The performance of higher education research in South Africa: a post-2004 synthesis

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the performance of higher education research in South Africa, since the introduction of the New Funding Formula in 2004. The analysis includes both accredited publication research outputs from peer-reviewed articles and books and master’s and doctoral research outputs (based on the number of graduates). The study also compares the research publication outputs produced by South African researchers with those produced by researchers from other countries. The study shows that there has been an overall increase in both masters’ and doctoral graduates, since the introduction of the New Funding Framework (NFF) in 2004. Similarly, there has been an increase in the number of publications from South African public universities, since the onset of the NFF. The study also finds that, although South Africa’s research publication outputs have increased significantly since 2004, the country’s research publication output growth is still much lower than those reported in countries, such as China, India and Brazil during the same period. This paper, therefore, recommends that further studies should be done in order to ascertain whether the recent increase in higher education research outputs from South Africa is as a result of the country’s NFF; or it is just a common research trend in the current world of knowledge.