Tens of thousands of matriculants who studied hard to get a university degree will be disappointed this year, due to many rejections from public universities that cannot meet the need for places.
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Blade Nzimande, speaking to the media on the readiness of education and technical and vocational training (Tvet) colleges and universities for the academic year 2023, said that the first year enrollment has been projected at 208 299 nationally.
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“The overall enrollment in the public university sector for the academic year 2023 is projected to provide 1.1 million spaces, an additional 41 545,” he said. “This is what it is [increase] of 1.07 million in the 2022 academic year.
With more than 830 000 students having passed matric last year, there are concerns about the number of people able to access higher education.
First participant
According to the chief executive of the University of South Africa Dr Pethiwe Matutu, the estimated number of places available for first admission in public universities is 196 324.
“To begin with, universities, in particular, use different and unique admission point values to accept applications.
“When we look at the number of applications in universities, they only determine the demand for higher education because one student can apply to 10 universities,” said Matutu.
“A better determinant of supply and demand is the number of qualified graduates. In this case, we have 278 815 graduates and 197 357 diplomas.
Professor Khehla Ndlovu, vice-chancellor at the University of South Africa (Unisa) for strategy, risk and advisory services, reiterated what Matutu said and noted that the higher education sector can only accommodate one million students per year, excluding colleges and training further.
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“Even though every year there is [about] R2 billion was set aside for the development of infrastructure, the infrastructure has not always taken into account new students,” he said.
Ndlovu said this is likely to worsen and add to the youth unemployment rate if it remains unaddressed.
South Africans need to be creative with job creation to ensure that those who are only taking places in institutions of higher learning make it into the system.
According to a recent report, the University of the Witwatersrand received over 100 000 applications with only 6 000 first year places available.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal announced that it has 8 500 places available. However, 250 000 applicants have applied, while the University of Johannesburg has about 10 500 openings.
The University of Cape Town received 51 000 first year applications. with only 4 200 spaces available.
Tvet colleges
Nzimande urged students to also consider Tvet colleges because “we have started to consider blended learning mode as an alternative to accommodate more students”.
“The registration of the number of our Tvet school principals for the year 2023 is 497 032 for the program approved by the minister,” he said.
“Additional 59 383 enrollment headcount for programs funded through other sources [brings] total Tvet enrollment planned for this academic year is 556 415.
“We recognize this figure is still lower than the enrollment plan of 2.5 million students in Tvet colleges in 2030 as described by the National Development Plan.
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“However, we are working hard on our plans to ensure that we accelerate the growth of the Tvet sector,” Nzimande said.
Matutu advised those who were rejected and unable to find a university place for their chosen program to consider Tvet colleges and the post-secondary education and training sector.
“Tvet colleges offer a variety of training at a high level of artisanship and trade,” she said.
“Many artisans and tradesmen in the industry are Tvet trained and doing well – proving Tvets provide a viable post-school learning option.
“In the post-school education and training sector, we also have private institutions. There are various options for these prospective students to choose from.