Thousands of first-year students and their families filled the University of Pretorias Hillcrest campus on Saturday as the institution officially welcomed at least 9,700 undergraduates for the start of the 2026 academic year.
Demand was particularly high for education and medical programmes, with 670 new students admitted to the bachelor of education in senior phase and FET teaching, 220 to the bachelor of education in intermediate phase teaching, and 240 to the bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery MBChB.
Vice-chancellor and principal Prof Francis Petersen congratulated the new cohort, praising their remarkable matric achievements and resilience. He told students they would be introduced to UPs hybrid teaching model, which combines online and contact learning.
