I found the article, about foreigners studying in SA universities, in last week's Sunday Times rather intriguing. In view of the present situation in the South African education system, I can only assume foreigners, beating down our classroom doors, come from countries with standards poorer than ours. Another possibility is that below average students come here, because unlike in their own countries, they can pass in SA. A third possibility is cost, with quotas another possible reason. The last possibility is the most likely reason for the "flood of foreign students".
It is an established fact that our school leavers have inadequate mathematics and science knowledge to enter the engineering, science and accounting fields of study. Universities, pressured to fill quotas, accept black African students ahead of non-black, South Africans to get the demographics right, a fact borne out by the 30 000 or 50% of foreign students hailing from Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.
My guess is that most of the remaining 30 000 students come from other, more distant African countries, such as Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Ghana and others. The spin put on this non-event creates the impression that students the world over cannot wait to get into South African universities. A classic example of a so-called "good news" story, hiding the reality, in this case the miserable state of our deteriorating school education.
Reports such as this, creates the impression that we are a benchmark in higher education. On the contrary, our standards are continuously dropping, thanks to the ANC government for their deliberate "dumbing down" policies, in schools and universities. This ill-advised policy is now being accelerated by the Communist visionary and "Propaganda Guru", Blade Nzimandi, whose love for idealism and political rhetoric will ensure the production of even fewer engineers, scientists and accountants by our universities. Instead of raising standards, he advocates the dropping of standards in a desperate attempt to accelerate the decline in standards, engineered over the past fifteen years.
The clearest indication of dropping standards can be seen in the medical profession, where in the past, South African doctors used to be accepted as is, "Voetstoots" so to speak. Today they have to pass entrance exams in countries like the UK, Canada and other developed countries, no more "Voetstoots" admissions, not even for Podiatrists, a situation, symptomatic throughout our education system and in most areas of study. The reason, for this sorry state of affairs, has to be laid at the door of the ANC government, a string of useless Ministers and a culture of entitlement. Foreigners, spending money to be taught in our universities, are misguided, or do so because the other options are too expensive.
The truth is, more and more students from South Africa are looking to study abroad, in developed countries. This option is however expensive and only in the realm of the rich. The average student has to find other alternatives.
For those parents looking for affordable educational opportunities for their children in final preparation for there journey through life, in the awakening giant, Africa, source of knowledge and wisdom. Look no further than the University of Timbuktu. I hear gasps. Well, let it be known, Timbuktu is highly regarded by many, including internet trained African Historian and HIV/Aids expert, Thabo Mbeki, as the cradle of African knowledge and by deduction, taking into account that Africa is widely regarded as the cradle of mankind, Timbuktu becomes even more significant and can perhaps be described as the cradle of knowledge.
When Mbeki goes there again, once he has passed his internet course on forensic palaeontology, he will find the petrified remains of the tree of knowledge - the Biblical one, not he smoking type - right there in Timbuktu, along with a fossilised nest of vipers. It is no wonder people like ANC academic Pallo Jordan and general bright spark, Ebrahim Rasool can't hide their infatuation with this great centre of learning.
With the university, practically being invaded, by what must seem like a who's who of African intelligentsia, a Timbuktu degree is becoming more desirous than most degrees obtainable from Oxbridge, Stanford, Harvard, The Sorbonne and MIT.
Eminent intelligentsia, currently associated with the university is Julius Malema who is taking his newly found School of Political Leadership to Timbuktu. Justice Hlope has been asked to set up a School for African Law whilst Carl Niehaus is understood to be teaching ethics and Chippy Shaik is the Dean of the Engineering Faculty.
In the meantime, it was learnt that, Pastor Ray McCauley, world-renowned expert on the integration of state and church, indicated his intention to join the department of Theology and Divinity as visiting Lecturer in Struggle Theology, Religious Integrity and Integration Economics. The persistent rumour that the eminent medical expert, Dr Mantho Tshablala-Msimang, will be joining the University's school of Medicine in the newly established chair of African Traditional Medicine.
The chair, sponsored by South African businessman, ANC cadre, minister and patron of the witchdoctors, Tokyo Sexwale, promises to be a big draw card, with no expense spared in obtaining the best teaching staff and ultra-modern blenders for making groundbreaking modern muti.
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.