21/03/2022
United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) - goal number 4, aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” (SDG 2021:1). South Africa National Development Plan highlights the importance of equal and quality education. The question is, what can be done to have quality and accesable education in South Africa?
South African Education system is still facing various challenges.
For example:
The time taken by students to complete their undergraduate qualifications also improved over time. However, the higher education system still has challenges in terms of their success rates and poor completion rates. Many students drop out without completing a qualification, or they take up to six years to complete a three-year qualification. Very few students progress to advanced NQF levels of study (NQF levels 8–10). Honours (19,8%), masters (6,3%) and doctoral studies (1,4%) accounted for a relatively small percentage of the overall tertiary qualifications awarded in 2016 (Stats SA 2021).
According to Stats SA report (2021) close to 47% of youth aged 20–24 years who held bachelor degrees or qualifications equivalent to NQF Level 7 came from the highest household income quintile. In comparison, only 7,4% of youth who held qualifications equivalent to NQF Level 7 came from the lowest household income quintile. What does this mean?
Furthermore, close to 36% of youth holding postgraduate degrees or qualifications equivalent to NQF Levels 8–10 came from the highest household income quintile (Stats SA 2021)
Stats SA report shows that the general trend in participation in all institutions of post-school learning was upward, with total enrolment in higher education institutions in 2016 amounting to 49,9% of all enrolments within the sector; TVET colleges amounted to 30,8% of all enrolments; CET colleges 11,9% of all enrolments; and private colleges 7,4% of all enrolments within the sector (Stats SA 2021).