Every January, the media reports extensively on the desperate plight thousands of matriculants who have qualified for entry into a degree programme, yet can't enrol at a public university because of lack of space.
Every January, the media reports extensively on the desperate plight thousands of matriculants who have qualified for entry into a degree programme, yet can't enrol at a public university because of lack of space.
Universities will for the foreseeable future continue to accept only a fraction of applications. However, that does not mean affected matriculants have to give up on the dreams they had for their futures, an education expert says.
“There are many thousands of learners with exceptional results who did not land a space at a public university,” says Felicity Coughlan, Director of The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider.
Coughlan says while there is no doubt that South Africa needs more vocationally skilled people and that there should be growth in this sector, telling someone who wanted to pursue a degree in commerce or law to rather pursue a technical qualification is not the best or most helpful advice.
“Our current societal messaging tells young people that degrees are the only aspiration of any value, but the needs and ability of the individual must be taken into consideration. There can’t simply be a blanket re-routing to technical training.”
Coughlan says the advice currently being provided to these young people ignores the fact that their degree dreams can still become reality at the close to 120 registered private higher education institutions across the country – institutions subject to the same oversight as public universities, and whose qualifications are highly respected in the workplace.
“Many of these institutions, which by law may not call themselves private universities, offer high-quality degrees and are accessible to students who did not get in to the public sector institution of their choice.
“Furthermore, prospective students are increasingly opting for private higher education by choice because of throughput rates and small class-sizes among other factors. The perception that one only goes the private route if one’s results were not good enough to secure a space at a public university no longer holds.”
Coughlan points out that at credible private higher education institutions, one can study anything from professional accounting to business management, communication and law to education and computer science, as well as several exciting niche qualifications such as branding or game development at degree level.
“For almost two decades, SA has had a unitary quality assurance system for the accreditation of higher education institutions in both the public and private sector. It is only an artifice of law that prevents private institutions calling themselves private universities.
"This continues, even though private higher education institutions produce thousands of top graduates every year, and even though they are able to confer degrees and qualifications all the way to doctoral level.”
Coughlan says that although quality at private higher education institutions varies, matriculants are done a great disservice if they are told that their only options are public universities or technical training. – The Independent Institute of Education
