The paper was compiled using data from the 2008 to 2013 matric examinations in South Africa, as well as data from South African universities covering 2009 to 2014.<\/p>\n
The core conclusion to the report is that university access in South Africa is extremely limited – even among learners who perform relatively well in their matric exams.<\/p>\n
In addition, the data showed that those who do gain access to university often take a long time to complete their studies, with many never completing at all.<\/p>\n
“As a result, only a select minority of matric learners manage to obtain university qualifications,” the researchers said.<\/p>\n
Breaking down the numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the data, approximately 112,000 students from the class of 2008 (561,667 matriculants) entered into university – this is only one-fifth (20%) of the total.<\/p>\n Right off the bat, South Africa faces a problem where skilled matriculants are not furthering their education – with the report noting that of the 111,680 learners qualified for bachelor passes, only 76,487 went on to enroll at university.<\/p>\n Worryingly, among the 52,678 learners who achieved 55% or more for mathematics, approximately one in five (20.6%) or 10,840 never entered university at all.<\/p>\n Making matters worse, however, the study found that 30% of students who enrolled at university dropped out before 2014.<\/p>\n About 50% of enrolled students went on to complete their undergraduate qualification, while the remaining 20% were still enrolled in 2014, having not completed their degrees within the six years under review.<\/p>\n Notably, not all of the students in the class of 2008 enrolled at universities in 2009, with many choosing to do so after two, three or even four years after matriculating.<\/p>\n An even bigger problem<\/strong><\/p>\n The study focused on students that made it to matric and went on to study; however, a further breakdown of the research shows an even greater problem brewing<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The matric students in the class of 2008 represent roughly only two thirds of the learners who started school in the group.<\/p>\n This means that the number of students who eventually go on to complete a university qualification represents only 6% of all the learners who started school in 1997.<\/p>\n Students who get a degree within 6 years of starting university represents only 4% of the group.<\/p>\n Shocking number of engineering dropouts at SA universities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 8 reasons why kids drop out of school in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
\n Class of 2008<\/th>\n Students<\/th>\n All %<\/th>\n UG %<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cohort<\/td>\n 561 667<\/td>\n 100.0%<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Enrolled in undergrad studies<\/td>\n 112 402<\/td>\n 20.0%<\/td>\n 100.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Enrolled in undergraddegree<\/td>\n 70 632<\/td>\n 12.6%<\/td>\n 62.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Completed undergrad qualification<\/strong><\/td>\n 55 721<\/strong><\/td>\n 9.9%<\/strong><\/td>\n 49.6%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Completed undergrad degree<\/td>\n 38 229<\/td>\n 6.8%<\/td>\n 34.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Enrolled in postgrad\u00a0studies<\/td>\n 13 466<\/td>\n 2.4%<\/td>\n 12.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Completed postgrad qualification<\/td>\n 9 727<\/td>\n 1.7%<\/td>\n 8.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Non-completed by 2014<\/strong><\/td>\n 22 426<\/strong><\/td>\n 4.0%<\/strong><\/td>\n 20.0%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Dropped-out before 2014<\/strong><\/td>\n 34 163<\/strong><\/td>\n 6.1%<\/strong><\/td>\n 30.4%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n ![\"class-of-2008-total\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Class-of-2008-total-640x725.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMore on education<\/h3>\n