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Picture: 123RF/PAYLESS
Picture: 123RF/PAYLESS

I know I am stating the obvious when I say there are too many of us vying for a small piece of the pie, but why do the education department, unions and others not see the obvious as well? (“Lacking in distinction”, January 16).

We are on a hiding to nothing when the statistics show that 337,158 matrics qualified for university admission but there were only 202,000 places.

We need to raise the pass rate and do away with the 30%-40% pass rate, which is a fail in any sensible person’s book. Too many children think they are varsity material but patently are not.

We need to open many more training colleges, technicons and teachers’ and nursing colleges to give some of these matriculants hope.

A a few stats: the University of Pretoria received more than 300,000 applications when just 9,000 first-year students can be accommodated. Wits University received 86,893 applications for 6,000 positions. UCT allocated 4,500 spaces and got 98,844 applications. Need I go on?

This is all, as usual, a recipe for disaster. How come the government did not think ahead? Of course we know the elephant in the room — sex education at all our schools should be a priority.

One feels for the matriculants who have come to the end of the road when they should be at the beginning. Where are the jobs? We really need to start thinking outside the box.

Barbie Sandler
Constantia

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