LMI programme > Publications

Higher education access and outcomes for the 2008 national matric cohort


Date posted:

2022/11/01

Publication year:

2017

Corporate author/s:

Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP), Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)

Person/s author/s:

Van Broekhuizen, Hendrik; Van der Berg, Servaas; Hofmeyr, Heleen

Output-type:

research report

Format:

pdf

This study uses a unique data set to investigate university access, throughput and dropout for the 2008 national matric cohort. The findings show that university access in South Africa is limited, even among learners who perform relatively well in matric. In addition, those who do gain access to university often take a long time to complete their studies, with many never completing at all. As a result, only a select minority of matric learners manage to obtain university qualifications. Significant inequalities in university outcomes between race groups and across geographical space also remain evident. However, the results from the analysis suggest that observed patterns of university access and university success are strongly influenced by school results. The weak school system has a major influence on who reaches matric, and how they perform in matric. This, and particularly the achievement of bachelor passes, explains much of the differences in university outcomes by race, gender and province.

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