SOUTH AFRICA, Mixed signals at the doors of higher education

A central feature of South Africa’s 1955 Freedom Charter was that, “The doors of learning and culture shall be opened – Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit”. Implementing this laudable goal has been much more challenging than the charter’s authors ever imagined.

In January 2012 at the University of Johannesburg, Gloria Sekwena – a mother accompanying her son who was applying for a place – was trampled to death in a stampede of 7,000 applicants.



In trying to explain the disaster, Vice-chancellor Ihron Rensburg referred to the Freedom Charter in justifying the institution’s well-intended access policy of allowing ‘walk-ins’. This year, with no walk-ins, Metro police cars patrolled the gates of the campus to prevent another queue and stampede.
While the doors of learning might be open, they are heavily guarded.
Was the cause of the 2012 tragedy simply a supply-and-demand problem, as the vice-chancellor implied? Unfortunately, the root cause is much more complex.

First, the reason that many students had not applied in time could be because, based on the results of ‘trial’ school-leaving exams in September, they had not expected to qualify for university admission. But final national exam ‘inflation’ suddenly put them in the university market.

Second, it seems that whereas the old ‘school guidance’ curriculum was focused on assisting students to apply for university admission, the new ‘life skills’ programme seems to be more about life and less about skills.

Third, it could be argued that the chaotic arrival at the university gates of prospective candidates has to do with confusing signals about admission requirements, and the availability of learning opportunities.

This, in turn, is the result of structural confusion in a post-school system in transition.

The big picture

What does opening the doors of learning in higher education look like in the bigger picture?

In 2012 there were 647,000 Grade 12 candidates, 511,000 sat the final school-leaving National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam – called ‘matric’ – and 377,000 passed. On a positive note, this was a pass rate of 73.9% – up from 70.2% in 2011 and 60.6% in 2009.

However, it should also be noted that the percentage of candidates who did not write the final exam rose from 12.3% (68,000) in 2009 to 21% (138,000) in 2012 – almost a doubling of the number of drop-outs from the system.

A major point of confusion – among prospective students, their parents and even the media – arises in trying to figure out who among the successful ‘matric’ candidates are eligible to apply for which higher education qualifications in which types of institution.

First, it must be highlighted that, unlike in most other countries where higher education refers broadly to post-school education and includes a variety of institutional types, in South Africa following mergers instigated by then education minister Kader Asmal in 2002, higher education refers specifically to some kind of university: a traditional university, a comprehensive university, or a university of technology.

Second, the further education and training (FET) sector is still in the process of making the transition from the provincial school system to the national Department of Higher Education and Training.

As such, there is still no clearly defined post-secondary school college sector. And the private university and college sector is very small and restricted, with unclear selection criteria beyond the ability to pay.

Third, there is lack of clarity about what the NSC actually provides entry to. A 2005 ministerial statement declared that it is the minimum entry requirement to a university.

In particular, the NSC – which has different combinations of subjects and levels of achievement – provides admission to a higher certificate, diploma or bachelor degree at a university.

Since universities, comprehensive universities and universities of technology can – and in many cases do – offer all three of these qualification types, it means that legally, all students who attain an NSC qualify at minimum to attend a university.

But whether applicants are actually accepted or not is ultimately determined by individual universities, where often the requirements are not clearly stated – and especially not the level of achievement.