Education plan for 'crucial link'
Themba Gadebe
4 November 2005
South Africa's Department of Education and Higher Education South Africa (HESA) have formed a partnership to deal with the "crucial" link between schools and universities, and the consequences of policy and curriculum changes.
The partnership was announced in Pretoria on Thursday.
According to the two institutions, the success of higher education in producing quality graduates depends on the output of the country's schooling system.
They indicated that grade nine learners must choose school subjects that suit their intellectual interest and desired career paths, including the option of higher education.
Crucial link
"Strengthening this link is crucial, especially following the finalisation of the new schools curriculum for grades 10 to 12 and the new exit qualification," the two institutions said in a joint statement.
"We have an intrinsic interest in developing an informed learner pipeline
into the higher education system, and therefore we need a flow of information that extends from choices made in grade nine to career choices made after one graduates with a degree or diploma."
In the past two months, South Africa's grade nine learners had to make important choices for the new curriculum that will be introduced in grade 10 in 2006.
"They will be the first cohort to leave the schooling system at the end of grade 12 with the NSC," the statement said, adding that the existing "senior certificate system will be replaced by the national senior certificate in 2008, which will be the basic entry requirement for higher education study."
Information guide
The partnership between the education department and HESA, a national body for tertiary institutions, entails the production of an information guide that captures important changes in the link between higher education and schools.
Published in September, the grade 9
guide, "Into Higher Education", is a richly illustrated text that helps learners map their current and future choices.
The guide also provides information on options other than higher education for school-leavers. It considers the alternative entry routes that can be taken into higher education.
Source: BuaNews
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