Limited study spots place students at disadvantage

SA campuses’ lack of resources, poor support systems also a setback

THOUSANDS of first- year university applicants face the disappointment of not being able to enrol at the tertiary institution of their choice.

Although the province celebrated a 87.7 percent matric pass rate, there is limited space at Cape varsities for 20 804 Western Cape matrics eligible to study at university and 16 305 for diploma studies.

Some 78 916 new applications – this includes applications from around South Africa and internationally – were made to three of the city’s universities: Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Western Cape. Cape Peninsula University of Technology was still processing its applications at the time of going to print.

Of these, only 22 800 will be accepted.

Nationally, there are 442 452 matriculants who are eligible for university.

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande said the country’s 26 public universities “will provide access to about 197 400 new entrants wishing to pursue their studies across all general, technical and professional fields”.

Economist Mike Schussler said South African campuses’ lack of financial resources and poor support system for students was a large setback in the country’s education sector.

Stiaan Klue, chief executive of private tertiary tuition provider The Tax Faculty, warned that only two in 10 matriculants could expect to be accepted at South African universities this year.

He added that this was a clear indication that “low acceptance rates are becoming more of a reality today”. According to UCT spokesman Elijah Moholola, 7 014 students have deferred either all or some of their exams last year because of the #FeesMustFall protests, and were set to write between January 23 to February 10.

“UCT received 26 416 firstyear applications, which is made up of 22 470 South Afri- cans and 3 946 international students”.

However, they can only accommodate 4 200 first-year students which leaves 22 216 hopefuls out in the cold. Stellenbosch University is the only institution which completed exams and was able to process all new applications for the 2017. University spokesman Martin Viljoen said they “received approximately 22 500 applications of which 17 500 were complete and eligible for consideration”.

He also said the university made 10 500 provisional offers for enrolment this year. Viljoen confirmed this was “more or less the same as previous years. Stellenbosch has 5 000 first-year spots. CPUT has yet to complete processing of applications for this academic year, but the institution expects to be able to accommodate 9 100 new students.

Spokeswoman Lauren Kansley said last year it Spokeswoman Luthando Tyhalibongo said acceptance letters had been sent to 4 500 successful first- year candidates. The university had had more than 30 000 applications.

Classes at Stellenbosch and Western Cape universities and CPUT begin in February and UCT’s academic year starts on March 13.

asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za

PICTURE: BHEKI RADEBE Matriculants who applied for enrolment at CPUT Bellville campus queue to find out whether they have been accepted.