부산대학교 도서관

Since 1984, the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria has conducted annual surveys of the number of students that enroll for the courses in library and information science and complete their studies. Technikons have been incorporated into the study since 1987. The results of the survey are presented and discussed. Results are compared with findings of previous studies and interpreted against the background of the Committee of University Principals' (CUP) exercise in rationalization with regard to education in library and information science in South Africa. Important findings of this study are, inter alia, that the number of students that enroll at universities and technicons, has steadily increased over the past few years. The increase in the number of students who complete their studies may have a restrictive influence on the availability of employment opportunities, especially if the current economic climate is taken into consideration. However, new job opportunities are available in the broader field of the information economy. Technikon students already constitute a growing percentage of the number of paraprofessional students, that is, students currently enrolled and those who have completed their studies. Although the number of students enrolled for 1991 has risen in comparison with the figures of 1986/87/88 (the years of the CUP investigation) this increase is not sufficient for education in 1991 as a whole to be considered as cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]