Varsities swamped

13 January 2014 - 02:03 By NASHIRA DAVIDS, KATHARINE CHILD, PREGA GOVENDER, PHILANi NOMBEMBE and SIPHO MASOMBUKA
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Blade Nzimande. File photo.
Blade Nzimande. File photo.

Tens of thousands of university hopefuls will not be accepted.

The deluge of applications occurs even though there is a shortage of matriculants with good maths and science marks.

The number of matrics who earned university passes increased from 136037 in 2012 to 171755 last year.

There are only 127827 places for first-year students at the 22 full-time universities.

  • 35500 matriculants have tried to get into Wits University, which admits 5500 first-year students;
  • 75000 people applied for one of 10500 first-year places at the University of Johannesburg;
  • 16000 applied to Stellenbosch University, which has 5000 places;
  • More than 25000 applications were received by Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela University, which admits 5800 first-years;
  • 40000 applied for one of 4000 places at the University of Western Cape;
     
  • 27435 people applied to the University of Cape Town for one of 4200 places. Some 19838 of the applicants were matriculants;
  • 16500 people applied for 6900 places at the University of the Free State; and
  • 80000 people applied for one of 14000 places at the Tshwane University of Technology.

The acting registrar at the Durban University of Technology, Thiru Pillay, said because space was limited, even applicants with university passes had to compete for admission.

The University of the Western Cape, too, said a university pass did not guarantee admission.

The director of admissions at UCT, Carl Herman, said the number of applicants was rising.

UCT received 2000 more applications from school leavers - for 4200 first-year places - than it did for study last year.

But not all those applying to universities have a university pass.

UWC spokesman Luthando Tyhalibongo said the university's automated system rejected 20000 of the 40000 applications immediately as they did not meet the criteria.

The government has opened two new universities to meet growing demand, but these are not yet functioning fully. The University of Mpumalanga, in Nelspruit, and Sol Plaatje University in Northern Cape are expected to register 240 and 124 students respectively this year.

Labour analyst Loane Sharpe said spending money on rural universities was a bad idea.

"How is the government going to get academics to live there?"

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande has urged youngsters to enrol at Further Education and Training colleges to develop practical skills and become artisans. But Sharpe said an analysis of Adcorp recruitment data showed matriculants without an FET qualification were more likely to get a job than those with an FET college qualification.

"It's a shocking statistic. The FET sector is in a shambles."

But Unisa education psychologist Ramodungoane Tabane said FET colleges were under-utilised.

"More attention needs to be given to FETs. They are being short- changed. Given a chance they can help to pull up South Africa in terms of artisans, which is what we need."

Celeste Nel, head of career advice, admissions and residence placement at Stellenbosch University, said though the number of pupils achieving university passes had increased, there was no significant increase in the number of matrics passing mathematics with 60% and more.

Achievement in gateway subjects such as maths was again the main reason matriculants failed to meet the requirements to study specific programmes at the university. To study towards a science, engineering or accounting degree, applicants need at least 60% for maths.

The increase in the top-achieving pool, from which universities draw their students, is therefore limited.

Of the 142666 matric pupils who wrote maths only 15.6% (22255) scored 60%.

And though eight universities received almost 57000 applications for study towards a teaching degree - for which there are only 5053 places - there is a shortage of matrics with maths passes. This means there are too few potential maths teachers.

The dean of education at the University of Pretoria, Irma Eloff, said: "In maths, science and African languages we still need to increase numbers substantially."

Sharpe said universities were not producing enough engineers, doctors and scientists.

"They are producing huge numbers [of graduates] in arts and social sciences, which are not needed in the workplace."

He said for the economy to grow, an annual increase of between 8% to 10% was needed in the numbers of legal, medical and financial professionals.

"But they grow between 0.1% and 2% annually." Tabane said: "The status quo will remain. Universities are going to remain for the elite as well as for students who have maths and science."

Christo Botes, executive director at Business Partners Limited, said matriculants who were not accepted to study at university should consider starting their own businesses.

"Instead of paying for your studies pay something towards a mentor,'' said Botes.

There are companies that provided mentors for potential entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is the heartbeat of our economy."

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