With many students considering overseas study, Brent Morris, Managing Director of Study Abroad for Sable International, advises parents to prioritise post-graduate study for their children as a more affordable option. In an interview with BizNews, Morris explained that this pathway often leads to higher employment success, as postgraduate students typically exhibit greater determination, achieve higher pass rates, and possess valuable work experience. Morris also highlighted more affordable alternatives for students seeking their first degrees, such as attending UK university campuses in locations like Mauritius and Dubai. Despite the recent introduction of visa requirements for South African and Botswana students by Ireland, he emphasised that the United Kingdom remains a reliable international destination for students, even with a change in government. Sable International will host 15 to 20 universities from the UK, Australia, Canada, and Ireland at events in September across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Stellenbosch, all eager to attract South African students.
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Extended transcript of the interview
Linda van Tilburg (00:13.215)
I am Linda van Tilburg for BizNews. It’s that time of the year again when students aspiring to study abroad and their parents need to start making plans, and who better to guide us through what this process involves than Brent Morris, the Managing Director of Study Abroad for Sable International. He can tell us about the universities that are coming to South Africa to look for students.
Linda van Tilburg (00:43.094)
So, can we start first of all, before we get to what is happening in South Africa? What does the international landscape look like now? Can we start with Ireland, because they now suddenly want visas for South African students.
Brent Morris (00:56.654)
Unfortunately, yes. It’s been coming for a while. We’ve known about it. Our university partners have been speaking about this for a bit. There have been, I want to say, for lack of a better word, grumbles within the immigration side about South Africa and Botswana being the only countries in Africa that don’t require a visa to go to Ireland. They’ve been discussing it for a while, so it was expected.
So, we’re not shocked that it happened. What has surprised us is how they did it. The way that they implemented it caused a bit of panic for us. The lack of notice and the speed at which we had to get things going created a bit of trauma for some of our students. Fortunately for us, we’ve been doing this for a while and we don’t only work in South Africa, so we’ve helped students from all over Africa get visas to Ireland very successfully. We’ve never had any issues with it. So, it’s not that it’s a challenge to do; it’s just another hurdle now that students need to overcome. We were just very lucky that we knew what to do when it happened, even with the short notice.
Linda van Tilburg (02:07.66)
The UK’s new Labour government has indicated that international students are welcome. So, what are the opportunities and changes to UK rules? Are there any changes?
Brent Morris (02:18.829)
As it stands, there are no changes, which is actually positive because the previous UK government conducted what was called the MAC (the independent Migration Advisory Committee) review over the past 12 months, assessing whether the graduate visa— which allows students to stay back for two years after graduating in the UK—was impacting immigration. This visa is really important for our students. Once they’ve studied and graduated from their programme, they can remain in the UK and look for a job. They have two years to do this and have all the rights of a local citizen.
The issue was that the government wanted to see whether this was affecting immigration. What they determined through the MAC review was that it didn’t have a significant impact on immigration. In fact, it had a positive net outcome for the country from a skills shortage perspective, etc. So, what the new Labour government has done, now that they’re in power, is act quite quickly in reconfirming that they agree with the MAC review and that they will keep the graduate visa, which for us, again, is fantastic. It means students studying in the UK can stay back and work once they graduate, which we think is really important. From there, we have the ability to help students transition to skilled visas and even nationality if that is their choice. We have a great team in the UK who can facilitate the process all the way through, which we find really beneficial for our students.
So, we’re quite excited about the UK being a great option and maintaining it as a positive choice for students who are going to study now. When they graduate, nothing will change. The nice thing about the UK is once they make a rule, they typically don’t change it for a student currently in the process. So, if a student enrols this year, historically, they haven’t changed the rules for students already engaged. We like to think that this will happen in the future; students starting now will receive the same postgraduate rights as those under current rules. This is what we’ve seen in the past, so we’re optimistic that students going now will get the graduate visa.
Linda van Tilburg (04:36.296)
I see some UK universities offer discounts for South Africans if you go to their campus, was it in Dubai?
Brent Morris (04:45.661)
Yes, a number of universities are now opening campuses offshore. We’ve seen UK campuses open up in Dubai and Mauritius. There’s Middlesex in Mauritius, which is a fantastic campus, and in Malaysia as well. This allows our students to study at a lower cost while still obtaining a UK university degree. They can earn the same qualification at these campuses, which are often run in partnership with local providers and the university. Then, once they graduate, they receive the same quality degree they would have gotten in the UK. It really opens up opportunities. Students could also study for two years there and then finish their final year in the UK, still qualifying for that graduate visa if they wish to remain in the UK and take that degree there.
Linda van Tilburg (05:36.693)
You’ve got a big event coming soon, so can you give us more details about that?
Brent Morris (05:42.79)
Yes, we’re very excited! We’ll have a number of universities from the UK, Australia, Canada, and Ireland joining us—who am I forgetting? There are also a couple of other smaller European countries coming out too. We’re expecting around 15 to 20 universities in South Africa. It’s happening in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Stellenbosch, so we’re covering most of the major regions.
I can list the dates and times if you’d like, which would really help you get the full locations:
– Our first event starts in Pretoria during the week of the 2nd of September, from 1 o’clock until 7 o’clock at Centurion Country Club.
– Then we move on to Johannesburg on Tuesday, the 3rd of September, from 1 PM until 7 PM at Beaulieu College, which is a private school.
– Next, we head down to Durban in KZN, again at the same times, 1 o’clock until 7 o’clock at Redham House in Ballito.
– Finally, we will move to Stellenbosch from 1 o’clock until 6 o’clock at the Protea Hotel.
Linda van Tilburg (06:56.891)
So generally, for South Africans wanting to study abroad, do they have to do extra qualifications, or is our matric sufficient?
Brent Morris (07:04.677)
It depends on where and what they want to study, as well as the country they’re going to. Some European countries require a 13th year, as our school level currently only goes up to year 12. As we all know, Matric is our national senior certificate. If you study the local CAPS qualification or your IB, it ends at year 12. Some European countries will require a 13th year, and there are some UK universities that require a 13th year or A- level equivalent programme or an IB if you’re studying in Europe. However, most universities will accept your NSC or matric qualifications; it just depends on the grades.
We’re very confident that if you’ve only completed matric and wish to go to the UK, for example—unless you’re aiming for Oxford, Cambridge, or other specific programs like Imperial College or LSE—most universities will accept matric. You may need higher grades or to participate in a foundation programme to enter the year before your intended course. So, there are plenty of options. It’s definitely not a dead end if you’ve only completed your NSC.
If you’re interested in studying in Canada or the USA, they accept the NSC, the same as Australia, with no issues. There are merely a few European and UK countries that would require A-levels, including Ireland. It depends on the programme and what you want to study. Often, they might add a fourth year to accommodate the missing year. So, there are lots of opportunities for students wishing to study with just that qualification.
Linda van Tilburg (08:50.297)
I know some universities require specific entrance exams; for example, for law, you might need to sit an exam, which provides another path for getting in if you achieve a good mark.
Brent Morris (09:05.373)
It depends on the country. The exam you’re thinking of for law, which is the LSAT, is only applicable in the USA and comes after you’ve completed your undergraduate degree. So, it’s not relevant for the UK or Australia, where you can go straight into a law degree from your matric or A-levels, depending on what you’ve studied.
There are also excellent programmes available if you’ve completed an undergraduate degree in South Africa, for example, in business, and you want to transition to law. You can pursue what’s known as a conversion degree, which typically lasts a year or two, depending on your prior studies. For instance, at the University of Law in the UK, there’s a fantastic two-year programme that allows you to switch to a law degree that culminates in an honours degree. From there, you can study a master’s in Law (LLM) and sit your board exam if that’s your goal. So, it’s a shortcut into the legal field.
In most countries, you don’t need to take additional exams to study law. Medicine, however, is a different story; some UK universities may require additional courses or tests for entry into medicine, but many universities no longer require that. In the US, you must complete an undergraduate degree and then take an exam to apply for medical school. There are numerous medical schools worldwide that don’t require extra exams for admission. You can even proceed straight from matric or your NSC into these medical schools.
Linda van Tilburg (10:46.705)
Well, the big concern for many parents considering this option is the cost. Can we discuss what it costs to send your child to study overseas?
Brent Morris 10:56.832)
Absolutely, and this can indeed be a challenge, which is why we always advise students or parents to start planning early. The earlier you plan, the better it will be for you because it is going to be financially burdensome. The costs can be considerably higher than studying at a South African university, for example.
However, we do have some fantastic options. As I mentioned earlier, Mauritius offers UK university degrees with tuition around $7,000 which, when converted to Rands, is manageable. The cost of living there is also relatively low compared to larger countries like the UK. So, students can study there and live affordably. There are great stay-back options upon graduation as well, given that they are a growing economy seeking skilled employees, especially in major STEM fields like science and engineering.
In Dubai, you can work whilst studying, so there are ways to offset some of your costs while you pursue your qualification. You can study at night and work during the day, thereby obtaining excellent career prospects due to the numerous job opportunities available in those countries.
When we look at major countries like the UK, Australia, and the USA, you’re generally looking at costs in the UK ranging from £10,000 to £25,000 for a typical undergraduate programme. For post-graduate programmes, the range is about £15,000 to £25,000. This is why, when most parents approach us in a panic, exclaiming that they can’t afford to send their child to the UK, we advise them to reconsider. They often believe studying there is the best option for their child’s future career.
What we suggest is, why not consider completing your undergraduate studies here in South Africa? Our universities are still excellent and highly ranked, delivering great degrees. You could study your three-year undergraduate qualification here, then pursue your honours degree in the UK for your final honours programme. If you complete your honours here, you could then work on your master’s overseas. Additionally, master’s programmes are typically one year long, allowing you to qualify for the graduate visa.
This approach means instead of saving up for three to four years overseas, you’re only planning for one. We’re seeing more students opting for postgraduate studies abroad. We work across the continent, assisting over a thousand students annually to study internationally, and most of these students are actually postgraduate candidates. We find that students pursuing post-graduate studies are generally more determined, have higher pass rates, and have a better chance of securing employment because they possess some work experience and a clearer understanding of their career direction.
They engage in specialist courses, making them more attractive to companies looking for experience. They’re significantly more likely to be considered for positions compared to someone who has just completed an undergraduate degree.
Thus, the postgraduate route tends to be more straightforward and offers a clearer pathway for many. At the undergraduate level, there are also excellent programmes in the UK that come with sponsorship opportunities. It’s definitely not a closed-door situation, but we increasingly see higher success rates for students going the postgraduate route.
This pathway tends to be more affordable too, making it a clearer option for South African students, especially given that we have such high-quality universities that offer some of the most affordable education globally, especially considering the quality being provided. This can serve as a springboard into a final year or master’s programme abroad.
Linda van Tilburg (14:55.274)
Well, Brent Morris, thank you so much for all this information. We will post the dates on the website as well, so if people want to reach out to you, they can. Thanks for speaking with us.
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