Sustainable economic development is dependent on an increasing supply of highly skilled people. Participation rates are an indicator of such a supply.
Participation rates refer to the percentage of students who continue their studies after passing grade 12 — that is, students studying at higher education institutions as a percentage of students passing grade 12.
South Africa’s participation rate of 15% compares with: 70% in the United States, 51% in developed countries generally, 21% in developing countries, and 6% in poor countries.
South Africa wishes to push up its participation rate to 20% over the next five years. To gain maximum benefit from this increased higher education output, it is imperative that the major portion of this increased growth be in university of technology graduates.
In a survey conducted two years ago, 76% of the 273 major employers interviewed reported shortages in highly skilled or professional workers. Work opportunities in these areas will in all probability increase by between 16% and 18% over the next five years. The need for universities of technology to increase their outputs is self-evident.
According to the same survey, work for unskilled workers will decrease by approximately 35% over the same period of time.
Some facts and figures on technikons/universities of technology (Note: Figures up to 2002 are quoted because these were the only audited figures available by June this year.)
Overall enrolment of first-time entering students shows an annual increase from 1998 to 2002 at a rate of 3,6%.
The dominance of male students is nearing its end in technikons (56,5% in 1998 and 51,6% in 2002).
The proportion of black students increased from 66,3% in 1998 to 74,3% in 2002.
Technikons enrol an increasing percentage of students relative to universities. In 1980 technikon students amounted to less than a third of university students (47 000 against 152 000). By 2000 this had increased to half (203 000 technikon students against 408 000 university students). — Dénis van Rensburg