Pretoria – The unemployment rate among young graduates of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system could be attributed to unequal treatment they received from both the government and society at large.
Lobby group Equal Education said the unemployment rate of TVET graduates stood at around 20%, while that of youth with university degrees was 8%.
Daniel Sher, deputy head of policy and training at Equal Education, said those who could choose university education remained preferable in the labour market over TVET graduates.
He said compounding the unemployment problem was that many students dropped out before they were done with their courses, and this was largely due to poor teaching.
“The failure by the department to release results and certificates on time hinders graduates from finding employment and generating an income.”
The struggle by students was highlighted last week during the shutdown of all the 265 TVET colleges in the country by the SA Further Education and Training Student Association.
Its president Yonke Twani said the problem of unemployment emanated from the Department of Higher Education and Training withholding exam results without explanation.
Twani said students had decided to shut campuses down after their request for the department to fix their problems fell on deaf ears.
The students complained about poor infrastructure at colleges, which was a far cry from state-of-the-art facilities at elite universities.
They also said fee increments made without proper consultation was a major problem.
According to Sher, the infrastructure problem also affected the historically black universities which had insufficient funding.
The problems impacted negatively on the department’s plans to accommodate the 2.5 million students planned for TVET colleges by 2030.
He criticised the department for not having strategies in place to address the historically weak institutions.
The late transfer of NSFAS money formed part of the issues that forced students to strike.
According to Equal Education, the late funding suggested that the government did not prioritise students in TVET colleges.
The problem of under-resourced TVET colleges and poor management was rooted in the apartheid system, which used to have the old technikons.
Sher said technikons had three-month theoretical courses, followed by nine months work placement as an apprenticeship.
“This system was much romanticised, but was in fact flawed and in need of reform. When the TVET colleges were created out of the old colleges, government introduced full year programmes."
“The colleges struggled to adapt to these new qualifications, and there was no ready-made supply of lecturers who could teach them, as they often required much more of a theoretical base than the old courses.”
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has called for a dialogue with the student leaders, saying some of the issues raised were legitimate.