Back To School

South Africa’s listed education companies are riding out the pandemic. Are they worth investing in?

- Marcia Klein

While the pandemic severely disrupted the delivery of education across the world, listed education companies showed some resilience and their enrolments remained robust. However, their ability to increase fees and earn revenue from adjunct services were severely curtailed.

The ongoing need for private education in the face of public sector failure, limited places at public institutions, and the growth in online learning resulting from the pandemic continue to be the drivers of growth in this sector. In the year to end-December, which included nine months of lockdown, listed education companies ADvTECH, Curro and Stadio performed relatively well, but investors remain somewhat reticent due to continued uncertainty about further Covid waves and escalating affordability issues due to the economic slump.

Results