Catalysing social mobility:

The role of South African universities

Date: 11 November 2024 |  Time: 13:00-14:00 |  Location: Virtual

Despite significant efforts to address income inequality in South Africa, social mobility remains limited, especially for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. While the proportion of students completing secondary education has improved since 1994, access to higher education has not translated into broad-based mobility. Many institutions are enrolling large numbers of low-income students but struggling to turn this access into upward mobility. Others are successfully graduating low-income students but only enrolling a few. This raises the critical question: What are the different ways that universities can effectively support upward mobility in South Africa?

In this ENGAGE, we will explore the potential of South Africa’s universities to promote social mobility by examining system-wide data from the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS). Using a comparative lens, we will assess how institutions differ in their contributions to upward mobility, particularly for low-income students. We present a framework that suggests universities should adopt tailored strategies to catalyse social mobility depending on their position on the access-success spectrum. Institutions with strong labour market outcomes but few low-income students can expand access; those with poor graduation rates among low-income students can focus on improving outcomes; and institutions serving many low-income students but failing to propel them into upward mobility can concentrate their efforts here. Highlighting each institution’s position on this three-dimensional plane allows for benchmarking, collaboration, goal-setting, and tracking progress in ways that could enhance support for low-income students and inform evidence-based policies and practices.

Murray Leibbrandt will be examining these issues. He holds the UCT Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research within the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town. He will be joined by Nicola Branson who is a Chief Research Officer from the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) in the School of Economics, University of Cape Town.  The ENGAGE will take place on Monday, 11 November, 2024, 13:00-14:00.

Once you have registered you can immediately add the event to your calendar (with all the Zoom details) or you will receive an email with the Zoom details shortly before this engagement. Please feel free to pass this invitation on to other colleagues who may be interested in attending.

Contact Details

For more information, please contact:
Michelle Buchler or Molatelo Motswe:
Email: helm@helm.ac.za

Register here

Date: 11 November 2024 |  Time: 14:00-15:00 |  Location: Virtual