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By Edwin Naidu
The Class of 2024 can now relax and wait for their results, which provide a gateway to a promising future. Of course, many will fail, and for them, there should also be hope that they will take a second chance and make it count next time.
Annually, we have seen over the years an estimated 300,000 matriculants join the ranks of the unemployed.
On average, at least 130,000 places are available for those who want to study at universities. The competition is tough.
However, for those who cannot get a place at university, the government has pumped billions into upgrading technical and vocational education training (TVET) colleges.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela is a product of TVET college education and has occasionally extolled the benefits, referring to the successful example of the German system, which has a conveyor belt of artisans helping to grow their economy powerfully.
As South Africa prepares for the festive season and the announcement of the matric examination results on 13 January, planning is underway to ensure the new academic year runs smoothly.
According to Universities South Africa, all universities are set to complete 2024 successfully. A big plus is that the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results will be released a week earlier (mid-January 2025 compared to the third week in January 2024).
USAf notes that it still exerts much pressure on universities, especially when finalising the National Student Financial Aid Scheme funding list.
There are growing calls in Parliament for discussions between the ministers of Higher Education and Training and Basic Education to consider releasing the results as traditionally done in December. This would alleviate the pressure during the new year and allow institutions to plan better.
Already, 12 universities have indicated they will experience a shortage of accommodation, so solutions must be found to tackle this before the new academic year.
The NSFAS will face key challenges around appeals, accommodation pilot projects, late payments and historic debt. Collectively, universities are owed R21 billion in unpaid student debt.
What will happen to this? One wonders why the government does not use the same debt collectors they sanction for the SABC to recoup the miserly R264 annual licence fee?
If the investment in education is a bottomless pit of money that keeps giving 30 years after democracy, the fruits of these efforts should have been better.
We see poverty and unemployment, especially graduates who cannot find jobs.
While the Ministers discuss changing the date for the release of the matric exam results, perhaps they should consider whether the country is getting value for the billions thrown into education.
Fixing our system and creating the South Africa we want should begin with an honest reflection on our current state as a nation.
While we cannot escape the euphoria of finishing matric with distinction for many, let’s not forget the stigma of those who scrape through with a 30% pass in one or two subjects. Is it acceptable to say that you have passed matric with 30% in two subjects?
The bar has to be raised so that learners leave with pride, knowing they can take on the world with a proper pass. All should leave the system with the same bachelor’s pass that opens the door to a degree course at a tertiary institution for further study for a higher certificate, diploma or bachelor’s degree.
To get this, one must pass six out of seven subjects, with at least 50% in four subjects, a minimum of 40% in a home language, and at least 30% in the “Language of Learning and Teaching” and at least 30%.
However, the caveat is that even if students have achieved a bachelor’s pass, they do not automatically qualify for a university position.
Instead of the lower requirements for a matriculation exemption, should the schooling system only encourage excellence for some, with university entrance far more competitive than a system that continues to spew people for unemployment?
That is why it is key for the schooling system to produce quality learners who can take the next step when they enter the tertiary system. However, those matriculants who won’t get to university or college must look at self-employment programmes because few job opportunities are available, and the economy is not expanding.
Self-employment may be what we need to turn this economy around. This means that our education system needs radical changes. Currently, the curriculum favours post-secondary education. Most learners who complete matric do not take this path and, as such, become unemployed or depend on family and the state.
The matric system needs an overhaul to ensure that children are fit for the 21st century instead of being prepared for failure.
It is time for real conversations around education rather than celebrating mediocrity.
Edwin Naidu is the Editor of Inside Education.
INSIDE EDUCATION