. NIHE was launched in June 2003 to provide higher education programmes in the Northern Cape. A selection of programmes offered under agreement with four partner institutions namely; University of the Free State, North West University, Central University of Technology and Vaal University of Technology. The delivery sites were in Kimberley and Upington. . NIHE also had pipeline students of the University of South Africa (UNISA) and University of Western Cape. . The Institute had management and administrative component and no academic personnel because its duty was only to coordinate educational programmes. . The Institute did not have its own educational programmes but entered into partnerships with institutions of higher learning to offer programmes. . The Institute together with partner institutions delivered programmes that responded to socio-economic needs of the province. . The agreement with the partner institutions placed the responsibilities on the Institute to; select programmes to be offered in the Institute, recruit and screen students based on admission requirements of the partner institutions, provide library and information services, student accommodation and student support services. . The total number of students enrolled for the current academic year was 1562. The successes of the Institute included; established structure, policies, growth in staff and student numbers, installation of solar geyser in the residence and community involvement. The challenges included; inadequate classroom space, inadequate library facilities, no sustained presence of academic staff and uneven supply of electricity at Galeshewe Campus. The inadequate academic support resulted in low throughput rates. . The allocation from the Department for 2013/14 was R28 million, the total estimated expenditure for 2013/14 was R36 million. Other sources of income of the Institute included; lease agreements, administration costs, student income and interest. . Students paid residence fee of R3000 per annum which was not sufficient to cater for all their residence related demands. . There were uncertainties regarding the future of NIHE in relation to the establishment of a new university. The Institute had already lost staff members due to the uncertainties. . Library service support to students was inadequate due to lack of library personnel. Some of the textbooks in the library were outdated and the Institute did not get financial assistance from partner institutions to purchase latest ones. The library operated during working hours and students had no access to library service after working hours. . NIHE was not receiving part of the subsidy from the partner institutions and that made it difficult to expand the library and student support services.