and vet nurses.”

Bronberg’s proposed model draws on “new international thinking,” which will balance face-to-face teaching with self-study, and draw on “best-of-type” lecturers locally and abroad through live and recorded sessions.

Novel teaching aids such as digital anatomy and surgical platforms, and virtual reality tools would reduce the need for costly facilities. Practical training would be provided through paid placements at eight veterinary hospitals nationwide.

The school plans to start with 35 students, eventually rising to 50, selected on academic, leadership and veterinary exposure criteria. Its intended degree must still undergo accreditation, a process expected to take about three years once funding is secured. A non-profit company, Veterinary Education, Training and Specialisation (VETS), is being set up to manage governance and finance.

Balancing act

The SAVC, which regulates training standards under the Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, says it is engaging with all interested institutions to ensure compliance.

“Even if a new faculty is introduced soon, it will be several years before new veterinary graduates are produced. We need to boost the number of veterinarians and veterinary nurses sooner, especially in the rural areas where there is the greatest need,” SAVC President Dr Nandipha Ndudane warned in a media statement in March.

Global recognition, regional mobility

According to the SAVC, South African veterinary qualifications remain internationally respected. UP’s BVSc degree is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the UK and the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council in Australia and New Zealand.

In July, the SAVC signed a landmark agreement with the Namibian Veterinary Council – the first of its kind in Africa – allowing automatic recognition of UP and UNAM degrees. Facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the deal is seen as a step toward broader SADC integration and professional mobility.

Red tape and retention

Among the few foreign-trained vets hoping to practise in South Africa, only about a dozen apply each year. Bureaucratic hurdles are a major barrier.

The council has called for the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to reduce delays in issuing critical skills visas for veterinarians and veterinary nurses.

While there is no formal ‘amnesty’ for foreign-qualified professionals, the SAVC has clarified that it allows temporary authorisation under supervision for up to two years while preparing for board exams. The arrangement can be renewed under strict conditions but is not a substitute for full registration.

Meanwhile, efforts are under way to strengthen related professions. An initiative supported by the FAO is helping animal health technicians establish themselves as rural service providers.

Ten laboratory animal technologists recently completed United Kingdom-based exams with SAVC support, bringing the national total to 23.

Momentum, but long timelines

Taken together, these developments reflect both urgency and uncertainty.

The bottleneck of a single training facility might ease in future, with three public universities and one private consortium now actively pursuing veterinary schools. But infrastructure, accreditation, staffing and funding hurdles mean that the additional graduates South Africa needs might not emerge for several years.

The SAVC welcomes the momentum but warns against cutting corners. “The establishment of a second veterinary faculty has been a long time coming,” Registrar Mongezi Menye said. But he argued the process cannot be rushed if South Africa is to preserve the quality of its training and the international recognition of its qualifications.

Whether additional South African vets train in Bloemfontein, Alice, Bronkhorstspruit or Pretoria East in future, the question seems to no longer be whether new schools are needed – but how to build a resilient, responsive system that can keep graduates working where they are needed most.