The Class of 2022 had much to celebrate just over a week ago when basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced that the number of bachelor passes had increased by 8.9%.
This means that 8.9% more matriculants who passed in 2022 are now eligible to study towards a degree at a university.
Good news, indeed.
But the challenge now is, where do they go?
Earlier this week, Weekend Post’s sister publication The Herald reported that hundreds of thousands of prospective students who applied to Eastern Cape universities would not be admitted, as the institutions could only accommodate fewer than 10% of applicants.
Nelson Mandela University has space for 6% of the university hopefuls who applied.
The university’s spokesperson Zandile Mbabela said the university had received 122,611 applications for first-year studies, while it had space for just 7,150 students.
The same applies at the province’s other universities — Fort Hare has space for 1.6% of its total number of applicants; Walter Sisulu is able to accommodate just 1.5%, while Rhodes can take 8%.
These very same pupils, by virtue of the fact that they had a higher quality pass, also qualify for alternative post-secondary school training.
An example of this is our Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges.
Here, the focus is on vocational and occupational education and training to prepare students to become functional workers in a skilled trade in the fields of hospitality, food service and tourism industries, hair care and artisan orientated courses.
In the weekly podcast Behind The Herald Headlines with Daron Mann this week, education expert Mary Metcalfe also highlighted the role these colleges play.
“The TVET colleges, which are so poorly understood in terms of their value in society would probably be a viable end place for many young people to seek the kind of training that will assist them to be entrepreneurs themselves and to be employed,” she said.
“Those colleges, we have 50 of them across the country, and if you have achieved a high certificate or diploma or even NSC pass, you are eligible to apply.”
It is an option that certainly needs more exploration.
After all these skills, the stepping stones to what are often regarded as less glamorous professions than those one qualifies for after years spent pursuing a degree at a tertiary institution, are every bit as important — be it carpenters, plumbers or hairdressers.
And our hope is that those chasing university degrees realise the value, too, in pursuing careers in those vocational industries.
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