Failing tertiary education system

New research has shown that just a fraction of South African students who matriculated two years ago have pursued tertiary education.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) found that only 14 percent of learners who wrote the Senior Certificate Examination (Grade 12) in 2001 enrolled in higher education institutions the following year.

The study was a sequel to Phase 1 of the Student Choice Behaviour project conducted in 2001, which showed that 60 percent of learners aspired to enter higher education the year after Grade 12, and 74 percent had hoped to do so within three years of the survey.

Michael Cosser, principle author of the report, told IRIN the low enrolment rate was due to a "combination of factors".

"Very often the combination of subjects ... students choose prevents them from entering university or technical colleges. In rural areas, for example, some subjects are not taught at all, which means that Grade 12 learners at those schools are automatically excluded from accessing higher studies," Cosser said.

While poor results were the main reason students failed to gain access to graduate programmes, financial constraints also hampered entry.

"Indeed, the National Financial Aid Scheme has been helpful, especially for young students from impoverished homes, but often even these students drop out of their studies because of additional financial burdens. While the scheme may provide for tuition fees, living expenses are fairly high," Cosser noted.

The average cost of pursuing a four-year undergraduate programme at a South African university ranges between Rand 14,000 to R18,000 per annum (US $2,150 to $2,750), plus residence fees of around R22,000 (US $3,360).

Cosser noted that most learners who received financial aid were from households earning less than R3,500 (US $535) per month.

"Although many students may want to pursue their studies after school, they simply cannot because of the pressure they are under to find employment to support the family when they finish high school. So, even though a student may be academically suitable to undertake higher education, he is forced to abandon that dream due to financial concerns," Cosser noted.

The HSRC study showed that black and coloured (mixed-race) students were under-represented in tertiary enrolment in relation to their representation in the population of 15 to 24-year-olds in the country, whereas Indians and whites were over-represented.

"While higher education institutions have made great strides in redressing racial imbalances in student enrolments, these figures suggest that there is still a lot more work for them to do in ensuring that enrolment trends reflect the broader demographics of the country," said Cosser.

The HSRC report urged authorities to improve the quality of teacher training, noting "a serious lack of adequately trained teachers".

Cosser said inadequate teacher training had often resulted in the poor performance of students during the final year exams.

"A culture of learning needs to be encouraged, which does not mean that students need to work harder - parents, teachers and whole communities need to be roped into the process, which places a premium on education and its benefits," he added.

National and provincial authorities were also encouraged to invest more money per learner. This, according to Cosser, would "contribute significantly in boosting university enrolments and subsequently improving much needed professional skills" in South Africa.