Throughputs of two cohorts of dental students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University: A comparison.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/10.17159/2519-0105/2020/v75no6a1Keywords:
student dentists, throughputAbstract
INTRODUCTION: The numbers of student dentists enrolled at dental schools across the country do not give an indication of the students' progress to degree. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare the throughputs of dentistry course for two cohorts of students at Sefako Makgatho Health Science University. The progress to degree of the 2005 and 2010 cohorts of first year dental students was tracked and compared. DESIGN: A comparative cross-sectional study. METHODS: Academic records of the 2005 and 2010 cohorts of first year dental students were followed up over a five-year period. Data related to the demographic characteristics, numbers enrolled, numbers who dropped out, and the numbers who graduated were acquired and then captured in Microsoft Excel software. RESULTS: Female students constituted the majority of enrolees in both cohorts (53.8% vs. 51.3%). The proportions of students who started the course, completed the degree and graduated within the regulation time among the 2005 and 2010 cohorts were similar (42.1% vs. 41.2%. A lone student among the 2010 cohort dropped out of the course. The majority of students (57.9% vs. 55.9%) in both cohorts took longer to qualify. CONCLUSIONS: The throughputs of dentistry course for the two cohorts hovered around 40%.
Downloads
References
World Health Organization. Dentistry personnel density (per 1000 population) Retrieved from http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=dentistry&d=WHO&f=MEASURCODE%3AHRH_28 [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Department of Health. HRH Strategy for the Health Sector: 2012/13 - 2016/17 Retrieved from http://www.hst.org.za/publications/NonHST%20Publications/hrh_strategy-2.pdf [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Bhayat A, Chikte U. Human Resources for Oral Health Care in South Africa: A 2018 Update. Int J Environ Res. Public Health 2019; 16: 1668; doi:10.3390/ijerph16101668.
Department of Health. National Oral Health Survey: South Africa 1988/89. Pretoria: Government Printer; 1994.
van Wyk P, van Wyk C. Oral health in South Africa. Int Dent J. 2004 Dec; 54(6 Suppl 1): 373-7.
Petersen PE. Priorities for research for oral health in the 21st Century - the approach of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme. Community Dental Health 2005; 22: 71-4.
Department of Health. South African Oral Health Strategy. Retrieved from www.health.gov.za/.../strategic.../130-sd20-05?...south-african-national-oral-health-stra.[Accessed 04/07/2018].
Masetla MM, Mthethwa SR. Dental Therapy Student cohorts: Trends in enrolment and progress at a South African University. SADJ. 2018; 73(6): 406-10.
Bhayat A, Chikte U. The changing demographic profile of dentists and dental specialists in South Africa: 2002-2015. Int Dent J. 2018; 68(2): 91-6.
Statistics - HPCSA. Retrieved from www.hpcsa.co.za/Publi-cations/Statistics [Accessed 28/06/2019].
Aina C, Baici E, Casalone G, Pastore F. The economics of university dropouts and delayed graduation: a survey. March 2018. IZA DP No. 11421. Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp11421.pdf Accessed [23/05/2019].
Council on Higher Education (CHE). A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure. Pretoria: CHE. 2013.
Letseka M, Maile S. High university dropout rates: A threat to South Africa's future. Pretoria: Human Science Research Council 2008.
Fiske EB, Ladd HF. Elusive equity: Education reform in post-apartheid South Africa. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press 2004.
Lalloo R, Ayo-Yusuf OA, Yengopal V. Early-phase dental students' motivations and expectations concerning the study and profession of dentistry. SADJ. 2008; 63(4): 216-20.
Union of South Africa (1950). Population Registration Act, No. 30 of 1950, in SA Government Gazette 1950.
van Broekhuizen H. In: FACTSHEET: How many South African students graduate? December 2016. Available https://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-many-south-african-students-graduate/ [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Jeynes K. In: FACTSHEET: How many South African students graduate? December 2016. Available https://africa-check.org/factsheets/factsheet-many-south-african-stu-dents-graduate/ [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Haynes MA, Lee AB. Medunsa and the training of black doctors for South Africa. Acad Med. 1995 Feb; 70(2): 115-21.
Ministry of Education. National Plan for Higher Education in South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov.za/com-missions/FeesHET/docs/2001-NationalPlanForHigher Education.pdf [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Council on Higher Education. Vital Stats Public Higher Education 2014. Pretoria: CHE; 2016. Retrieved from https://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/VitalStats2014%20-%20webversion.pdf [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Van Broekhuizen H, van der Berg S, Hofmeyr H. Higher Education Access and Outcomes for the 2008 National Matric Cohort. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 16/16. 2016. Retrieved from https://resepsun.ac.za/wp-con-tent/uploads/2016/10/Van-Broekhuizen-et-al.pdf [Accessed 04/07/2018].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Sibusiso R Mthethwa, Phabian M Nyalunga, Tshepo S Gugushe
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}