SA student dropout rate 'concerning'
The Higher Education and Training Department says 55% of students who enter varsity do not graduate.
Minister Blade Nzimande raised concerns over corruption, funding and the high failure rate in Durban yesterday.
He'd been speaking on the first day of the 2nd Annual National Higher Education Summit.
The number of students who do not finish their qualifications is one of the main topics on the agenda.
Nzimande says the issue hasn't received the attention it deserves.
"By saying this we are not blaming students. There are many challenges and difficulties that many students are faced with. So this is a matter that the summit must continue to reflect upon," he said.
He says language is one of the challenges faced by students.
"Language policies or practice which exclude black students are not acceptable. Sometimes when we raise these issues - some say this is an attack on Afrikaans as a language or an attack on Afrikaner culture.
"I want to reject that with a contempt it deserves. No one is fighting Afrikaans or Afrikaner culture. What we have to know is that Afrikaans and Afrikaner culture will have to exist in a multilingual and multicultural society," he said.
(File photo: Gallo Images)