This followed the 75.8% of matriculants who passed the 2014 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations of which only 28.3% of the learners qualified for admission to pursue their bachelor's studies at university, leaving the remaining 47.5% of students confused about their future.
Fortunately for these students there is a second option. Private educational institutions and TVET colleges provide students with the option to achieve their National Senior Certificate, diploma or higher certificate through distance or face-to-face modes of study.
According to Minister Manana, in the last three years enrolment at TVET colleges has more than doubled, from 300,000 in 2012 to about 800,000 in 20142, thus reinforcing the notion that TVET colleges have fast become the go-to institutions to pursue one's tertiary education.
In 2015 in particular, the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, said that the country is showing steady improvements in tertiary education and student financial aid has increased with the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allocating R9.5 billion for university and TVET students1.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) recently released a list of 366 registered private TVET colleges which include popular names like Academy of York, INTEC College, BSN Medical, Central Technical College, Ekurhuleni Computer College and Damelin Correspondence College (DCC), among others.
The current education landscape provides various opportunities for you to explore alternative types of studying. For example, did you know that you could do matric via correspondence study? INTEC College and DCC for example, are two institutions that provide you with the option. For learners who did not pass Grade 12 and wish to rewrite or register for the first time, INTEC College and DCC offers tailored high school packages to advance students' skills and help develop their careers.
Students can also continue their studies at the same institution by choosing from a range of accredited programmes. The programmes offered by these institutions range from education management, computer programming, bookkeeping, business management, marketing, human resources, fashion design, interior decorating, early childhood development and project management, tourism, mechanical and electrical engineering, among others.
Distance learning provides unique differentiators from working whilst you study; studying in the comfort of your own home or workplace, quality study material designed specifically for home study, ongoing study support and individual attention from qualified tutors are just some of the flexible advantages.
Now that you have learnt that there are other credible options out there for you, be sure to use Deputy Minister Manana's advice. Do not be discouraged and seek an accredited TVET college today.
For more information on INTEC College or DCC, visit www.intec.edu.za or www.dcc.edu.za.
1 Mail and Guardian, Zuma says universities are too costly - Nzimande disagrees, 2015, http://mg.co.za/article/2015-01-12-zuma-says-universities-are-too-costly-nzimande-disagrees
2 SABC News, Where will the matriculants of 2014 study? 2015, http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/7b27300046eb433da334a726c7405250/Where-will-the-matriculants-of-2014-study-20151301
