In the years that have passed since the founding of Vereeniging's first public primary school, known today as Selborne, and the later establishment of the Afrikaans medium Laerskool Handhawer in 1924, the town's educational facilities have expanded to meet Vereeniging's rapidly expanding school going population. In 1960, more than 9,000 pupils attended the town's three high schools, the commercial and technical college and the town's nine primary schools. Today, Vereeniging has seven primary and two secondary schools for Afrikaans medium students, and two primary and one secondary school for English medium pupils. A school for retarded children provides instruction for pupils in both language media, and the Holy Rosary Convent at Three Rivers provides tuition up to matriculation.
  The total number of day pupils attending Provincial schools in Vereeniging now numbers 8,353 - of whom 5,935 are Afrikaans speaking and 2,418 English speaking. The commercial and technical college has a day enrolment of 253 pupils in the commercial section and 581 in the technical section.
  Apart from the Commercial and Technical College, a private commercial college has been established and post school courses are provided for artisans and technicians at the Vaal Triangle Technical College for Advanced Education.
  The establishment of the college was first mooted by Dr. J. J. van Tonder, inspector of schools for Vereeniging, who

approached school teacher and Town Councillor, Skippie Botha, with a suggestion that a university should be established in Vereeniging. Botha supported the scheme and requested van Tonder to submit the proposal to the Town Council. In 1963, the Council appointed Mayor Chris Jacobs and Councillors Skippie Botha and John Swanepoel to investigate the scheme; and to obtain the support of the local Member of Parliament and the local Member of the Provincial Council, the sub­committee approached the issue on a broad regional basis. The Municipalities of Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg, Meyerton and Residensia were invited to send delegates to a meeting subsequently held at the Municipal offices in Vereeniging. Botha was appointed chairman of the action committee elected to pursue the proposal at Government level. However, the then Minister of Education declined the proposal stating that no more universities were planned at the time. The Minister, nevertheless, approved of an alternative scheme: the establishment of a college of slightly lower status. Subsequently, the college was built on a 70-morgen riverside site situated in Van­derbijlpark abutting on the western boundary of Vereeniging.
  The councillors of the present Management Committee, Skippie Botha, John Swanepoel and Hendrik Engelbrecht, are to meet representatives of Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg and Meyerton to form once again an Action Committee to have the