Question NW747 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
05 April 2016 - NW747
Singh, Mr N to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training
With regard to the institutions of medical and dental tertiary education, (a) how many (i) medical students enrolled to study medicine in South Africa in the past three years. (ii) would-be medical students do not find places at our tertiary institutions each year and (iii) medical students leave to pursue medical and dental studies overseas because of shortage of teaching capacity at local universities and (b) what (i) are the current demographic details in respect of students studying medicine at our universities and (ii) criteria were used to determine the specified demographic classification?
Reply:
(a)(i) and (b)(i) Information on the number and demographic details of medical students enrolled to study medicine at public higher education institutions are tabulated below:
Table 1: Number of Bachelor of Medicine (MBChB) students enrolled in public higher education institutions, by race and gender, from 2011 to 2014.
Race |
Gender |
Year |
||
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
||
African |
Female Male |
2 435 1 795 |
2 588 1 800 |
2 789 1 815 |
Coloured |
Female Male |
597 304 |
636 325 |
679 341 |
Indian |
Female Male |
644 449 |
643 476 |
665 528 |
White |
Female Male |
1 765 1 084 |
1 800 1 118 |
1 838 1 113 |
Unknown |
Female Male |
13 13 |
19 21 |
21 29 |
Table 2: Number of Bachelor in Dental Surgery (BChD) students enrolled in public higher education institutions, by race and gender, from 2012 to 2014.
Race |
Gender |
Year |
||
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
||
African |
Female Male |
97 61 |
95 56 |
113 61 |
Coloured |
Female Male |
70 41 |
78 40 |
76 44 |
Indian |
Female Male |
114 62 |
109 54 |
107 46 |
White |
Female Male |
159 95 |
159 95 |
177 89 |
Unknown |
Female Male |
2 2 |
3 1 |
3 1 |
(ii) Currently this information is not available on a national level and will only be available once the Central Application Service (CAS) is fully implemented and operational. The CAS will enable the Department to track the number of applications and admissions for specific programmes at all institutions across the country.
(iii) The Department does not collect statistics on students who applied and were accepted to institutions of higher learning outside the country. Students are not obligated to inform the Department if they intend to study outside the country. However, information is available with respect to the enrolment of South African students in Cuba as part of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) Cuba programme managed by the national Department of Health. These statistics are shown in the table below:
Table 3: National Enrolment Statistics of the RSA-Cuba Medical Programme as at March 2016 provided by the National Department of Health. |
|
||||||
Province |
Prep 2015 |
1st 2014 |
2nd 2013 |
3rd 2012 |
4th 2011 |
5th 2010 |
Total in Cuba |
Eastern Cape |
9 |
90 |
101 |
90 |
10 |
5 |
305 |
Free State |
2 |
11 |
33 |
153 |
0 |
0 |
199 |
Gauteng |
112 |
136 |
112 |
94 |
8 |
0 |
462 |
KwaZulu-Natal |
22 |
93 |
292 |
336 |
10 |
13 |
766 |
Limpopo |
110 |
110 |
106 |
40 |
11 |
18 |
395 |
Mpumalanga |
99 |
10 |
14 |
80 |
11 |
13 |
227 |
Northern Cape |
30 |
28 |
47 |
27 |
11 |
7 |
150 |
North West |
35 |
126 |
171 |
90 |
12 |
15 |
449 |
Total |
419 |
604 |
876 |
910 |
73 |
71 |
2 953 |
(b) (ii) The information provided in Tables 1 and 2 are audited data extracted from the Higher Education Information Management System (HEMIS) and it is assumed that the standard South African demographic definitions have been utilised.
Compiler/Contact Persons:
Ext:
DIRECTOR – GENERAL
STATUS:
DATE:
REPLY TO QUESTION 747 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED
Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
STATUS:
DATE: