More than 70,000 applicants have signed up on the Central Applications Clearing Housing (CACH) system. The system aims to inform applicants about placement opportunities at institutions of higher learning around the country.
In a recent parliamentary meeting, it was revealed that 75,455 individuals signed up on the CACH system since its opening for the 2023 academic year. The number of individuals using the CACH is expected to grow before it closes at the end of March 2023.
The clearing component on CACH is being conducted under the Central Application Service (CAS) Pilot for applicants participating in the pilot, and as a sign-up for applicants not participating in the CAS pilot. This clearing component only takes place after the completion of the selection process.
While the CACH system aims to locate available space at tertiary education institutions for individuals who were unsuccessful in obtaining a space, CACH does not select prospective students for space.
It is the responsibility of the tertiary education institution to offer a candidate space in an academic programme.
The date that public universities that still had a place to study were able to access CACH to send offers based on the prospective students' results was from 3 February, while the date that private institutions would be able to do the same is from 17 February 17, 2023.
As of 6 March, 1,454 placement offers were made to individuals using the CACH system. Only 144 of these offers were accepted while 103 declined.
It's important to note that the institution offering the placement can withdraw their offer. Currently, 32 placement offers are classified as pending while 1,175 placement offers expired.
To assist a greater number of students, the higher education department extended the project cycle of the CAS. This will see the move from 10 universities to 26 universities and a more active role in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The CACH system is free to use and individuals may sign up by registering and capturing their details, their preferred field of study and their programme of choice on the website. Everyone who completed Grade 12 from the year 2000 is eligible to use the CACH system.
Related Articles: How To Renew Your Driver Licence
