Avoid disappointment – apply now to tertiary institutions

If you are in Grade 12, the time to apply for admission to universities and universities of technology is now.

By applying early, you stand a better chance of being accepted at tertiary institutions without any hassles.

In the past, tertiary institutions have been overwhelmed by the large number of students who leave it to the last minute to apply for admission.

This caused a number of problems and even resulted in a parent losing her life during a stampede at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2011.

To prevent such incidents, the Department of Higher Education and Training is driving campaigns to encourage potential students to apply early, centralised the application process and provided career guidance.

Led by Deputy Minister Mduduzi Manana, the department’s initiatives encourage learners to apply to universities when they are still in Grade 11.

The Apply Now Campaign, Central Application System (CAS) and Khetha Career Guidance were launched by the department and, according to Deputy Minister Manana, the initiatives have been a resounding success, reducing late applications, walk-ins and long queues.

The department is working on putting CAS in place to ensure that all applications go to a central location.

Currently, KwaZulu-Natal is the only province with this system and Deputy Minister Manana says the department will learn from the province’s model.

“We realise that implementing the system will not be an easy task because there are so many technical and administrative processes that need to be considered but a technical task team was assembled and implementation is expected in 2015,” he adds.

The department has also linked the Apply Now and Khetha Career Guidance campaigns since they complement each other.

Through the Apply Now Campaign, the department aims to reduce the last-minute rush experienced at most universities at the start of each academic year, while the Khetha Career Guidance campaign gives prospective students advice on which career to choose based on the needs of the economy.

Deputy Minister Manana believes it was a wise decision to link the two campaigns.

“We combined the two because I held a strong inclination that you can only apply on time when you know what you want to study.”

For more information on the campaigns contact the Department of Higher Education and Training on 0800 872 222.