As Universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges across South Africa prepare for the peak registration period this week, tens of thousands of young people will be confronted by harsh truth that passing matric with a Bachelor’s Pass does not guarantee a place at a university or tertiary institution.
The enormous mismatch between matric passes and spaces at universities highlight a post-school system that is failing young South Africans.
Year after year, more learners are exiting the schooling system with Bachelor-level passes – driven in part by declining matric standards – while the number of available undergraduate spaces at public universities remains limited. The result is a growing pool of qualified but excluded young people, many of whom are left with no clear post-school pathway.
Build One South Africa (BOSA) believes this crisis exposes a deeper failure in South Africa’s post-school education and training system. University cannot, and should not, be treated as the only legitimate route to success. A modern economy requires artisans, technicians, technologists, digital skills, and mid-level professionals. Despite this, TVET colleges and other post-school options remain underfunded, undervalued, and poorly aligned to labour market needs.
Young people are at the heart of BOSA’s mission. We are committed to fighting for real opportunity and to building a post-school system that works for the economy South Africa needs and the future young people deserve.
In this context, BOSA is today announcing that it has submitted a series of Parliamentary questions to the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, seeking answers and a credible plan forward. These questions seek, among others:
- Clear answers on whether government accepts that TVET colleges must be strengthened to absorb the growing number of students who cannot access university, and what concrete plans exist to do so. This includes funding, infrastructure, lecturer capacity, curriculum relevance, and public confidence in TVET qualifications.
- The annual throughput rate, and dropout rate, at TVET colleges nationally and per institution
- Full transparency on the state of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), including its budget over the past five years, how many students have been funded, how funds have been distributed across institutions, and the extent of outstanding student loan debt and weak recovery.
- Clarity on whether government has any plans to expand post-school capacity through the construction of new universities or colleges, and if not, why no such expansion is being pursued despite rising demand.
- Enrolment targets for TVET colleges over the past five years, and whether these targets are being met.
- Transparency around NSFAS upfront payments to universities and TVET colleges for the 2026 academic year, including the conditions attached to those payments.
South Africa cannot continue to sell our young people short. Any successful society is based on the premise that quality education should translate into opportunity. BOSA will continue to push for a post-school education system that is honest about its limits, and aligned to the needs of the economy.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551