ANCYL calls for early matric results
2012-01-16 15:27
Johannesburg - Releasing matric results in December should be considered to avoid congestion at universities, the Gauteng ANC Youth League said on Monday.
"The release of the results a day before the opening of the tertiary institutions contributes to the chaos that is characteristic during admissions as has been seen in UJ [the University of Johannesburg]," ANCYL provincial secretary Ayanda Kasa-Ntsobi said in a statement.
Gloria Sekwena, 47, died in a stampede at the university on January 10 while accompanying her son to see him through the applications process. More than 20 people were injured.
"This [admission process] was a mere exercise of a constitutionally enshrined right to education, which unfortunately ended tragically," Kasa-Ntsobi said.
"The... situation has, however, provided some important lessons about the challenges we face and some of the concrete actions government must take to resolve the long term problems facing our education system."
She said the incident highlighted the need for the government to create a new plan to cater for tertiary students across the country.
"Part of the reality is that you still have provinces such as Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape which do not have tertiary institutions," she said.
"Our call to government is that there must a concerted effort to broaden the frontiers of opportunity."
On Thursday, ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said the department of higher education needed to acknowledge that there was a critical lack of space in tertiary institutions.
He said the ANCYL would meet Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande to emphasise the need to build new universities.
"[We will] also propose a national summit to discuss and come [up] with solutions on how best South Africa addresses the reality of many students and fewer spaces and opportunities at post-secondary level," Shivambu said.
- SAPA