The YCLSA does not welcome the findings of the National Benchmarking Test (NBT)

The YCLSA [uFasimba] notes the usage of and condemns benchmarking by Dr. Nan Yeld as a way to determine access to Higher Education by school leavers.

The test was conducted on first year university students. According to Dr. Yeld the test revealed that many University entrants were illiterate and innumerate. Despite the questionable methodology used in the research, we see this as yet another "underhanded" strategy to exclude the youth from disadvantaged communities.

The test also implies that the Matric examination set out by the Department of Education inferior nature and that standards have dropped, without any further investigation other than the tests.

The YCL will instruct its structures to fight tooth and nail if any of these findings are used at Universities to exclude students, as it is our suspicion that they may in order to justify ostracizing students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We shall declare any form of academic exclusion as criminal and will use any platform to fight against it. Access to free and quality higher education is now our motto.

We also want to again raise the issue of language in education, and how singular use of English and Afrikaans as the medium in many Universities continue to be problematic. We call on the Minister of Higher Education and the Portfolio Committee seriously look into introducing a National Language Policy which will enable or force Universities to use all other languages as their medium.

We welcome the efforts made by the Department of education (Both the basic Education and Higher education) to put in place measures to address past inadequacies that the government has inherited from the apartheid government. We believe that if properly implemented, they will combat shortcomings of the entire education system.

Statement issued by the Young Communist League, August 21 2009

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter