Post-1994 engineering education in South Africa: access and progression

Following democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, the government embarked on a radical reconstruction of higher education to restructure all the higher institutions in South Africa. This was aimed at addressing both the segregated history of higher education in South Africa and to meet the demands of higher education in a globalised world. The new government policy for the restructuring and transformation of higher institutions is discussed with its possible implications. The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa with a student population of over 24,000, is the case study for this report. Much progress has been made in the last decade by the major disadvantaged population groupings in engineering with regards to access, throughput and registration of engineers. The policy of equity in access to engineering education over the past 10 years has been successful. In a situation where the previously disadvantaged is the majority, are the policies sustainable over along term? These are the basis of the discussion in the paper.