Click to edit Master subtitle style 4/26/12 Presentation to portfolio committee Joint PC meeting on Basic Education Expectations from Universities on the quality of learners produced by our schooling system Date: 24 April 2012

4/26/12 Barriers for entrance into higher education  Academic Preparation of learners:  Combination of subjects choices  Performance in Maths and Science  Mathematic literacy not appropriate for qualifications such as Engineering, Natural Science, Health Sciences  Overall academic performance in relation to the APS (admission point score for entrance)  Foundational and content (discipline related) knowledge  Language proficiency  Academic literacy - eg study methods and skills; approach to learning

4/26/12 Barriers for entrance into higher education  Career Guidance, life skill orientation and preparation of learners to cope with further studies and life at University  Career choices and assistance with applications for university places and funding  Perception of “matric’” endorsement for bachelor and / or diploma studies  Misconception of the perceived higher value of degrees vs a certificates and diplomas  Time management  Conflict resolution  Inability to work independently vs working in groups  Rote learning and thus no application of current knowledge  Transition from school to university life

Click to edit Master subtitle style 4/26/12 Expectations from FET Colleges on the quality of learners produced by our schooling system Date: 24 April 2012

4/26/12 Motivations for the transition from school into the FET College environment To:  Pursue a vocational or occupational pathway, based on informed choices through career, parental, professional or other guidance  Undertake further learning following exclusion from school based on age  Improve opportunities for employment  Seek an opportunity outside the schooling system to pursue learning for personal interest or development (vertically or horizontally)

4/26/12 Overarching expectations and prerequisites  Transition from school into the FET college system is preceded by appropriate career guidance and awareness of the college learning environment (i.e. admission into college is a choice rather than a last resort)  Foundational literacy and numeracy at either grade 9 or grade 12 equivalent (dependent on qualification at point of entry)  Evidence that the young learner can accept responsibility for his/her own learning  Awareness that learning in the VCET environment also involves reading, writing, analysing and the application of cognate skills to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace – not only about manual/mechanical manipulations

4/26/12 Some crucial considerations for the transition from school to college  Ideally the learner should have successfully completed grade 9  Emotional maturity (although difficult to measure outside of professional services) is important given that the college learning environment is less rigorous in notable respects (attire, attendance, discipline)  Credibility and reliability of achievement as reflected in the school report – not always a correlation between the achievement level in the report and the learner’s demonstrable competence  Achievement of 60% + (aggregate) at the GET level appears to provide a good prognosis for success in further learning

Click to edit Master subtitle style 4/26/12 THANK YOU !