KwaZulu Natal Career
Day Proposal
Mmabatlokoa Molefe & Naledi Molefe
2012
Table of Contents
Introduction
2
Proposal
3
The Plan
4
Assessed Costs
6
The Future
6
Appendix
7
1
Introduction
A death of an innocent person is always tragic but when a person dies due to fighting for
what is supposedly their right or a right of their children then it is horrific and it shows that
there is something that we as the people are not doing right. The right to education is a
universal entitlement, a right that is recognised as human right. The Bill of Right stipulates
that the State, through reasonable measures, must progressively make education available and
accessible. This right that does not discriminate, it is available to both advantaged and
disadvantaged and therefore should be accessible to both.
On the 10th January 2012, South Africa as a whole was shaken by the incident that took place
in the University of Johannesburg during registration when an innocent mother was crushed
to death during a stampede and 17 were injured. When the nation was still trying to grapple
with this tragedy, Vaal University of Technology also experienced a similar stampede but
fortunately no deaths or injuries were reported. Both these incidents have infringed our
brothers and sisters’ right to education.
Besides the normal schooling process, high schools are not doing enough to educate learners
about their future options whether they may lie at a university, FET college or another
likewise institution, given the opportunity we would like propose an idea that would help
educate learners on this, which in turn will prevent further unnecessary deaths and injuries.
2
Proposal
We have identified the problem as late applications by students to institutions that result in
long queues, frustration and stampedes. This proposal aims to nip this problem where it
originates, at high schools. We believe that if students are given proper guidance, advice,
information and monitoring from an earlier stage then by the time they complete matric, they
will have an idea of their future plan concerning their further education thus limiting the late
applications and the problems they carry.
We therefore propose a string of career days. These will be days where high school learners
of both grade 11 and 12 gather at a place where they will have all the information they might
need at their disposal to help them decide which career path to follow, which institutions to
consider, which bursaries and scholarships are available, which companies they might work
for and any form of guidance they might need. A day that will put everything in perspective
for them before they start applying and that will encourage and help them see that life after
high school does exist and there are people who are willing to help. Therefore pushing them
to apply to institutions or decide what they want to do with their lives early in the year.
To realise the principal goal of the project the following objectives have to be achieved:

Fully inform learners about higher education and how to achieve it.

Encourage teachers to be actively involved in learners’ applications to institutions.

On-time application to higher education institutions.

Prevent stampedes at institutions during registration period.
Unfortunately in South Africa and everywhere else in the world there are still disadvantaged
schools, and the learners from these schools are the ones who are mostly faced with the
problem identified. Due to limited resources which limit the learners’ access to information
which will help them plan out their future, these learners end up either not furthering their
education, pursuing a career they are not passionate about or resorting to crime or likewise
activities which negatively impact the country’s economy. The wealth of the country ends up
being locked up in our backyards and in our streets. The proposed career days are therefore
targeted to schools that are disadvantaged.
3
The Plan
To avoid having too many students being present on the day, which might lead to some
learners not having a chance to make use of the resources, the event will run over a week.
Each day will be for a different ward, therefore each week for a circuit depending on the
number of wards.
To assess the practicability of the project we plan to start with a pilot week for Grade 12
learners in the City of Durban circuit. The pilot week should preferably be in May, this is
because some companies like Sasol have a deadline of June for their bursary applications.
The pilot week will as also help us identify the flaws in our service and the changes that can
to be made to ensure smooth sailing at future events.
During the pilot week and every event thereafter, we aim to achieve the objectives of the
project through performing certain tasks. Below is a list of the previously mentioned
objectives and the tasks that will achieve them.
1. Fully inform learners about higher education and how to achieve it.

Inform learners about higher education institutions.
Higher education institutions will be invited to the events to provide
learners information about the degrees/diplomas/certificates they offer,
entrance requirements, fees etc.

Inform learners about possible career paths and available bursaries.
Companies/organisations will be invited to recruit possible bursars and
provide information about the careers they offer, bursary application,
traineeship contracts etc.

Advise learners on career choices.
Student advisors will be made available to learners who may need them.
Learners are advised to bring their academic records to the event to ensure
non-speculative advice.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the open day.
Learners will be required to complete an evaluation form at the beginning
of the event to help us assess their knowledge about their future options.
Learners will also be required to complete an evaluation form at the end of
the event to assess the knowledge they have acquire throughout the day.
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We will then use the two evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the
open day.
All information pertaining to these tasks will be available at institutions,
companies/organisations and advisors individual stalls. We will provide learners
with a brochure that will list career paths and institution, company/organisation
stalls to which they should go to get further information. This will enable learners
to go directly to the stalls that offering information on the career of their choice
and also prevent stalls from being crowded due to learners going to stalls that are
irrelevant to them.
2. Encourage teachers to be actively involved in learners’ applications to
institutions.

Train teachers on advising learners and helping with application process.
Schools will be advised to select at least two teachers who will be trained
by professional trainers on advising learners on their careers choices and
other areas that may cause learner stress and have a negative impact on
their school performance. The teachers will also be advised on how to
actively exercise their role in learners’ application.
3. On-time application to higher education institutions.

Liaison with the selected teachers with regards to applications.
A representative will make regular contact with the selected teachers to
assess the progress of the learners that attended the open day. The teachers
will be required to present a report stating the number of learners who
have applied to institutions and/or any form of financial assistance or are
in the process of applying and those who have not applied at all. In the
report teachers will have to state the problem they are facing even after the
open day. We will discuss possible solutions and incorporate them to
future events.
4. Prevent stampedes at institutions during registration period.
It is our opinion that, through achieving the first three objectives, this objective
will be ultimately achieved. We also ask that the government hold institutions, at
which stampedes occur, accountable. Having studied at an institution with an
efficient registration system, we realise that an inefficient system is predominantly
the cause of stampedes as it lead to frustration and restlessness.
5
Assessed Costs
These costs are solely based on the pilot and are subject to change as the project progresses:
Costs
Venue: ICC Durban Exhibition Centre, R25 599 per day (please see quotation on the
preferably
appendix)
Transport: Olympic Bus Line, transporting R95000* for the pilot (Based on CK Travel
learners to the venue
& Tours rate for ICC shuttles. See quotation
on the appendix)
Food Packages
R19.90 per student ×1500* students
Printing Cost
R2 per page, R3000
Telephone
R150 per week for each person, during the
duration of the programme
*estimation of total students attending based on wards targeted
*𝑹𝟑𝟖𝟎𝟎
𝟏𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔
× 𝟔𝟎 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔 = 𝑹𝟗𝟓𝟎𝟎𝟎
Please note that during the pilot week we plan to staff the project with volunteers. Should you
decide to further the project there may arise the need to pay wages which will affect the costs.
The Future
With the successful execution of the pilot week, we aim to take this project to the rest of
KwaZulu Natal and hopefully the rest of South Africa. We plan to involve more companies,
institutions and people to help out as we expect for this project to be a huge success. With
well-planned execution, monitoring, funding and dedication this project has the potential to
change learners’ views of their future. We believe that by giving the learners all the
information and showing them their options, we will create a new breed of youngsters that is
enthusiastic and ready for the future
We do recognise that there is still more work to be done in our countries education, problems
like learners’ inability to transition from basic to higher education resulting in varsity
dropouts. We plan to address this and more issues in the future, as for now we want to take
things one step at the time so as to properly make sure that each and every problem is
addressed and solved.
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Appendix
Pinetown District: City of Durban Circuit
KwaSanti Ward
KwaNdengezi Ward
Kranskloof Ward
Nilgiri
Ndengetho
Sithengile
Mariannridge
Thokoza
Sithokozile
Sizinda
Nte
Langa
Mathinta
Woza Moya
Buhlebemfundo
Gingindlovu
Albin
Umqhele
Zwelinjani
Westmead
Ziphathile
Thornwood
Dr Lazarus
Dassenhoek
Wybank
Mothala Height
Companies and Institutions to invite (not limited to):
Companies
Institutions
Sasol
University of Pretoria
Transnet
University of Johannesburg
KPMG
University of Witwatersrand
PwC
Vaal University of Technology
Ernst & Young
University of KwaZulu Natal
Deloitte
Durban University of Technology
Government Departments
International Hotel School
SAIRR
Tshwane University of Technology
Allan Gray Orbis Foundation
Mangosuthu Technikon
Mondi
University of Cape Town
Sappi
CTI college
Varsity College
ICESA
Damelin
Boston College
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