Sunday Times Editorial: TRADITIONALLY, a university education has been viewed by South Africans as a sure way to a bright future - guaranteeing a well-paying job and, truth be told, some social prestige. No wonder, then, that parents go to great lengths to ensure their children attain such an education: working harder, cutting back on luxuries, praying more.

Similarly, school going children spend their educational lives aiming at nothing but getting that coveted university admission.

Nothing wrong with such a goal, however all-consuming.

But, as many commentators have pointed out in the wake of this week's tragic stampede at the University of Johannesburg - when a parent who had been part of long queues hoping to secure a place for her son was crushed to death, another was left critically ill in hospital and many were injured - such an overemphasis on university education is unhealthy and one-sided. Apart from creating undue desperation among matriculants, it places a huge burden on the country's few universities.

Unfortunately, there's no corresponding stress on vocational education after matric, as offered by further education and training (FET) colleges. Yet our society sorely needs engineers, welders, carpenters and many others whose skills are taught at these colleges. We do not have a shortage of unemployed anthropologists and historians.

It follows that a scheme could be set up encouraging companies to employ FET graduates to give them valuable experience; while putting their skills to the test, they would earn money right away. These skilled youngsters could later start their own companies and, in turn, create employment for others.

Universities do not have space for all matriculants, even if they are physically expanded. But FET colleges need to demonstrate that they offer the vocational qualifications the economy needs. If they can do this, their stature would surely increase. At the moment not all of them are fully functional, and some staffed with poorly equipped lecturers.

It's not entirely their fault, for our government's approach to education is terribly fragmented, akin to coaches of a train that are uncoupled from one another. If you end up at an FET college, there's no way to use the qualification earned there towards an academic education at a later stage in your life. We have two streams of higher education with no bridge between them. Maybe we don't envision a motor mechanic waxing lyrical about Bach's symphonies or a carpenter coming to grips with the theory of relativity.

Serious work needs to be done to make FET colleges functional and more attractive to matriculants - and allow career guidance teachers to recommend them with confidence. It would certainly ease pressure on universities. No one needs die for this to happen.