It is motivating to read in the people’s paper on November 16, that Notozi Mgobozi has completed her master’s degree in education at the age of 75. As if that is enough, she intends to enrol and read for PhD before she turns 80. For us to build a knowledge economy, the youth of this country should take a cue from Mgobozi by making education fashionable especially at the level of PhD.
This will be in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, which values education as important for long term development and as one of the elements for eradicating poverty and reducing inequality. The demand of the current economy requires a highly knowledgeable workforce.
As a result, in the NDP 2030, there is a target to produce more than 100 doctorates by 26 public universities per million people in SA every single year. By the look of things, this target is overambitious and it might be a mirage as the current figures are below international standards. Many students who enrol for a PhD never complete the qualification as they look back and turn into a pillar of salt.
As a result, the throughput rates of doctoral students at South African universities is very low. Currently, the country is producing 28 doctoral graduates per million people per year, which is below international standards. The country needs a lot more postgraduate qualifications at the PhD level in order to renew the current aging group of professionals and move towards a knowledge economy.
To achieve the target of 100 PhDs per million a year, we need 5,000 PhD graduates per year. The NDP requires these figures to be coming from engineering, mathematics, technology and science. This is a tall order considering the given statistics. Currently, the 26 universities are producing fewer than 3,000 PhDs per year, of which less than 50% are South Africans. Another problem.
It is not clear what factors contribute to less production of doctoral graduates in SA, whether it is the students who do not pull up their socks, or the resources or academics that are holding students back from completing their studies, as analogised in the scripture from the book of Exodus 9:1.
Should the PhD supervisors let the students go, as the holy book reckons? It would seem that several factors such as time, finances, motivation, lower numbers, lack of commitment, incentives, capacity by academics and work pressure are some of the reasons why fewer PhD students are produced among South Africans. This is exacerbated by employers in SA that do not value a PhD qualification.
For example, as long as you have a national diploma or degree, you can rise to the level of director-general in government or CEO of a company. As compared to foreign students, one pundit puts it bluntly that these students are motivated to complete their studies quicker as they study on borrowed time, and return to their workplaces in their native countries. This poses another challenge to the NDP targets as the majority of those who graduates in PhDs are not South African citizens. As much as it is good for university rankings, once they complete the studies, they return to their native countries.
The South African government, as the biggest employer and as the funder of higher education, should lead by example and recognise higher qualifications to encourage PhD enrolments, with the private sector following suit.
This would usher SA into the research economy and be able to fully embrace the fourth industrial revolution. Failure to transform the situation will lead to more woes, such as those experienced with regards to the #FeesMustFall student movement. The funding model for postgraduate students should also be revised to invest more on local students. The youth of this country should emulate Mgobozi to steer the country towards a knowledge economy.
• Profs Ngoepe and Maluleka are academics at the University of South Africa
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