Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela. Picture: Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu South Africa’s post-school education and training (PSET) system is under unprecedented pressure following record matric results. Despite this, the government insists the system is not in crisis, only under strain.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela on Thursday said the country’s growing pool of successful matric pupils had exposed long-standing structural gaps between school success and post-school capacity. “We meet at a very pivotal moment where South Africa has just recorded 650 000 successful matriculants,” Manamela said. “This is an achievement and it must be acknowledged.” He noted that over the past three years, the number of pupils passing matric had doubled annually, rising from about 150 000 to more than 350 000, and now to 650 000.
Manamela said the PSET system currently offers about 535 000 funded and planned spaces across universities, TVET colleges, community colleges, skills programmes and workplace-based learning. “The gap between success and capacity is real. It is structural and long-standing,” he said, adding that the rapid growth in matric passes had created a “shock to the system”.
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While 46.4% of candidates achieved a bachelor’s pass, Manamela warned that this often created unrealistic expectations. “A bachelor’s pass does not guarantee admission to a university or to a specific programme,” he said. He also questioned how matric results are communicated, saying categorising passes as “bachelor’s” can mislead pupils and parents.
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