NEHAWU CALLS FOR THE ABSORPTION OF MORE STUDENTS BY TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS ESPECIALLY UNIVERSITIES
THURSDAY, 05 JANUARY 2012

NEHAWU, the biggest national union organising in universities and FET colleges is calling for universities and FET colleges to absorb more students who have passed matric and make sure that there is no child left out of the higher education system. All higher education stakeholders have to start showing a developmental commitment to our society by unlocking their doors to all deserving students and assisting all those who have not passed their exams.

Our union congratulates all matriculants who have passed and also applauds all stakeholders who have worked hard to achieve a matric pass rate of 70, 2%; a 2, 4% increase from the 67, 8% attained in 2010.

We salute our sister union SADTU that has been at the forefront of the struggle for quality education for working class students in particular. We also commend all South African teachers who have worked hard to ensure that their students achieve improved results under difficult conditions.

Whilst, we celebrate an increase in the overall pass rate we have noted with concern the decline in the pass rate in mathematics, accounting and economics. This is more worrying because it affects mostly those students from rural areas and poor communities. All stakeholders should work together to arrest this decline.

The biggest challenge now is to ensure that these students are all accommodated in institutions of higher learning. There are about 180000 vacancies for first year students and there are over 50 FET colleges with over 264 campuses around the country There is no need for students to be left out of the education system.

The department of Higher Education and Training should ensure that admission policies of tertiary institutions especially universities do not discriminate against those students from poor communities by demanding unreasonable admission standards.We are very concerned that some universities are still implementing more draconian admission conditions and this combined with the financial exclusions are used to exclude learners from the poor and rural communities We call on all financial institutions and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme {NSFAS} to provide financial support to poor students in order to help them access higher education.

Students should seriously consider registering at the Further Education and Training {FET} colleges. These institutions offer courses that are in line with the country’s development goals so they should be given enough resources in order to provide quality learning and training to students who enrol. We support the call made by the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande for more lecturers to be employed by the FETC’s.

We also hope that universities will plan better for their registration processes so as to eliminate the long lines that are a permanent feature every year outside these institutions. NEHAWU will work with all progressive organisations to ensure that working class students are not locked outside the doors of learning by the universities using elite methods.