[Ah! Education, another one of those things the ANC claimed they could do so much better than the former “Apartheid” Govt? Hmmm… let’s see how well they’re doing… 11 years later… Jan]

About half of all students at South African tertiary education institutions have dropped out in the past five years.

Prem Naidoo of the Higher Education Quality Committee delivered the startling statistic on Monday at the two-day South African Academic Development Association conference, which is being held at the Durban Institute of Technology.

A study by the association found that out of 120 000 students who registered in 2000 for various three-year higher education qualifications, only 22% graduated, 50% dropped out and just 28% are still in the system five years later.

“We are falling short in terms of national benchmarks for intake and, more particularly, for successful graduation,” said Naidoo.

‘They drop out because they think that there is no life beyond that tragedy’

Drawing from lessons learnt from audits of institutions by the committee, Naidoo called for systematic initiatives to address teaching and learning in the South African higher education system.

Zola Vakalisa, a professor of curriculum studies at the University of South Africa, said students often dropped out of studies because of
language barriers.

“Many students can hardly construct a paragraph, so there are extreme language barriers. Students struggle while reading library books because that language (English) is way beyond them. It is heart-wrenching to see what some of my students write.

“We do have people who go out of university and struggle to get jobs because they cannot explain what they know, and immediately they are not employable.”

Vakalisa said it had to be acknowledged that many black students came from “a culture of not learning”.

‘Many students can hardly construct a paragraph’

Teachers at their schools did not teach from Monday to Friday, and pupils complained that teachers spent their time in the staffroom instead of teaching.

She said the bulk of Unisa students came from that background and some were deeply affected by the lack of learning.

“Dropping out for financial reasons is also a problem. Student loans are there, but students have to be good enough to get them.”

Vakalisa advised that higher education institutions adopt courses that would help and motivate students.

“For those who aren’t ready to take up academic work, access courses are there. It would mean that a person will be at university for a longer period, but they will be able to grasp things they were not able to before.”

Sammy Mashita, the KwaZulu-Natal Chairman of the South African Students Congress, said language barriers, lack of support systems and insufficient equipment were some of the key reasons for the high drop-out rate.

“There is a lack of support and a lack of student services. Students who break up with their partners, those who are HIV-positive or whose parents pass away cannot get counselling because there is not enough such support, and they drop out because they think that there is no life beyond that tragedy.”

Mashita said recreational facilities were not well equipped, and students found alternatives that often made them lose interest in their studies.

Sioux McKenna, the Director of the Centre of Education Development at the DIT, said the conference aimed at ensuring that transformation took place in higher education teaching and learning.

“We are hoping with this conference we will be able to bring about systematic change in our institutes of higher learning,” said McKenna.

“The national minister of education (Naledi Pandor) has complained about the quality of education in institutions of higher education, and this is part of our initiative to respond to the minister’s concerns.”

The conference is being attended by more than 300 delegates.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on November 29, 2005

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>