The Department of Basic Education has admitted that it continues to witness the ripple effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, hence matric results have been released late due to the disruptions. However, individuals that have passed their matric are being accommodated to gain admission in tertiary institutions.
Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga has indicated that the late release of matric results has been caused by the ripple effect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to negatively impact on the education sector.
Prior to the 2024 academic year, the Higher Education sector had already made necessary preparations to accommodate first-time entry students and some of them include the matric class of 2024.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has also assured that this won’t affect the state of readiness for the 2024 academic year.
As the academic year is underway, the Central Application Clearing House (CACH) has made an announcement:
We have opened up an opportunity for the matric class of 2024 who passed grade 12 and want to enter tertiary education but are facing challenges with getting a space to still sign up for the CACH service.
The service is also available to matriculants who had already applied for higher education studies but were not accepted at any institution at the time of application.
To further enable access to tertiary institutions, the matric class of 2024 may sign up for the service from 27 January 2024 until 31 March 2024, the services will only be available weekdays between 8am to 6pm and Saturday from 8am to 2pm.
The matric class of 2024 will be required to sign up by registering and capturing their details, including the field of study and programme of choice via the CACH system.
The CACH service aims to facilitate the matching of applicants’ National Senior Certificate exam results and study preferences captured during the sign up with places that need to be filled by universities and colleges, at no fee.
Matriculants who are not sure which career path to follow, have been advised to utilise the CACH referral service for career advice and information through DHET’s Khetha Career Development Service.
The department has also introduced the Central Applications Service (CAS) system, which is central in improving data management for enrolments and it is at an advanced stage.
Currently, DHET has entered the piloting stage to stress test the system and at least five universities have participated in this phase.
This includes the Tshwane University of Technology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Vaal University of Technology, University of Limpopo and the University of the Western Cape.
Rhodes University, North West University and the Central University of Technology will take part in the second phase of the piloting stage.
In the previous academic year, the Higher Education sector was delighted by the increased enrolment in universities and the Higher Education Dr. Blade Nzimande has also highlighted that this illustrates a steady growth in the sector.
