It’s said there are no more designated subjects for high school learners but what does this mean for degree studies at university?
Below is the opinion of Anne Oberholzer, CEO of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).
“Up until March 2018, the minimum requirement for admission to degree studies at a higher education institution was subject to a list of 20-credit subjects known as the ‘designated subject list’. In order to gain entry into degree studies, learners had to obtain a NSC with a minimum of a 50 percent achievement rating in four designated subjects.
“However, on 2 March the designated list was revoked through a Government Gazette from the Department of Higher Education and the minimum admission requirements for degree study are expected to be changed as to require an achievement of 50 percent or more in any four subjects from the recognised 20-credit subject list,” Anne said.
She added the removal of the designated list of subjects from the requirements for the achievement of a NSC pass that allows entry to Bachelor degree study is a significant move and has some major implications. She said the change is applicable to the current Grade 12 learners that will write the NSC during the October/November examination session; more significantly, perhaps will be its impact on the subject choices of current Grade 9 learners who will enter the FET phase in 2019.
“This new development does pose challenges for learners and those who advise them on subject choices. There has always been a need to know the entry requirements of both the universities and the faculties at which learners might want to study. It’s important to understand that this change does not mean that any three electives will be acceptable for entrance into a course of study at a university, as each university and each faculty within an institution may set its own entrance criteria; these criteria often specify a set level of achievement in specified subjects.
Anne asks the following questions:
Does this mean standards have dropped?
No, is the short answer. It will not mean a pass for anyone who would have failed the NSC. The relaxation that increases the number of subjects in which a 50 percent pass will contribute to meeting the minimum admissions requirements for entry into degree studies will lead to an increase in the number and percentage of NSC candidates qualifying for admission to degree studies (and a corresponding drop in the number who qualify for admission to diploma studies). There is bound to be an (uninformed) public outcry that standards have dropped.
“The change has no impact on the standards which are being assessed in each subject. The actual examination papers, which embody the standards of the qualification and the specific subjects,” Anne said.
Impact on the current Grade 12 cohort
The change follows long-standing criticism of the “designated subject list”. The key criticism was that it excluded subjects that should probably have been included in the list and skewed subject selection by learners.
Impact on the current Grade 9 cohort
The removal of the designated list of subjects does open up the curriculum and accommodate a far broader range of subject offerings to learners.
While all subjects in the NSC hold value and were considered by universities in the Admission Points Scores, the designated subject list to a large extent dictated learners’ subject choices for Grade 10.
“By the same token, the fact that there is no longer a list of designated subjects means that learners run the risk of selecting a package of subjects that lacks direction or purpose and does not provide the learner with the subjects and disciplines needed to develop the kind of thinking and information processing strategies they need to thrive in an academic or other learning environment,” Anne said.
She said while the demand for further learning, accessibility to it and its costs pose serious challenges for the education system as well as those who fund it. Given the lack of any concrete evidence that passing four designated subjects at 50 percent does provide a clear indication of success in future studies – as opposed to simply scoring highly in the NSC subjects offered by a learner – it seems that universities have decided to remove this perceived barrier and allow individual institutions to deal with applications as appropriate to their contexts.
“This does mean that in the absence of a pre-determined minimum set of requirements, the more prestigious institutions may have more demanding criteria than other institutions. The onus then is shifted to the learner to ensure that their subject offerings and achievement levels align with the institution at which they wish to study. To emphasise the point, the importance of career guidance is thrust right into the spotlight,” Anne added.
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