SOUTH AFRICA: Universities must help new students more

Education Minister Naledi Pandor has urged universities to do more to help first-year students adjust to new academic learning and teaching styles they experience when they reach the tertiary level, reports the government agency Bua News. She said the failure of schools to support learners in acquiring effective competence in the language of learning and teaching was among several factors contributing to the difference between success at school and success at university.

Pandor was presenting a lecture, "Translating the Academic Edge into the Industrial Environment for Young Graduates: A personal reflection" at the University of the Witwatersrand last week.

"Many first year students struggle to adjust to academic language and to cope with the high level demand of independent research and self-directed learning," she said. "Few schools alert learners to the changed learning context of university and for many first years, university is a deep culture shock." Pandor also warned that South Africa should not repeat the mistakes of other systems that have taken decades to overcome discrimination and disadvantage.
Full report on the Bua News site