So You Want To Study After School (Part 1)

A good idea!  All research shows that school-leavers who have gone on to study, are more likely to find employment, and are likely to earn more money once employed.  If finding a job and earning more money are among your objectives, you're on the right track.

In South Africa, Apartheid has left a legacy in the education system which we will not outlive.  It will affect you and your descendants.  So, you would probably be better off preparing for that reality.  

The legacy which I mention above means that in 2013 we have 23 public universities and universities of technology, offering a range of higher certificates, diplomas and degrees.  There are also foreign universities operating in the country, and a range of private education institutions, which I will mention a bit more in a future post.  The 23 institutions include traditional universities, offering mainly degree programmes, and former technikons, offering national diplomas, and going on to degree qualifications at Bachelor and postgraduate level.  In addition, there are comprehensive universities, such as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, which offer the complete spectrum of qualifications.

So, with so many options, what are the problems?  Two spring to mind immediately, and I believe that school-leavers and their parents should be aware of them, and plan for them.

1. The legacy factor

Researchers speak of historically advantaged, and historically disadvantaged public institutions.  Whatever you may call them, the values associated with these institutions are deeply rooted in the South African public psyche.  There are, of course, good reasons for this.  Rural disadvantaged institutions were established to educate black South Africans.  The many areas of their relative disadvantage included  smaller budgets, remote locations, and less qualified academic staff.  In addition, they had few international connections and little collaboration, virtually no diversity in their student population, and could only charge modest fees.  As a result of this and many other factors, they are generally considered less attractive than their urban counterparts.

In 2013, therefore, institutions such as the University of Limpopo still attract predominantly poor black students.  This, in itself, is not a problem.  In other words, the fact that mainly poor students apply for admission to these institutions may result in benefits such as more affordable study options closer to home, but it's the converse effect that proves to be the problem: urban school-leavers will hardly consider having a poor, rural institutions with little international reputation as their alma mater.  This creates a domino effect of other problems, such as the one below.

2. Capacity limits

Urban, historically advantaged institutions in South Africa cannot accommodate all school-leavers who would like to attend them, and graduate from them.  In addition, this capacity issue is exacerbated by the fact that academically stronger applicants gravitate to just a handful of institutions.  Therefore, in order to have bums on seats, outlying institutions have to accept 'walk-ins', and settle for far lower admission criteria.  In January 2013, The New Age, a South African newspaper, reported that urban institutions received anything from 6 to 10 applicants per place.  However,the Central University of Technology in the centre of the country reported only 1 application for every 2 places.  This trend persists year in and year out.  The effect: more and more constrained capacity, and higher and higher achievers not getting into the programmes of their choice (watch out for this issue in a future post!).

There are many other challenges to entering higher education, and I'll deal with them in time to come.  For now, thanks or reading, and follow me if you wish: @carlwherman