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Click here to watch the footage taken by News24 at the Long Walk for Rhino's Mandela Day initiative at Robben Island School. (QVC donated Media Liaison to this initiative as part of its Mandela Day initiatives)

 Quo Vadis Communications on a field trip to KwaZulu Natal for client, Siyazisiza Trust.

Victoria Makalima, assistant Director for the Johnson and Johnson Burn Treatment Centre (left) and Roger Crawford, Executive Director, Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy for Johnson & Johnson (back right) happily assisted Nurse Ester Manson and clinical officer William Kalua from Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi throughout their two-week specialised training session at the Burn Treatment Centre at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The training took place as a result of a public private partnership between the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, and the University of North Carolina in USA. The hospital in Malawi recently opened a burn unit and the hands-on training Ester and William received at the leading burn treatment centre in Africa, will no doubt make a huge difference in the lives of those in need.

The high number of drop outs can be attributed to various factors including the inability of primary and secondary education to adequately prepare students for the pressures of higher education.

The Kresge Vice Chancellor’s Retreat, hosted by Inyathelo-The South African Institute for Advancement creates a platform for leaders in higher education throughout South Africa to debate issues affecting and facing higher education institutions in the country.

Amongst the many concerns raised at this retreat, the issue of under-prepared students, the drop out rate and inadequate teacher training, were top of the list.

“Many students who drop out of university are unable to read, or do simple mathematics,“ says  Raphael de Kadt, professor of political science at the Johannesburg-based St Augustine College of South Africa.

Higher education institutions therefore have to invest a lot of time and resources in bridging the gap between what the youth should know when leaving school and what they  in fact do know.

According to Brutus Malada, Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Politics and Research, a study done by the Human Sciences Research Council in 2006 indicating the amount of money allocated to higher education by the state but lost due to the number of students dropping out, is a clear indication that financial exclusion is no longer the only major obstacle for students wishing to study at a tertiary level.

“There are still many who are unable to access higher education because of the lack of funding, but it is epistemological access that we need to address more vigorously. Our education system is failing our students. This means we should address the challenges of our primary and secondary education especially", he said.

Transforming higher education is therefore essential. In order to reduce the high number of drop-outs in Higher Education Institutions, the curriculum in primary and high school needs to ensure that it addresses the basics.

But, says Dr Saleem Badat, Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University: “Higher Educational Institutions are not without fault, many lecturers are unable to get their point across in a way that people can understand. They also tend to “not see” their students.

“About four or five years ago, a statement made by a second-year business student made me realise how important it is for a lecturer to connect with their students, to ‘see’ their students.”

Universities now grapple with the way forward. How will they manage to bridge the knowledge divide and how will they produce well-rounded graduates?

Speakers at the retreat included Professor Linda Richter, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Human Sciences Research Council, Professor Rolf Stumpf, Higher Education Consultant, Professor Loyiso Nongxa, Vice-Chancellor of University of Witwatersrand, Dr Rob Adam, Chief Executive Officer for the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Professor Ahmed Bawa, Vice-Chancellor of Durban University of Technology, Professor Brian O’Conell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape and Dr Anita Craig, Independent Scholar.

The retreat forms part of the Kresge Foundation Special Initiative in South Africa which began in 2005 in partnership with Inyathelo-The South African Institute for Advancement. This five-year initiative aimed to develop and strengthen local fundraising and giving in universities and hospitals in the country. The programme provides institutions with fundraising training and support, mentoring, peer exchanges abroad and special challenge and incentive grants.

For more information about this initiative, please go to www.inyathelo.org.za or call 021 465 6981.

Last changed: Nov 09 2010 at 9:14 PM