Paving
the next step
A lack of resources remains a major barrier to tertiary education for matriculants in underprivileged communities. However, some South Africans are actively finding solutions to ensure that all matriculants are given a fair chance at acceptance into university.
Phindile Masina, a 22-year-old student from Soshanguve, Pretoria, almost never made it to university.
Before becoming a bachelor of education student at the University of the Free State (UFS), she struggled with the registration process.
“I didn’t know how to go about the registration process, and I was running out of time,” says Masina, who registered for her first year in 2022. “The registration was closing on the 14th of February, and I registered on the 8th.”
Masina did not know how to navigate UFS’s online registration system on her own and felt confused by it.
“I was panicking because the registration deadline was close, and if I had missed it, I would probably still be at home,” she says.
She says that she did not want to stay in her home town and “be part of the negative statistics”.
“Many young people [from Soshanguve] either do not finish matric, remain unemployed after matric, turn to drugs, face teenage pregnancy, or even do crime,” says Masina.
Masina is now months away from qualifying as a teacher and wants to pursue an honours degree in educational psychology. She credits the help of a fellow community member, Ofentse Malebe, for her successful journey to university.
GRAPHIC: Anke Spies
“[Helping others] makes me feel happy and fulfilled.”
Help in reach
Malebe, who is 23 years old, noticed that matriculants from her township lacked necessary resources such as data, access to information and equipment, like laptops, to apply for university.
She then began using her own laptop, cellphone and the data given to her by Durban University of Technology (DUT) while she was a student there.
Since 2020, she has assisted eight matriculants in navigating university application forms and online portals.
“The biggest challenge I face is [that] some of the students I help do not even have email addresses,” she says.
She mentions that she was not aware of Masina’s struggles to register until Masina approached her.
What first motivated her to assist others was another matriculant approaching her for help, and from there she became involved in assisting those struggling with their university applications, says Malebe.
“[Helping others] makes me feel happy and fulfilled,” she says.
Malebe adds that helping students is rewarding, but also frustrating, because they expect her to certify their documents.
“I wish they could meet me halfway,” says Malebe.
Through experience, she learnt patience and understanding.
GRAPHIC: Onthatile Mahlangu
‘Bridging a gap’
“The lack of resources at home and school has a negative impact on the learner’s ability to apply,” says Ridwaan Williams, principal of Portland High School in Cape Town.
“As the application is an individual activity, it is challenging to assist 250 learners personally,” says Williams.
ProVision Alliance is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Cape Town. It was founded in April 2024 to address the lack of accessible, practical career and tertiary guidance for youth in underserved communities.
This is according to Dr Mogamat Junaid Ismail, founder of ProVision Alliance.
“Most learners do not have adults at home who can assist them,” says Williams. “In our case, it is ProVision Alliance who fills the gaps where learners need assistance.”
The NGO helps learners aged 14 to 18, particularly in low-income communities like the Cape Flats in the Western Cape, according to Ismail.
“We saw that many capable students were missing out on opportunities simply because they didn’t know where to start,” he explains. “They lacked exposure to career pathways, didn’t understand application processes and had no guidance on funding or bursaries.”
Currently, ProVision Alliance is funded by a mix of small grants, private donations and in-kind support from partners.
“We reach the [learners] through school partnerships, Portland High School and word of mouth among parents and educators,” says Ismail.
He says that the programme was built to bridge existing gaps in accessibility by combining mentorship, career guidance and psychosocial support.
“The aim is to build sustainable [application fees] funding through multi-year donor commitments, corporate sponsorships and skills development partnerships,” he says.
Zainab Damon, an 18-year-old matric learner assisted by the organisation, says that she received support in many areas after four unsuccessful attempts. One way that they helped her was through assistance in selecting her field of study.
“I saw it as a chance to get proper guidance for my university applications and also learn skills that will benefit me beyond matric,” says Damon.
ProVision Alliance checks the requirements together with learners and works toward meeting them, says Damon. “They also allowed us to do personality, vocational and motivational tests, which really guided me in discovering what I truly wanted to study.”
Damon hopes to pursue a bachelor of accounting at Stellenbosch University or a bachelor of business sciences at the University of Cape Town.
ProVision Alliance’s career guidance and mentorship programme directly supported 15 students in their structured pilot at Portland High School, ten of whom are currently in grade 12, according to Ismail.
“The programme was built to bridge this gap by combining mentorship, career guidance and psychosocial support.”
PHOTO: Onthatile Mahlangu
A failing system
Although the government plans to expand tertiary skills or formal educational opportunities, enrolments are unable to keep up with the growing number of matriculants or the many young people who cannot find work.
This is according to Gabrielle Wills, a senior researcher at SU, in an article published by Daily Maverick.
“One of every two recent matriculants was not engaged in work or studies in the first quarter of 2024. That’s 1.78 million individuals,” writes Wills.
Research published by Equal Education in 2023 states that the importance of quality in schooling cannot be underestimated, as is evident in its inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Specifically, SDG 4 calls for governments to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030,” according to the research.
“Government departments talk about success for the poor, but very little time and resources are available to learners,” says Williams.
He states that the current system’s inaccessibility “breaks [his] heart”, because the barriers that his learners face are due not to a lack of ability, but rather a shortage of funding and access to information needed to help with applications.
This aligns with the department of higher education’s concern that unemployment in South Africa is closely tied to limited access to education and training.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025.
This is the highest rate since the second quarter of 2024, according to Stats SA, and means that of the 10.5 million people aged between 15 and 34 who were available and willing to work in the first quarter, 4.8 million were unemployed.
Malebe believes that South Africa’s education system should be improved by increasing access to resources such as data and laptops, streamlining application processes and providing more guidance at each step.
“These changes would help level the playing field and create a more equitable education system,” she explains. “I just [don’t] want to see people give up before they’ve even tried.”
Ismail believes that government policy should make education more accessible through the introduction of a centralised government-funded bursary and application portal.
He says that it would be a single user-friendly system where learners could apply to multiple universities and funding bodies with one application, reducing administrative barriers and improving access for first-generation students.
“These changes would help level the playing field and create a more equitable education system.”
Supporting young people
“We aim not only to focus on universities but to develop students’ entrepreneurial skills,” says Ismail.
He states that his goal is to reach over a hundred learners every year. Malebe,’s goal is to ensure students make informed decisions and increase their chances of securing a spot at their institution of choice.
Mbasa Gwiliza is a recipient of Malebe’s assistance in accessing tertiary education, who is currently pursuing a diploma in accounting at DUT.
She describes Malebe as embodying the spirit of ubuntu, saying “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [a person is a person through other people]”.
“I was clueless about the application process,” says Gwiliza. “I only knew what I wanted to do and the universities I wanted to go to.”
Malebe assisted her with applications, navigating university prospectuses, outlining the required documents and completing the application process on her behalf.
Masina expresses her gratitude to Malebe for assisting her. “Without this support, my life would have turned out differently.”
“Ask for assistance,” says Masina. “There are always people who are willing to help.”
Masina hopes to assist other young people in the same way that she was assisted.
“If someone who wasn’t even that close to me could go out of her way to help me, then why wouldn’t I do the same for someone else?”
GRAPHIC: Onthatile Mahlangu
“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [A person is a person through other people].”