South African universities had limited expertise and interest in improving primary school teaching, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Friday.

"It is worth reflecting that not one South African university has a chair in primary education, and most spend little energy on teaching students to teach reading, writing or numeracy. They also conduct little research in these areas," he said at the University of Johannesburg.

This was because of the legacy of the past, with most training of primary school teachers done at training colleges which had since closed.

Nzimande said that despite evidence on the benefits of mother-tongue instruction, many universities were closing down and cutting back on their African language departments.

While he acknowledged that this could be the result of resource problems, he said it was a problem needing attention.

Nzimande noted that about three-million South Africans between the ages of 18 and 24 were unemployed and not receiving education and training.

"These are all recent school leavers whose needs the universities, as institutions serving the public good, must assist in meeting, in addition to those in the same age group, who are already students or workers."

Universities could help by boosting access to their institutions for young people and include those who "may not find their way to university by the conventional route, but who have the potential to succeed.

"It must be admitted, though, that increasing access to higher education, while it may make a big difference in the lives of some students and help to increase the skilled labour pool somewhat, will not make an enormous impact on expanding the opportunities of the underprivileged," he said.

Opportunities for the youth needed to come from colleges.

Nzimande hoped the social sciences would gain the status and importance they enjoyed in the past.

They played an important role in preparing the youth for their futures and for contributing to their communities and society, he said.