Some don’t, some do, some divide by two. A child’s riddle?
In fact, it captures the situation among universities over life orientation (LO), a novel feature of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) syllabus. Some universities recognise LO for admission purposes; some refuse to recognise it; one gives it half the weighting of other subjects.
One analyst, who requested anonymity, said the uneven treatment highlighted the lack of unity in higher education in South Africa, which would disadvantage learners.
Many universities were ignoring Higher Education South Africa (Hesa), the vice-chancellors’ association, which has proposed a new admissions point score and recommended the recognition of LO.
“On the one hand universities are underming the NSC,” said the analyst, “and on the other they are not giving collective impetus to their own body.”
South African Students’ Congress president David Maimela accused universities which refused to recognise LO of “working against the broader goals of access and equity”.
“It makes no sense for the government to introduce a new curriculum when universities abuse their autonomy and refuse to embrace the changes,” Maimela said.
LO aims to bridge the gap between school and university by helping learners to make decisions about careers and to understand responsible citizenship. A compulsory subject in this year’s first NSC exam, which will replace matric, it is based entirely on continuous assessment.
The new national minimum standard for admission to a bachelor’s degree is an NSC with passes (50% to 59% or better) in four subjects from a designated list, with any institutional requirements. But not all universities are following this route.
Stellenbosch University will exclude the LO mark, choosing instead to base admission on 60% of matriculants’ average percentage in six other subjects, added to 40% of the marks achieved in an entrance exam.
Said the university’s registrar, Neels Fourie: “We won’t use life orientation as it is not externally moderated. Continuous assessment can give students an advantage or a disadvantage.”
Similarly, the University of Pretoria said LO’s inclusion in calculating the academic point score will cause unevenness in the system, as it is not nationally examined.
Spokesperson Sanette Boshoff said schools could inflate their LO results. “Furthermore, the learners from good schools with many resources may do well, while those at disadvantaged schools may not.”
The university does, however, expect applicants to achieve no less than 50% in the subject as a minimum requirement.
The University of Johannesburg allocates points, but divides them by two. “The minimum a student should get is four points (for the 50-59% range), but it is counted as two. We recognise it in all faculties, as it is a compulsory subject in the NSC,” said the university’s Leoné Michaels.
Carol Crosley, Wits deputy registrar, argued that if the university did not support LO teachers “they would have a difficult time teaching it. It has highly desirable outcomes in terms of career development and time management.”
Yet, a pass of between 60% and 69% scores just one point in the Wits rating. For the same mark in history, candidates would score five points. University of Cape Town registrar Hugh Amoore said UCT would not score LO at all – again because it is internally assessed at schools with widely varying capacities.
By contrast, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University gives LO the same status as other subjects. Head of higher education access Cheryl Foxcroft described the subject as “very important”, as “it gives us basic academic and life skills for incoming students”. But she conceded that its preparation of students for university would have to be researched as it had no history.
North West University will take into account an LO result if the learner is a borderline case. “We will use it at our discretion,” said registrar Themba Mosia.
Hesa chief executive Duma Malaza said the association could not force universities to follow its guidelines. But he is positive that students would not be disadvantaged in accessing higher education.