Durban - South Africa faces a brain drain as some of the country’s top-performing matriculants have already set their sights on studying at foreign universities to benefit from technological advances and better job opportunities.
Embassies from various countries have indicated there is a demand from matriculants to pursue higher education abroad. According to the missions, their reasons vary from load shedding and technology advancement to job opportunities.
Jaclyn Cole, public affairs officer at the US Consulate in Durban, said there were more than 2 300 South African students studying in the US.
Cole said this was a 14% increase from the 2020 to 2021 academic year, that was impacted by Covid-19. Cole said while they were still processing applications in preparation for the next academic year which will begin in August, they were expecting an increase based on the applications received.
She said there were 101 US universities hosting South African students. “The universities with the largest number of South African students include Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.
“The United States remains the top destination for international students with over 948 000 international students from around the world. One of the most attractive features of the US higher education system is its flexibility and the number and diversity of institution types it offers. We offer thousands of diverse academic programmes,” she said.
Fenghe Qiao, first secretary (of education) at the Chinese Embassy, said they were expecting an increase in foreign students after China recently lifted restrictions on their borders. He said advanced technology and environmental studies were a major drawcard.
“South Africa and China have a long history and enjoy good trade relations. This has attracted many South Africans to China for higher education. With SA battling with load shedding, China is advanced in nuclear technology studies, robotics and environmental studies. Also, there is an increasing number of Chinese students who come to South Africa to study languages such as Zulu, Xhosa and English.
“There are job opportunities in the technology and education fields and these are some of the reasons we get,” he said. Julia Sloan, of the Embassy of Japan, said their statistics for the current year were not available yet. However, in 2021, 19 student visas were issued by their embassy.
While some learners have received an early acceptance to prestigious tertiary institutions, the 2023 university year will only begin in the latter part of the year in the UK and the USA. Many South African candidates were in the process of submitting their final results.
Matriculant Michaela Moodley, who completed her Grade 12 at Reddam House Waterfall in Johannesburg, believed studying abroad would provide opportunities that would advance her career and global network. Moodley bagged six As and said the end of her high school years was bittersweet.
Although she believed that South African tertiary institutions were worldclass and offered academic and social opportunities, she had opted to pursue an LLB Law degree with International Relations at Middlesex University in Dubai, then move on to the UK for further studies. Moodley has already left for Dubai and will be exploring the city and studying topics of interest until she starts university in September. “I see myself settling in the UK due to the career opportunities,” she said.
Vumi Mbokota from Hilton College scored seven distinctions, which qualifies him for admission to study Civil Engineering at England’s University of Manchester. He is also waiting for a response from the University of Edinburgh before he makes up his mind. Mbokota said he had had no intention of studying abroad until he went on a school tour to the UK in June.
“This is why I didn’t do the Cambridge curriculum and I thought I wouldn’t be able to get into these universities with IEB marks,” he said. “At the time I was projected getting five As which would meet the requirements of these universities,” he said.
Maureen Robinson, emeritus professor at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Education, said some locals travelled abroad to broaden their horizons while some presumed that an overseas university was better than a local one.
“Although there is some variability in the higher education system, we have some excellent higher education institutions that certainly match international standards,” she said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE