Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande on Monday said that tertiary institutions would start the 2021 academic year after the release of the matric results.
Universities across the country are set to reopen in mid-March.
Nzimande assured first-year students that they would be afforded enough time to enrol for the 2021 academic year.
Nzimande also said that the department would work closely with institutions in preparing the system for the opening.
The Higher Education sector has so far recorded over 1,500 students who have tested positive for COVID-19, 48 staff members have died and 10 students succumbed to the virus.