Memorandum from the Parliamentary Office
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 371
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/02/2015
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 04 OF 2015)
Mr J S Malema (EFF) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:
What plans has the Government put in place to accommodate the many
matriculants who could not find spaces of higher learning at our
universities because of the limited space that these universities have?
NW207E
REPLY:
Government have put a lot of measures in order to create opportunities for
youth exiting the schooling system with National Senior Certificate (NSC).
The Post-School Education and Training system has expanded to enable a
diverse set of opportunities, especially within the college sector, where
far more students need to be absorbed.
Therefore, the Department, in line with the White Paper on Post-School
Education and Training is working systemically at expanding opportunities
for education and training at universities, Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) colleges, and within the skills development
system more generally. In this regard, the Department has established three
new Universities over the past two years: Sol Plaatje University,
University of Mpumalanga and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University,
and is currently in a process of planning and building 12 TVET college
campuses and refurbishing two existing TVET college campuses. In addition,
the expansion of opportunities through distance education is also an aspect
that is being considered in both the University and TVET college sector. A
new policy on distance provisioning in higher education was published in
2014, and a process of implementation is currently underway. Current
planning is toward the target of 1.6 million in higher education and 4
million in the TVET system by 2030.
In addition to the above processes, the Department has established the
Central Application Clearing House (CACH) to assist matriculants who have
not applied or have been declined by institutions. This service is open to
capture information of prospective applicants in January and February of
each year, and is geared to redirect prospective applicants throughout the
Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system to institutions where
spaces are still available. The CACH process entails the validation of the
prospective applicantâs results against the Department of Basic Education
and Independent Examination Board examination data, in order to validate
information. Once validated, this information is sent to each university,
TVET college as well as SETA on a weekly basis. The purpose of this is to
ensure that any possible space in the entire PSET system identified by
institutions which is unfilled may be offered to a prospective applicant in
his or her field of study.
The CACH service is in its 3rd year of operation and is expanding
constantly. In 2013, the placement ratio for CACH was 7% and increased to
21% in 2014. While this growth in the service is moderate, it will continue
to expand each year through intensified interaction with institutions. Many
universities are no longer accepting late applicants and some are now
referring all their late applications to the CACH service to be redirected
to other educational opportunities.
Compiler/contact persons:
Ext:
DIRECTOR â GENERAL
STATUS:
DATE:
REPLY TO QUESTION 371 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED
Dr B NZIMANDE, MP
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
STATUS:
DATE: