Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill, Skills Development Levies Amendment Bill, Higher Education & Training Laws Amendment Bill: adoption
Meeting Summary
The Committee considered and adopted the Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill, as amended (B24B-2010), the Skills Development Levies Amendment Bill (B25-2010), and the Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill, as amended (B26B-2010).
The Committee also adopted the minutes of the meeting held on 25 August 2010, with a few minor amendments.
The Committee considered its Draft Programme for the Fourth Term. Members noted that no oversight visits had been made in the third term, and received confirmation that the Members would not be returning to institutions that they had visited earlier. Members asked that the Committee should consider hosting imbizos during oversight, and also asked that student bodies should be given the chance to address the Committee. Most of the fourth term would be taken up with consideration of Annual Reports, and the Committee would need to formulate its plans for dealing with the Sector Education and Training Authorities. The merger process of Higher Education institutions needed to be considered. Some had undergone successful mergers, and it was suggested that those who were still struggling with this process should be asked to take lessons from the successes. Members expressed their concern that the Committee would often be presented with positive reports when it visited the institutions, but would later hear from the Department that the contrary was true. For this reason, the Committee may need to probe deeper, and Members suggested that perhaps the Committee should formulate a standard template of specifically-targeted questions in order to be able to get comparative information and undertake a proper analysis, including analysis of the terms of reference and mandates. A report was also needed on the commitments by the Minister to establish two new universities.
Meeting report
Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill (B24-2010), Skills Development Levies Amendment Bill (B25-2010), and Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill (B26-2010)
The Chairperson noted that the Committee needed to take a decision on the three linked amendment bills that had been tabled and explained. He indicated that amendments proposed earlier to the Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill were included in the version marked “[B24B-2010]” and that amendments proposed to the Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill were included in the document with the title “[B26B-2010]”
The Chairperson asked Mr Eben Boshoff, Chief Director, Department of Higher Education and Training, whether there were any further changes to the proposed Bills.
Mr Boshoff said that there were none.
Members then proceeded to debate the Bills, going through clause by clause.
Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill [B24B-2010]
Members acceded to the proposed amendments.
Members then adopted the Bill with amendments.
Skills Development Levies Amendment Bill (B25-2010)
Members adopted the Bill.
Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill (B26B-2010)
Members acceded to the proposed amendments.
Members then adopted the Bill, with amendments.
Minutes of 25 August 2010
The Chairperson tabled the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 August 2010
A few minor technical amendments were proposed and agreed to.
Members then adopted the minutes, as amended.
Draft Committee Programme: Fourth Term
The Chairperson tabled and asked Members to comment on the draft Committee Programme for the fourth term, which would be formally tabled for adoption at the first meeting of the new term. The Annual Report considerations would be the main focus of the Committee in the new term.
Ms M Kubayi (ANC) mentioned that during the current term there were no oversight visits conducted, and asked that the Committee consider conducting oversight visits during the new term.
The Chairperson asked the Committee to consider what areas would be useful for oversight.
Ms N Magazi (ANC) asked the Committee to consider hosting two imbizos.
The Chairperson asked whether the upcoming Skills Indaba could be one of the imbizos. He also noted that due to time restraints, the imbizos should ideally be part of the oversight.
The Chairperson also noted that the Committee needed to find a creative way of dealing with all the Sector Education and Training Authorities, when they presented their Annual Reports.
Mr S Makhubele (ANC) noted that the merging processes of the Higher Education institutions needed to be considered. He further noted that if often happened that during oversight visits, the Committee would be presented with good reports by the institutions, but then would receive a completely contrary report from the Department of Higher Education and Training (the Department) a few months later. He suggested that the Committee’s investigations might need to probe deeper, or that the Committee might need to adopt a different approach in order to get the information it needed.
The Chairperson asked Members to comment how they thought this issue should be dealt with.
Mr Makhubele thought that the institutions were not honest about the real issues and problems, and this must be looked at and addressed by the Committee. He also suggested that the various institutions should be asked to report on their Terms of Reference and mandates.
Ms F Mushwana (ANC) said that the students at institutions were never given an adequate opportunity to brief the Portfolio Committee.
The Chairperson felt that the Portfolio Committee needed to use a day to review the institutions, and also offer the student bodies an opportunity to speak at the same time. He believed that the main problems around the mergers related to previously disadvantaged institutions, and suggested that a high level report and analysis, giving a three to four month “snapshot” overview, should be prepared by the Department.
Mr Makhubele felt that the Portfolio Committee needed to invite both those institutions that were doing well in progressing their mergers, as well as those that were not doing so well, since the latter could learn from other proven successes, and could then adopt processes and procedures that would aid them in moving forward in a positive way.
The Chairperson asked the Committee to consider how to get access to the true facts.
Ms Kubayi felt that the Committee needed to move beyond only considering the reports and superficial issues. She felt that the Committee needed to come up with a template or format of a report that would give the Committee a chance to define exactly what the institutions must report on. This was one way in which a thorough and comparative analysis of all stakeholders could be done. She suggested that once that process was complete, the results could be correlated, and the Committee could base any further decisions on the findings that emerged.
Ms Magazi noted that the Minister of Higher Education and Training had made commitments that he would establish two universities. She asked whether the Committee could invite the Minister to report back on the progress made in this regard.
The Chairperson asked the Committee Secretary to call for a status report from the Department. The Committee would conduct an analysis by the end of October or beginning of November.
Mr A Mpontshane (IFP) asked the Chairperson whether Members would be going back to the Further Education and Training institutions that the Committee had visited earlier.
The Chairperson said that they would not.
The meeting was adjourned.
Documents
Bills
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