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After being a lecturer at a large university in South Africa for the last 5 years, I have seen a huge decline in standards - both from the student body and in the academic quality of the degrees. Student class attendance is incredibly poor, critical thinking skills are severely lacking and, not to mention a lack of respect towards the staff, as well as many other basic skills that should be taught in schools, are non-existent.
The drop in the high school standards over the last decade has meant that Universities have had to lower their standards to compensate for the low pass rates. This in turn means that under-skilled students, who are used to being “spoon fed” throughout school, are allowed to study, compounding the problems that Universities are currently facing.
To help curb the increase in low quality student applications, and the decrease in funding from government, university fees have had to increase. Many of us earning degrees have had to get study loans and pay these back once we finished studying. This is nothing new. Not all high school matriculants should be allowed to study at universities (based on their achieved grades). This is how universities have always operated: If you do not achieve the grades, you can’t go to university, simple. There are other avenues of study for the lower grade matriculants or for those that cannot afford university. In my parents’ generation this occurred all the time. These other avenues include obtaining technical diplomas for example, for skills that South Africa desperately needs. Not everyone can (or should) become a manager, which is what the majority of students want and have been promised, should they obtain a degree. Too many managerial personnel will harm any businesses.
Generally speaking, obtaining a degree here in South Africa has become a means of demonstrating that you are willing to learn and work hard, and as soon as you get a job after university, graduates find themselves still having to apply for internships and being trained on the job anyway – for up to three years.
One of the biggest mistakes universities and the government made, was to give in to the Fees Must Fall protests last year (2015). This has shown the students that they can get their own way, and they will therefore keep on protesting, knowing that there are no consequences for their actions. The ones who are arrested are released soon after without any criminal charges, and the students who are expelled are allowed back to university, further compounding the problem.
Closing down the universities nationally has stopped other students from obtaining their degrees who are willing to work towards them. This is completely unfair to those students (some of whom take multiple part time jobs to fund themselves).
The damage that these protests have caused have necessitated universities to have to rebuild and repair infrastructure, chewing up already much needed funds. Students at universities should be the better educated part of the populace and therefore should be able to engage in legitimate, legal, and peaceful engagements for putting forward their grievances. Destroying university property is not only an offense that should get students expelled, but also a criminal activity that should get guilty parties arrested and charged. Destroying property to gain access to it? This falls into the realm of there is not enough transport, so let’s destroy what we have!
This in turn has meant that an increase in security is required on campuses around the country to protect property, assets and people! The protesters see this increase of security as a threat and therefore complain that universities are militarised. Should the protesters behave in a more civil manner, there would be no need for such security. This has also been intensified by the fact that Universities have become so very politicised. When did universities become a political landscape rather than a place of higher learning and thought?
In the current economic climate, it is not feasible to have free tertiary education. Government cannot afford the vast amounts required to send a country to university - not when basic infrastructure is crumbling, and basic schooling is in jeopardy, to name but a few. A baby cannot run before it can walk! This means that the tax payer will have to pay for this type of student to attend university. I surely would not want to be paying my taxes then. Why? Because students are not a good investment – they do not work hard and are disrespectful. They are lazy and want to get by on doing the absolute minimum. (Of course, there are always a handful who are a pleasure to teach and who continue to defy these new norms of mediocrity).
The problem needs to be addressed lower down the education pipeline, at the schools. However, we have also seen the schooling system rocked by protests in recent months. A severe lack of discipline, consequences, and respect, which all starts at home and at school. This is Basic Education should address.
The government is to blame for the unfolding situation and has caused these issues. The protests should be directed at them, not at the universities. Universities on their own cannot provide free tertiary education. It will get worse before it gets better!
