High school life orientation should transform from a general subject into an effective resource that equips students for higher education. Instead of merely instructing on career options and principles, it should be redefined as a pathway to success in higher education.

As the higher education application season for the upcoming cohort of students is near, it is essential to reconsider how life orientation can be enhanced to give pupils with the practical skills needed to succeed in university.

Each year, thousands of first-year students enter South African universities, with hopes, dreams and aspirations yet lacking the academic and social skills needed to succeed in this new environment. Our existing system continues to believe that achievement in higher education solely depends on academic matters. However, any university lecturer, academic adviser or residence administrator will tell you that students not only face challenges with their studies, but also often have difficulties with the fundamentals of university life.

We should reconsider how we orient and equip students for the expectations of higher education. Referencing, academic skills, campus living, computer skills and overall university orientation are not minor concerns. They are the cornerstone on which each student's success depends.

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What many fail to understand is that higher education includes a "hidden curriculum", as stated by Ndamase and Lukman (2024), an unspoken array of skills and norms that students are expected to grasp yet are seldom instructed in. Consider referencing, for instance. First-year students typically learn...