The new minimum admission requirements for a Bachelor’s degree in South Africa have been gazetted. These changes were noted by the Minister of Basic Education, Naledi Pando, and were gazetted on Friday, November 30, after consulting with the Council on Higher Education.
For entry to a Bachelor’s degree, matriculants will be required to have passed four subjects from a list of 18, including:
– Accounting
– Agricultural Sciences
– Business Studies
– Dramatic Arts
– Economics
– Engineering Graphics and Design,
– Geography
– History
– Consumer Studies
– Information Technology
– Languages
– Life Sciences
– Mathematics
– Mathematical Literacy
– Music
– Physical Sciences
– Religion Studies
– Visual Arts
The new requirements mean that of the seven subjects matriculants have in their final year at school, they will need only 30% in their respective languages, as well as more than 50% for four other subjects excluding Life Orientation.
These requirements would also work with the normal pass requirements to achieve a NSC – this means that, combined with their end-of-year-marks, matriculants would need to:
– Pass one official Home Langauge with a mark of 40% or more.
– Pass four subjects with 50% or more, excluding Life Orientation
– Pass any two other subjects with more than 30%
– Meet the language requirement for entry to tertiary study (30% or more).
“Adequate achievement in the NSC and in at least four 20-credit NSC subjects provides the primary basis for admission to a Bachelor’s Degree programme,” the gazette reads.
Pando, however, added that a tertiary institution may specify an appropriate level of subject achievement for a particular course of study.
“For example, admission requirements for a Bachelor’s Degree programme in Fine Art or Music might include a specified level of achievement in the corresponding recognised NSC subject(s),” the gazette reads. “Similarly, an institution will be entitled to specify subject requirements for a particular programme. For example, Mathematics and Physical Science might be considered as requirements for admission to a Bachelor of Science Degree.”
As reported by BusinessTech, this change in policy has received backlash from universities as it makes it easier for matriculants to gain successful entry to a Bachelor’s program when institutions are already struggling to place students.
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