CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
5.1. Findings from the focus groups
5.1.2. Perceptions of students
148 because of the DoHET’s requirement to increase throughput rates is inefficient use of academic time and resources.
Individual perceptions are reported verbatim below to highlight the disparate reasons that are perceived to be responsible for high student attrition, and poor graduation, or low throughput rates.
1. Students drop out not because they do not have the required I.Q. but because of the hardship of their socioeconomic background and family responsibility. Somebody needs to acknowledge that time must be spent on these non-HEIs related reasons (male administrator at UKZN).
2. Student attrition, poor graduation, or low throughput rate in South Africa is impervious to any effort and reform inputs because the school system is the one failing Matric pupils in term of the quality of learning provided. The school system is under-resourced, has an insufficient number of appropriately skilled educators, poor facilities and neighborhoods (academic at UKZN).
3. We (Academics and administrators) have acknowledged spending gratuitous time on tasks that are not traditionally our responsibility as well as solving problems that are beyond the remit of the HEIs. We have tried to help students by making teaching material available online and availing counselors, tutors and academic development officers but students do not meet us half way - it is just waste of resources (Academic at UKZN).
4. The blame lies with us – education stakeholders - not valuing education. Students have no manners but more rights than us. They do not do their homework and do not take discipline. If I knew what I know now I would have chosen a different career (Academic at UKZN).
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• Financial (NSFAS) and accommodation issues,
• Personal issues (attitudinal, emotional, food insecurity, motivational, and psychological), Academic integration, and
• Housing, health and health care issues, security and transport.
Academic problems and timetable logistics and clashes: several students expressed a degree of resentment about career choice issues or at being “forced” to enroll in specific disciplines such Accountancy, Economics, and Finance (my parent virtually forced me to major in this…). A majority of students perceived their lack of proficiency in English (they suggest that the university has to allow the dictionary in the exam venues for students to grasp the meaning of difficult concepts), absenteeism and poor lecture attendance, especially if the HEI offers programmes taking place between Friday afternoon and Monday before noon as this impacts on their social lives. Academic skills deficits, lack of time management skills, lack of motivation, lecturers’ lack of will, skills, and communication, and inaction were also seen as standing in the way of success.
Life skills deficits or underdeveloped: the majority of the students felt that their lack of understanding of the course content was the reason for poor success. Regardless of how good the lecturers are, or how many times lecturers might explain the lesson, they do not understand the content. This is setting them up for failure or for dropping out. Students are feeling bad about themselves (or their peers who are) performing poorly or dropping out and want desperately to persist on the path to graduation.
Financial and accommodation issues: the majority of students felt that they are entitled to state funding.
They feel that as they are prioritizing studying, they do not have time to pursue alternative funding options such as a job. Government has to secure the provision of the NSFAS, which should cover books, notes (syllabus) and residence fees, and food or meal allowances. Students suggested that education stakeholders have to push for the education sector to be the largest of all government spending to deal with the backlogs in the education sector. Not only do they require that given educational objectives have to be achieved with the optimal use of scarce state resources, but also for greater accountability as measured by performance indicators.
Personal issues: a recurrent perspective in the focus groups was students acknowledging that they were committed, eager, and motivated to perform well, be successful and graduate. Students perceived that many of their peers lost motivation and thus, are failing to meet their needs and educational expectations because
150 they suffer from severe poverty and dismal environments, and other factors such as lack of parental involvement, insufficient personal effort or inability to adjust to the university environment, time allocation and preference problems (competing work, study, family responsibility, and leisure times) and family problems such as ill relatives.
In the focus groups, students stressed that they do not have educational aspirations and were organized perfunctorily just to get through the academic year. They felt that they should just pass the modules and graduate. They suggested that government use indicators such as exam grades, pass or failure rates, student attrition or retention rates, graduation or throughput rates, and educational credentials including the number of conferred certificates, diplomas or degrees; or years of schooling to assess the HEIs receiving state subsidies.
Academic integration: with regards to academic integration as measured by indices such as faculty interaction, campus life, employment activity within the HEIs, and financial aid availability many participants could not list three services available to students on campus. A majority of students perceived that communication with them is vital, yet nobody has informed them about the services available.
Students were informed during focus group discussions that the executive management of the UKZN acknowledges that creating a conducive learning and social environments for students is one of UKZN’s strategic goals. UKZN has commissioned a 6 000 square metres student services centre at its Westville campus. This will house banks, cashiers, the fees office, the financial aid office, journal meeting rooms, recording rooms, student academic administration, student governance, student leadership development, the student learning centre, the SRC, the Deputy Dean of students, UKZN radio, and selected outlets including coffee shops and cafeterias, and a food court, etc. In addition, a marquee will be erected in the quad, which will provide seating for students during their leisure time (UKZN Corporate Relations, 23 August 2010).
Housing, health and health care issues, security and transport: issues of students’ clinics, medical aid and insurance, irregularity of public transport to or from the university, filthy privately leased buildings for students’ residences, harassment by security guards and other tenants, as well as cleanliness or lack of it in the University residences were raised. In the focus groups, students felt that there was poor provision of these services (some participants perceived that they were public goods). Students argued that UKZN, through specific departments such as students’ housing, contracts these services providers, yet they are settling for far from the best.
151 At an individual level, six salient perceptions are reported verbatim below to highlight the disparate reasons for high student attrition, and poor graduation, or low throughput rates.
1. I have withdrawn from another HEI to register here in the FMS because being intelligent in that university is a sin, other students were obstinately stalking and harassing me for assignments, tests and exams. I was distracted by other students making noise and kissing during the lectures. I also got robbed in daylight. I felt that I was not protected enough. Students are paying fees for their education and deserve customer service from the HEIs which must be encouraged to reinforce sanctions against these wrong doers (honours male students at UKZN).
2. I dropped out because I was bored and overwhelmed. Lecturers did not have content knowledge, reading from the prescribed textbooks and learning at the same time with the students during the lecture, and there was no added value in attending such too predictable lectures (a female former student at UKZN).
3. Studying is just a waste of money. I always pay fees and do not have time to attend or write the examination. My job is keeping me busy 24/7 (female student at Unisa).
4. I failed because I was forced to vacate the residence and could not settle down and catch up along the semester as my books and study notes were kept in a different place from my dwelling (first-year female student at UKZN).
5. I did not write the supplementary examination (supps) just because I was on the farm and did not have the “bus fare” to come back for the supps. The university must have empathy in their endeavour to supply education run in parallel to an all encompassing effective support to students by helping them find ways to overcome hurdles. If I was given more support, I would be able to adjust to the demands of university life, and even out-perform other allegedly high quality students (first-year male student at UKZN).
6. The NSFAS is the only option that I have. If I apply and I am turned away allegedly because it runs out of funds, I will protest until I get it. Otherwise, it will be impossible for me to pay the fees or buy even one single prescribed textbook.
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