Peter Luhanga
- A lack of smartphones, high data costs, and unfamiliarity with application processes has left hundreds of 2024 matriculants in Dunoon and surrounds unable to access university platforms.
- The University of the Western Cape’s SRC assisted about 120 matriculants, helping with late applications and capturing data for the government’s CACH system.
- Local leaders and organisations, including SANCO and the ANC, are working to ensure Dunoon youth are placed in universities.
A lack of smartphones, the prohibitive cost of internet data, and unfamiliarity with online processes has left hundreds of 2024 matriculants unable to complete their university applications.
The crisis led a local civic organisation to seek assistance from the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), shedding light on the systemic barriers facing aspiring students in Dunoon township and surrounding informal settlements.
When word spread through community networks on Saturday that the UWC students would assist with university registrations, hundreds of matriculants gathered at the Dunoon community hall from as early as 8am. By mid-afternoon, around 50 students, clutching their matric statements of results, remained patiently waiting for guidance from the SRC representatives.
Bulelwa Mayende, a member of the South African National Civic Organisation’s (SANCO) National Executive Committee and personal assistant to Ward 104 Councillor Messie Makuwa, observed a steady stream of young people visiting the councillor’s office. Among them were recent matriculants, including many from the class of 2023, seeking forms to register on the City of Cape Town’s unemployed persons database – most of them young women.
“I asked them why they needed job seeker forms, and they explained that some had been on university waiting lists since 2023, others had just matriculated, and many were unable to access university registration portals. We stopped registering them on the City of Cape Town’s unemployed persons database and reached out to the SRC at the University of the Western Cape, who responded to our call,” said ,” said Mayende.
She said the SRC would extend their efforts beyond Dunoon, reaching nearby communities such as Joe Slovo Park in Milnerton and Witsand in Atlantis to assist vulnerable youth in accessing university registration platforms.
Chairperson of the South African Students Congress (Sasco) at the University of the Western Cape, Tshepang Masiu, said they had assisted “around 120” matriculants.
“Many lack the resources to check their application status, while others didn’t apply at all. We’re helping with late applications to institutions like the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and Rhodes University,” he said.
He said that although they had announced their arrival time as 10:30am, people began gathering as early as 8:30am.
“When we arrived, there were crowds of young people lined up,” he said.
He said they also helped matriculants enter their data on the government’s Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) system.
“For those who weren’t accepted, we entered their details so universities can extract the information directly,” he said.
New Rest informal settlement resident, Sinobom Mamase, 18, arrived at the municipal hall at 11am but was only assisted at 5:10pm.
Mamase, who attended Dunoon Inkwenkwezi Secondary School, said she had initially applied to CPUT but later learned from the SRC that her records showed she had deferred her Grade 11 and Grade 12 exams – information she said she was completely unaware of.
“I applied to Northlink College to study Human Resources and to West Coast College to pursue teaching,” said Mamase.
Proportional Representative Councillor Thando Dedezane (ANC) said they plan to engage various institutions from the end of the month to advocate for the acceptance of applications from Dunoon youth until every learner is placed.“We are not giving up, and the youth must know they are not alone. We are fostering a sense of unity,” said Dedezane.