Central bursary office mooted

2003-08-18 09:43

Barnie Louw

Cape Town - The national education department acknowledged on Sunday - as it did in 2001 - that it envisaged a central office where potential students can apply for tertiary studies.

The department emphasised, though, that it did not want to muscle in on the autonomy of university and technikons with regard to admittance criteria.

"How can we do something like this?" said education spokesperson Molatwane Likhethe.

He denied a Sunday newspaper report that the state wanted to control admittance to universities.

"It's only a place where pupils can obtain information. It will make life easier because they won't have to contact every institution for information," Likhethe added.

The report said Education Minister Kader Asmal was planning a central government agency, which would decide which students will be admitted to universities and technikons.

Asmal is apparently planning to introduce admittance criteria, which the country's 36 universities and technikons will have to adhere to from 2008.

The central office, apparently planned for KwaZulu-Natal, will handle applications to all tertiary institutions and allocate students.

The council for tertiary institutions currently lays down admittance criteria, based primarily on subjects and matriculation exam results of applicants.

As was the case in 2001, opposition parties criticised any plans to undermine the autonomy of institutions. The plan was described as unconstitutional, Stalinist and totalitarian.

Asmal said in 2001 that "career advice at many schools made the predictions of sangomas appear scientific".

He said pupils often didn't know where to apply to and which courses were presented at the various institutions. That would be the main role of the office.

Asmal emphasised that "universities and technikons would still decide who to admit. Their autonomy won't be threatened".

- Die Burger