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85% of South African students aspire to go onto university and follow traditional careers, according to new global research

85% of South African students aspire to go onto university and follow traditional careers, according to new global research

Date: 2018-11-23

• 85% of South African students aspire to go to university

• Most still aspire to pursue traditional, well respected careers as doctors, dentists, engineers and psychologist/psychiatrists

• The study also explored areas such as technology in the classroom, teacher motivations, exams, students' favourite subjects and celebrating success

According to new research by Cambridge International, 85% of South African students aspire to continue their studies at university once they have left a school. In addition, many still aspire to go into the more traditional, highly respected careers like medicine and dentistry (13%), engineering (13%) and psychology and psychiatry (11%).

The first ever Global Education Census by leading international education organisation Cambridge International aimed to find out what life is like in schools around the world today for students aged 12-19 and their teachers. The 2018 Census looked at other aspects of modern education including students' favourite subjects, extracurricular activities offered by schools, homework and how schools celebrate success.

The census found the most popular subjects chosen by students in South Africa are English Language (95%), Maths (93%) and other languages (80%), followed by Accounting (29%) and Geography (17%). In fact, more South African students take Accounting and Geography than any other country surveyed.

In contrast, South African students' favourite subject is actually Biology (40%), followed by Maths (37%) and English Language (26%). This is similar to the favourite subjects of students around the world who said their favourite subjects are Maths (38%), Biology (29%), Chemistry (23%) and Physics (23%).

Students in South Africa aspire to work for a well-established organisation after completing their tertiary education. They also lead the way with the highest number of students globally (8%) who plan to take a year off after finishing matric.

Juan Visser, Cambridge International's Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, said: "For a successful career, students need to work hard and be dedicated to their studies. Education is a very important tool for everyone to succeed in life, as it is no secret that a good education has the power to change a life. It is important that educators and counsellors equip students with good career advice to make the right subject choices ahead of applying to university."