The role of foundation programmes in science education: The UNIFY programme at the University of Limpopo, South Africa

Since its inception in 1992, the University of the North's,1 Science Foundation Year (UNIFY) Programme has provided access to higher education to over 1500 previously disadvantaged2 students. However, there has always been doubt about whether the concept of a foundation programme is a worthwhile endeavour. To date, government has not yet fully acknowledged the value of programmes such as UNIFY. This may be attributed, amongst others, to insufficient evidence on the crucial role of programmes of this nature. This paper gives a view of the valuable contribution UNIFY has played in increasing the quality and the quantity of science graduates at the University of the North in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A tracer study of the performance of ex-UNIFY3 students to that of direct entry4 students, in the science programmes at the University of the North shows that ex-UNIFY students perform better than the direct entry students. This reflects the importance of foundation programmes in higher education.