Sunrise, E-Tv's morning news and what what program has been quite focused on the problem of bogus tertiary institutions in South Africa recently. Now, being a man who understands the importance of education and wanting to assist those who may be seeking alternative tertiary institutions because they couldn't get into any of the "major" varsities, I figured I'd write this (semi-tongue in cheek) piece. Enjoy:
So, you're looking to get into a tertiary institution to further your studies so you can find a job or work your way up from your current position. That's great, a desire to learn is the perfect place to start. That said, South African tertiary institutions have very limited space and resources, add to that, they can be quite expensive. So, here are a few tips on studying further in South Africa and avoiding the financial sinkhole that is the fly-by-night varsity:
1. Let me begin by taking a leaf from a church service I attended once (don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a sermon - this is not one of THOSE blogs). When it comes to varsity applications, live in faith. Do your research and select at least 3 well known institutions to apply to in ADVANCE of the closing dates, i.e. Wits, UJ, UWC, etc. The fact that you're only averaging 37% is irrelevant, who knows, the Department of Basic Education might just lower the university exemption mark to 35%, then we can have a 42% exemption rate.
2. Should point 1 above not pan out for you, you can look at "less mainstream" institutions like your Damelin, Boston Business College, etc., but again, do your research and use common sense. If you have to send your application to a Gmail account, this is probably a fly-by-night institution. If it's a Hotmail account, then it's DEFINITELY a fly-by-night. Report these people to the Department of Higher Education and Training immediately!
3. Find out if anyone you know has attended this institution. If possible, find out if anyone who has attended said institution has managed to find employment as anything other than a drug mule (refer to Drug Mule 101 for advice on this career choice).
4. Before handing over ANY money to this institution, find out where they're based. Go and visit this place, make sure it's not a spare room in someone's house. As the expert they had on Sunrise this morning said, "if they don't have basic equipment like white boards and chairs" it's probably a fly-by-night.
5. Still on the topic of money, if these people insist on being paid in unmarked, non-sequential R200 notes hand delivered to them in a non-descript black briefcase in the alley behind Game at 19:43 without any police accompaniment, then it's probably a fly-by-night - so be on your guard...or better yet, don't go to the "meet point". And call the police. Now!
6. So, youve found an institution and you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want to study and why. If not, I suggest you do some research. Once you know what field you're going into, make sure that the course/certificate/diploma/degree you're registering for is accredited. If you don't do this, you'll most likely find yourself with the equivalent of a matric certificate on your hands - in essence, you'll have forked out a couple of grand for a sheet of paper you could have printed at your local library. A good rule of thumb here, as per the Sunrise guest expert guy, is that you should bear in mind that a typical B.Com degree takes 3-4 years (for some 5, or 6...or even 7 years) to complete, so if someone is offering you a 6-month degree, say it with me now, it's probably a fly-by-night!
Great! Now that you have some basic pointers on what to look out for when applying for tertiary, it's time for you to get cracking. Should you require a bit more info on which institutions and courses are actually accredited, go to www.dhet.gov.za or call them on 0800 872 222. Good luck!
Showing posts with label matric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label matric. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Objectively Speaking
I wrote this piece because I was/am pissed about "racism", politics and our "education" system. Read it, give me your thoughts. (Note: I know some of you had issues leaving comments before cause you had to login, but I changed the settings so hopefully it works now:) Happy New Year by the way. Enjoy:
South Africa's matric results came out on the 4th of January. We achieved a 70 odd percent pass rate. If you celebrated and creamed your pants when that was announced, you're a dumbass and you're part of the problem. I hope that offended you. My second point of offense (to you) has to do with people forever more bitching and whining about how racism prevents them from getting certain jobs or living in certain cities. Get over it! If you feel that statement makes me a self-hating, model-c coconut please refer to the latter half of the third sentence of this paragraph.
Let me break down my two statements economically for you, since everyone in SA is a life taught economist. People go on and on and on about how racism is rife in certain parts of the country and they could never work there. I'll take Cape Town as an example since it was recently in the "news" regarding how racist it is. I have met many a black professional who has said to me "I could never work in Cape Town, there aren't any blacks there (especially in senior positions) therefore it must be racist." Hmmmm. Fair comments, but did you ever stop to think that black people leave places like Cape Town because they're chasing money in Joburg? Did you ever imagine that the large majority of blacks in SA aren't from Cape Town, THEREFORE they choose not to build their lives/careers there? No, you default to racism.
Now let's bring in the economics of the pass rate. People jump up and down like monkies when they see a 70% pass rate. Great, but what does that really mean? I'll tell you what it means: jack shit!
Granted, we broke the mystical 70% pass rate, but that was based on lowered standards. I quiver to think what the pass rate would look like if we used the tertiary standard 50% pass mark. Above and beyond that, the percentage which actually matters, the exemption rate (those who qualify for tertiary) is at 24%. That means, and follow closely boys and girls, a whopping 76% of our matriculants are walking away from high school either empty handed or with nothing more than a glorified piece of paper. Let me not even get into the fact that roughly 50% of kids who started Grade 1 with the class of 2011 didn't even make it to matric.
Now we all know that in South Africa you need one of two things to get ahead in life. You must either have a reputable qualification from a reputable institution, or you need to have contacts. I won't even get into work experience because that's a whole other kettle of fish.
So here's the bit where I need you to apply that life taught economic thinking of yours. Let's say you're in a position to hire (read empower) an individual for a summer internship, knowing full well that your aim is to maximize profit and efficiency for your business/company, so objectivity is key. You have Sipho, who goes to a "black school". He's top of his grade and he does this by following a ritual everyday. Go to school, come home and study. No TV, magazines or Internet because his parents can't afford them, and no friends because they're a distraction. On the other hand you have Mandla. Mandla goes to a former model-c school. He's an average student, but he is well read and up to date with current affairs. He comes from a middle income family so he can afford a good tertiary education - Sipho does not, and he was hoping to save his earnings from this job to pay his registration fees and work his ass off so he could get a bursary (but you don't know this). Given that typical interview questions can include things like: "What's your take on the death of Bin Laden?" or "Do you think it's fair for Iran to withhold oil?" or "What effect do you think the tolls will have on trade in Gauteng?", who do you think will answer the questions better/with more confidence? Now that you've answered that question, I doubt I'd be wrong in saying that's the guy you would hire 10 times out of 10. That means while Mandla continues to thrive, Sipho will lose faith in hard work and most likely end up in a political party siphoning money from the state.
So let me ask this: is it really fair to claim that certain areas are racist because there aren't any blacks living/working there? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying lets shut up about racism, but maybe we should stop defaulting to it as an excuse everytime instead of doing some introspection into ourselves and our people.
I will conclude by asking this, if we define racism as the systematic degradation of blacks by a group of individuals, objectively speaking, is it not those in charge of the education and uplifment of blacks who are not only failing at their jobs but also keep shouting racism who are the true racists here?
South Africa's matric results came out on the 4th of January. We achieved a 70 odd percent pass rate. If you celebrated and creamed your pants when that was announced, you're a dumbass and you're part of the problem. I hope that offended you. My second point of offense (to you) has to do with people forever more bitching and whining about how racism prevents them from getting certain jobs or living in certain cities. Get over it! If you feel that statement makes me a self-hating, model-c coconut please refer to the latter half of the third sentence of this paragraph.
Let me break down my two statements economically for you, since everyone in SA is a life taught economist. People go on and on and on about how racism is rife in certain parts of the country and they could never work there. I'll take Cape Town as an example since it was recently in the "news" regarding how racist it is. I have met many a black professional who has said to me "I could never work in Cape Town, there aren't any blacks there (especially in senior positions) therefore it must be racist." Hmmmm. Fair comments, but did you ever stop to think that black people leave places like Cape Town because they're chasing money in Joburg? Did you ever imagine that the large majority of blacks in SA aren't from Cape Town, THEREFORE they choose not to build their lives/careers there? No, you default to racism.
Now let's bring in the economics of the pass rate. People jump up and down like monkies when they see a 70% pass rate. Great, but what does that really mean? I'll tell you what it means: jack shit!
Granted, we broke the mystical 70% pass rate, but that was based on lowered standards. I quiver to think what the pass rate would look like if we used the tertiary standard 50% pass mark. Above and beyond that, the percentage which actually matters, the exemption rate (those who qualify for tertiary) is at 24%. That means, and follow closely boys and girls, a whopping 76% of our matriculants are walking away from high school either empty handed or with nothing more than a glorified piece of paper. Let me not even get into the fact that roughly 50% of kids who started Grade 1 with the class of 2011 didn't even make it to matric.
Now we all know that in South Africa you need one of two things to get ahead in life. You must either have a reputable qualification from a reputable institution, or you need to have contacts. I won't even get into work experience because that's a whole other kettle of fish.
So here's the bit where I need you to apply that life taught economic thinking of yours. Let's say you're in a position to hire (read empower) an individual for a summer internship, knowing full well that your aim is to maximize profit and efficiency for your business/company, so objectivity is key. You have Sipho, who goes to a "black school". He's top of his grade and he does this by following a ritual everyday. Go to school, come home and study. No TV, magazines or Internet because his parents can't afford them, and no friends because they're a distraction. On the other hand you have Mandla. Mandla goes to a former model-c school. He's an average student, but he is well read and up to date with current affairs. He comes from a middle income family so he can afford a good tertiary education - Sipho does not, and he was hoping to save his earnings from this job to pay his registration fees and work his ass off so he could get a bursary (but you don't know this). Given that typical interview questions can include things like: "What's your take on the death of Bin Laden?" or "Do you think it's fair for Iran to withhold oil?" or "What effect do you think the tolls will have on trade in Gauteng?", who do you think will answer the questions better/with more confidence? Now that you've answered that question, I doubt I'd be wrong in saying that's the guy you would hire 10 times out of 10. That means while Mandla continues to thrive, Sipho will lose faith in hard work and most likely end up in a political party siphoning money from the state.
So let me ask this: is it really fair to claim that certain areas are racist because there aren't any blacks living/working there? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying lets shut up about racism, but maybe we should stop defaulting to it as an excuse everytime instead of doing some introspection into ourselves and our people.
I will conclude by asking this, if we define racism as the systematic degradation of blacks by a group of individuals, objectively speaking, is it not those in charge of the education and uplifment of blacks who are not only failing at their jobs but also keep shouting racism who are the true racists here?
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