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A stampede broke out Tuesday as thousands tried to enrol at a Johannesburg university, leaving one person dead and at least one critically injured, the Sapa news agency said.
“There was a person that was deceased,” said University of Johannesburg spokesman Herman Esterhuizen, adding a media briefing would be held at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) to give details on the incident.
The university closed applications for the rest of the day, the eNews TV channel reported.
More than 180,000 high school graduates are expected to be turned away from South Africa’s nine top universities this year, despite a promise by Education Minister Blade Nzimande last year to make more space, the Times newspaper said Tuesday.
About 74,000 students will be turned away from the University of Johannesburg this year. Last year, the university processed 85,000 applications for 11,000 first-year spots.
Aspiring students had been queuing outside the university since the early hours of Monday hoping to submit late applications. Many had brought umbrellas and chairs and camped there overnight, local media reported.