Access to education: Discussion with University Student Representative Councils

Meeting report

Access to Education: Student Representative Council submissions
The Chairperson noted that the Committee would be discussing access to education with members of the Student Representative Councils (SRC) of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), University of Cape Town (UCT), University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Stellenbosch University (SU). She asked them to voice their opinions on a broad range of topics around access, including funding, rural youth, and postgraduate education.

UCT SRC submission
Ms Amanda Ngwenya, President, Student Representative Council, UCT, said that once students were accepted into tertiary institutions, those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds were most likely to get financial exclusions, although they were academically ‘deserving’. She suggested that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) be formed in order to increase the pool of bursaries. However, the SRC was concerned that these should not be politically driven but should aim to promote academic freedom.

Ms Jessica Price, Vice President: External Affairs, SRC of UCT, encouraged the improvement of the quality of secondary education to make sure that learners were prepared for tertiary level, both in order that they should not be “shocked” by what was expected of them, and to enable them to perform to their utmost potential.

Ms Kathleen Taylor, Vice President: Internal Affairs, SRC of UCT, said that the focus should not only be on admissions, but also on retention and throughput of existing students. She added that there was a need to create adequate foundations and to give continuous support to those students.

Mr Sean Darge, Secretary General, SRC of UCT, suggested that a pool of money be freed up for funding postgraduate studies, especially for studies in the humanities faculty.

Discussion
Ms N Vukuza (COPE) asked what were the criteria for admission at the UCT medical school.

Ms Price replied that students were accepted according to a point system, based on their results, but then biographical information and extramural activities would be taken into consideration. For instance, doing an African language, or engaging in relevant part-time work would give a person an advantage over the rest of the applicants. She added that black students were considered even if they had lower grades than their white counterparts, in order to balance the racial quota.

Ms Vukuza asked how it was possible that black medical students could qualify if they had lower grades.

Ms Price replied that this was the way in which the system had been set to work, and was specifically designed to accommodate the black students. She noted that if UCT was merely to accept the top students across the board, it was likely that fewer black applicants would be accepted, as the majority of the students would be those from the top schools.

The Chairperson emphasised the importance of having money available to fund postgraduate studies.

Mr Vuyo Zita, President, Student Representative Council, CPUT, asked whether the UCT medical school considered the colour of a black applicant, or gave consideration also to the type of secondary school that he or she attended.

Ms Price confirmed that the school where that person was educated was not considered.

The Chairperson added that the school did not matter, but the admission criteria were set this way to achieve a balance in racial groups.

SU SRC submission
Mr Jan Greyling, Chairperson, SRC, Stellenbosch University, said that recently SU had a problem of fee increments. The increase initially proposed was 15%, but it was then lowered down to 11%, which was still high. He emphasised the importance of financial access for students. He suggested that universities must find a way of increasing their income without raising their fees to unaffordable levels. He agreed with Ms Ngwenya that PPPs seemed that they could provide a workable solution.

Mr Lloyd Blake, Vice Chairperson, SRC of SU, said that SU was one of the least-subsidised universities because of its demographics.

Ms Rone McFoulane, Student Fees Portfolio, SRC of SU, said that in general, students from high income groups were not impacted by fee increases. However, low income groups suffered the most because they already have their budgets stretched to the utmost to pay their university fees.

Mr Blake added that during recent meetings, some students had suggested that fees should be lowered and that bursaries should be provided to the most needy.

Mr Neil De Kock, Chairperson: Academic Affairs, SRC of SU, said that financial assistance was available, but it was not comprehensive and that books and living expenses were usually not subsidised. Students therefore needed to do part-time jobs in order to sustain themselves, and this had a negative impact on the throughput rate.

CPUT SRC submission
Mr Vuyo Zita, President, SRC of CPUT, said that access to education was critical. He said the high upfront payments required for tuition at the beginning of the year could hinder many potential students from registering. He said that National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) assisted returning students but new students needed help too. He said that more extended programmes were needed, because not all potential students could meet the minimum requirements. He also suggested that there was a need for support systems, once the students were admitted into tertiary institutions. In regard to postgraduate funding, he suggested that the minimum requirements for funding should be aligned to the entrance requirements to postgraduate studies.

Ms Mona-Lisa Galela, Deputy President, SRC of CPUT, said that admissions offices in tertiary institutions should, in 2011, take into account the impact of the recent civil servants strike, which had mostly affected the students attending previously disadvantaged secondary schools. She also emphasised the importance of students taking up maths and various other subjects at school, so that their choices would not be limited when applying to tertiary institutions.

Mr Malwande Sityashwana, Member of SRC, CPUT, said that NSFAS did not accommodate middle income students but they needed funding as well.

Mr Ofentse Mokai, Member of SRC, CPUT, said that students often faced the challenge of lecturers teaching in both Afrikaans and English, and that created a language barrier for black students who did not understand Afrikaans.

UWC SRC submission
Mr Ayabulela Mahlathi, President, SRC of UWC, said that the point system for entry to university was problematic, because students did not come from the same backgrounds, and it was thus unfair to treat them in the same way. He agreed that extended programmes were good, but pointed out that they were of no use if a student as accepted for a single year and was then expected to pass every course, but would be  academically excluded if that student did not do well. He felt that system was unfair, and it defeated the whole purpose of extended programmes, pointing out that students who entered into extended programmes were already struggling, and it was unlikely that they would be able to pass everything.  

A further problem was that many students were financially excluded because of the inefficiency of NSFAS.

Mr Munyaradzi Nkomo, Deputy President, SRC of UWC, said that when discussing issues of access to higher education, the history should not be overlooked. The value of higher education needed to be instilled on parents and learners from previously disadvantaged backgrounds before they go to universities. He suggested that more career exhibitions be held at schools.

A representative of the Department of Higher Education, said that it was the norm that postgraduate students worked in order to sustain themselves. He encouraged the different SRC bodies to unite and act together to ensure that their concerns were publicised. He thought that meetings like this were very important so that the SRC bodies could form and speak with a collective voice.

Mr K Dikobo (AZAPO) asked for clarification on the language issue.

Mr Zita explained that he was referring to lecturers who mixed Afrikaans and English during their lectures.

The Chairperson said that more engagements were needed, including engagements in the provinces. The Higher Education Institutes of South Africa (HEISA) reported regularly to the Committee and it would be useful to combine this with representations by the SRC bodies.

The meeting was adjourned.