The Council on Higher Education (CHE) has recommended that the University of Cape Town admit more pupils from poor communities and intensify efforts to transform its demographic profile.
In the CHE’s institutional audit of South Africa’s leading university, the statutory body that quality assures the country’s higher education sector recommended that the institution do more to attract matriculants from quintile 1 to 4 schools (no-fee schools).
The CHE also recommended that UCT intensify its efforts to transform the demographic profile of its staff complement and student body.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola told the Sunday Independent that the university was preparing its improvement plan in response to the CHE’s audit report.
He said that with regard to the recommendation around pupils from quintile 1 to 4 schools, UCT was assessing the implementation of its admission policy introduced in 2016.
“Gains have, however, been made through application with the current policy. UCT has changed the demographic of its student body to 41% students who are the first in their family to attend university.
“UCT also financially supported 6 389 undergraduate students via financial aid and GAP funding (for students from households with combined annual income above the NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) threshold but below R600 000.
“The university will look at the actual proportion of students from fee-free schools and respond to the CHE’s audit recommendation based on data on the number of applications received, and the places offered to different groups of students,” Moholola said.
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