Rhodes University's Professor Paul Maylam believes South Africa’s higher education system needs to be reviewed, with major changes required. Maylam's sentiments come as the government keeps pressuring institutions to increase their student enrolment while the budget allocations provided to institutions are being reduced.
In 2023, the government allocated R47.7 billion for University transfers and R53.6 billion National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
While NSFAS funds a majority of University students, a substantial portion of the budget is spent on the scheme’s administration.
"Government has embarked upon a policy of massification, significantly growing the student population, while at the same time reducing the proportion of university income derived from the government subsidy."
This has forced universities to do more with less income. We also cannot ignore the cost the high dropout rate has had on parents, taxpayers and others.
They explain that 40 years ago, 80% of Rhodes University’s income came from government subsidies. In 2024, this percentage of income will be reduced to below 50% putting institutions and students under great pressure.
This financial pressure often leads to higher student fees and larger class sizes, impacting both students and academics. Moreover, Maylam questions the effectiveness of admitting large numbers of students who often fail to complete their studies.
Research cited by the Prof includes approximately half of the undergraduate students dropping out of their studies during their first year.
Last year, NSFAS announced a cap on student accommodation fees.
Maylam says the introduction of this cap left higher education institutions with shortfalls running into hundreds of millions of rands with many institutions being forced to look at alternative sources of funding.
Reshifting University Focus
Maylam suggests that universities need to reconsider their emphasis on research over undergraduate teaching, which may contribute to high dropout rates.
This emphasis may have also been to the detriment of undergraduate teaching. Whereas a few decades ago undergraduates would benefit from being taught by senior, experienced academics, that seems to be less the case now, as these academics concentrate more on their own research and postgraduate supervision
This has also impacted junior academics. They explain that junior academics are under pressure to develop research profiles while also carrying a heavy workload associated with undergraduate teaching.
All this can give rise to low morale and burn-out and needs to be taken seriously by authorities from the highest level – from the Ministry of Higher Education down to heads of departments
Not All Students Are Cut Out For University
He advocates for a shift towards vocational training, acknowledging that not all students are suited for university education. The impact of dropout rates includes financial losses for students and taxpayers, as well as psychological effects on students.
There are a lot of matriculants who have a number of skills but the skills may not be those required for University study and I think it's important perhaps to place less emphasis on University entry.
More individuals are choosing to pursue further education at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges with a substantial increase in applications. The government is also implementing measures to massify the TVET college system towards the goal of 2.5 million enrolments in this sector.
