HIGHER Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has warned that many black graduates are still battling to find jobs in the first year after completing their studies because of inferior education, deeply-rooted and intractable historical inequalities.

"For example, historically black universities remain relatively disadvantaged in terms of resources and the quality of academic programmes," Nzimande said.

"Recent research shows that black graduates find it a lot more difficult to find employment than their white counterparts."

The minister was speaking at the launch of the Walter Sisulu University's (WSU) South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) Bachelor of Commerce in accounting, re-accreditation programme at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha yesterday.

The programme is a partnership between the university, Saica, the Department of Higher Education and the University of Cape Town.

It is designed to help ensure that WSU can offer teaching and learning standards that are consistent with the demands of the chartered accounting profession.

The department will reportedly invest more than R84-million in the programme over four years through the national skills fund.

Nzimande argued that inequality still determined the pattern of poverty and wealth in the country and also has an impact on how formal education is distributed.

He said the country was also experiencing an acute shortage of high-level skills with a demand for more than 5000 chartered accountants. As a result, this critical shortage limited the country's ability to undertake research and development and efficiently compete in global markets.

Saica had previously accredited WSU to offer the chartered accountancy undergraduate programme but the accreditation had been lost due to staff changes and insufficient focus on the programme.

But Nzimande said the recent re-accreditation would help the university to provide a qualification that would make students relevant to the market.

"The project will specifically recruit and develop black chartered accountants to lecture at WSU," added Nzimande.

Chantyl Mulder, a senior executive at Saica, said the programme would focus on producing quality chartered accountants with most of the funding going towards the students.

"Our aim is to produce a new breed of leaders who will be able to give back to their communities."

First-year student Esihle Nkohla, 17, wants to excel because there are very few black female chartered accountants.

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Thu May 23 02:20:51 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 5, 2012

RobinH

Let's just get actual schooling sorted before we go wanking about like this Blade. Ensure that we actually have text books in schools so that kids can get a credible matric before stuffing about with post-matric issues.
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Oct 5, 2012

MorenaWaPolelo

To work where Blade? tsek Blade
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Oct 5, 2012

Pointman

Blade again - If bra Blade lives to be 500 years old, then 400 years from now he will still be blaming "historical inequalities".

What is an "intractable inequality"? You are in charge so you can fix it up. If the billions lost to corruption can be saved, then they can be spent on the universities that are lacking resources. And how come no word on the report which placed us at the bottom of the education ranking - selective forgetting eh?
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Oct 5, 2012

MGEEZ

Good initiative minister; indeed there is a need for black chartered accountants in this country and that may even increase the number of entrepreneurs!!!
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Oct 5, 2012

warry

Chartered Accountants are not made by lazy, unqualified mathematical teachers heh. You must have atleast a C in high grade mathematics and accounting at matric. Not maths literacy but pure maths. So Komanisi start there at secondary level not.
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Oct 5, 2012

2shy2call

Sorry they are in jail.
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Oct 5, 2012

Mellow

"Recent research shows that black graduates find it a lot more difficult to find employment than their white counterparts."
.................................................................................................................
Hhmmm and I wonder why...

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Oct 5, 2012

kolobe

poor reporting by sowetan protecting racist whites,actual story below

Nzimande: Black graduates struggle

Johannesburg - Black graduates have more difficulty finding work than whites after leaving university, Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande said on Thursday.

He said 55% of black graduates from Stellenbosch were unlikely to find a job in their first year after receiving their degrees, compared to 12% of white students.

He said 29% of black graduates from the University of Witwatersrand could not procure employment in their first year after university, compared to seven percent of white students.

While further data was not available, Nzimande argued that the results could likely be found across higher education in South Africa.

"Most black youngsters do not have the family and other connections into the labour market that are generally enjoyed by whites and the few, more affluent blacks," Nzimande said in his prepared remarks at Walter Sisulu University.

The minister said historical inequality and poverty determined access to education and the ability to achieve academically.

Nzimande said this was despite efforts by the government to transform education.

He said historically black universities also remain disadvantaged in terms of resources and quality of academic programmes.

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Oct 5, 2012

kolobe

very disappointing that a black paper like sowetan had to sugarcoat the racist nature of our private sector. issue is ,it takes longer for a black to get a job not that they getting inferior education
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Oct 5, 2012

THEmadame2B-BBEE

"For example, historically black universities remain relatively disadvantaged in terms of resources and the quality of academic programmes"
..........................
True, University of Limpopo, and University of Fort Don'tCare, are a great example, these are high schools cdre Blade, you can't expect a CA to emerge from such informal settlements
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