Responding to the announcement of the matric results on Thursday, 19 January 2023, Dr. Phethiwe Matutu, the Chief Executive Officer of Universities South Africa (USAf), has issued a welcome for incoming first-years into higher education.
2022's matrics have reached a national pass rate of 80.1% for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations. When compared to the 2021 matric pass rate, 2022 saw a 3.7% improvement.
Universities South Africa (USAf) is an umbrella body which represents the 26 public universities in the country.
The USAf CEO also reminded incoming students that succeeding in tertiary education requires "hard work, focus, discipline and consistency, and that only serious students would indeed succeed in the higher level learning environment."
While our member institutions will do their best to meet our first-time entering cohort where they are, the students, in turn, need to be willing to adapt to new methods of learning and teaching.
According to Dr. Matutu, various studies have been undertaken by universities in over the few years, in order to better understand students as well as the teaching and learning environment. The studies lead to important findings and insights that have since influenced important student support strategies across the system.
For those who are not entering universities or who did not obtain a university pass, Dr. Matutu has mentioned that the Post-School Education and Training Sector extends to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges as well.
Not getting into a university or obtaining your desired matric results is not the end of the world; there are plenty of alternative options for learners and parents to consider.
TVET Colleges offer a wide range of training in high-level artisanship and trades, that have given rise to many self-employed artisans and tradesmen in industries where TVET-trained students are performing well; proving that TVETs can also be considered a viable post-school study option.
The academic year for tertiary institutions usually kicks off during February.
