Department of Higher Education and Training 2023/24Annual Performance Plan; with Minister

Meeting report

Minister's overview

Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, said the Department acknowledged the economic challenges faced by the country and its impact on its priorities. However, he committed to improving young people’s access to education, as well as increasing the number of students receiving National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursaries, with a projected rise from 439 659 in 2023/24, to 559 884 in 2025/26. He said plans were being developed to create two new universities -- the University of Science and Innovation in Ekurhuleni, and the Detective Services University in Hammanskraal.

Amongst other unfolding projects was resolving the students’ accommodation crisis by making 28 000 beds available, training about 30 000 artisans per annum, increasing learners and skills development programmes, as well as identifying important sectors and preparing young people for them.

Regarding student funding, the Minister informed the Committee that he had been engaging the banks, and the Cabinet would be briefed on the proposals. The issue of student safety and gender-based violence (GBV) would be tackled by involving vice-chancellors, principals, the security cluster, and other stakeholders. The approach would include the introduction of minimum safety standards and launching a psycho-social programme called "MENtalities," specifically targeting young men. The objective was to establish a collaborative partnership and campaign within the post-school education and training (PSET) system to engage men and address these concerns.

DHET's 2023/24Annual Performance Plan

Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, Director-General (DG), Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), outlined the goals and achievements of the Department, and said the priorities for the 2023/24 financial year were:

• Changing the size and shape of the PSET sector;
• Finalising a comprehensive student funding model for higher education;
• The placement of students through a funding scheme in collaboration with the National Skills Fund (NSF), targeting young people to be trained and placed in workplaces through various learning programmes, including skills in the digital and technology sector; and
• Ensuring that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college graduates undertake workplace experience to complete their qualifications.

Policy  and legislative programme

• Publish the National Qualification Framework Amendment Act, 2019 by 31 March 2024
• Draft National Qualification Framework Amendment Bill approved by the Minister by 31 March 2024 for public comments
• Draft revised Higher Education Act approved by the Minister by 31 March 2024 for public comments
• Develop a Country-Wide Master Skills Plan for approval by the Minister by 30 September 2023
• Develop and implement a Plan for the integration of Information Management Systems by 31 March 2024
• Launch the ‘’Transforming MENtalities ‘’ Programme by 31 August 2023

(Presentation attaches for further details)

Discussion

The Chairperson cautioned the DHET delegation regarding the challenges students encounter during the admission process at different institutions. He was concerned that when parliamentarians attempted to seek clarification on matters affecting their constituencies, the response was either delayed or non-existent, suggesting that this may greatly impact the community.

Ms N Ndongeni (ANC, Eastern Cape) sought clarity on the PSET's integrated planning framework mentioned by the DG, and the lessons learnt from the previous year. She asked what had been used to enhance the current framework and how the revised framework would yield positive results.

Ms S Luthuli (EFF, KwaZulu-Natal) asked the Department to share the successes and challenges experienced in implementing their TVET entrepreneurship hub, particularly how they had facilitated students’ relationships with key industries and banks. She asked whether the TVET courses offered in partnership with the ten universities mentioned by the Department had improved the perception of the quality of TVET qualifications.

Ms D Christians (DA, Northern Cape) asked about corruption allegations at Fort Hare University and the status of the investigation. She asked if the Department had made any efforts or plans to protect whistleblowers in higher learning institutions. She also wanted an update on other corruption allegations involving the Mangosuthu University of Technology, University of South Africa, University of Zululand, and Mpumalanga University of Technology.

She inquired about the Department's measures to address safety at tertiary institutions and how social concerns like rape that occurred on various campuses were handled. She questioned why NSFAS had not been given a chance to appear before the Committee and speak on issues affecting students. Did the Department have a plan to curb annual protests by students related to issues such as residences, historic debt, and the NSFAS cap?

About 32 students at the rural TVET college in the Northern Cape had not received their diplomas in ten years. She wanted to know the reason for the delay after she had repeatedly attempted to contact the Department about this without success. There was a similar case of about 22 students at a rural TVET college in Upington who still had not received their certificates so that they could go for their trade tests. Concerning the budget, she inquired whether the funds channelled to TVET colleges would address the infrastructure issues there.

In light of questions raised by Ms Christians about the delay in issuing certificates to students, the Chairperson asked a follow-up question on the plight of the TVET college in Sekhukhune.

Ms N Nkosi (ANC, Mpumalanga) asked when the Committee would be able to see the TVET institutions currently under construction, and the size or capacity of the two new universities would be. How would those colleges respond to the country's challenges? She also encouraged the Department to investigate the issue of learners finishing high school and enrolling for university education, as this would shed light on the situation and curb the proliferation of illiterate young people. 

Given the difficulty in obtaining funds for tertiary institutions, Mr M Bara (DA, Gauteng) questioned what the real problems with NSFAS might be. He inquired about the Department's response to the television exposé that claimed certain TVET college employees demanded bribes before awarding certificates to students.

DHET's responses

Dr Sishi expressed regret at the lengthy times Committee Members had to wait each time they attempted to contact the Department, and promised to resolve the issue and ensure it did not happen again.

Mr Reineth Mgiba, Chief Director: Strategy and Planning, in response to the inquiry on safety standards at TVET colleges, said there had been a rollout of programmes, but the specifics would be provided to Committee Members later in writing.

He said the construction work would be completed in this financial year as part of the infrastructure delivery programme. There were colleges already earmarked for initiation and completion this year.

Ms Nolwazi Gasa, Deputy Director-General: Planning, Policy and Strategy, responded to the question about infrastructure by stating that the Department was informed by conditions in specific institutions to ensure that infrastructure allocations addressed the strategic plans of the various institutions and what they intended to offer in terms of academic offerings as often and as much as possible. In working with various stakeholders, the Department would address issues such as accommodation as guided by specific cases and the needs of specific institutions.

Ms Gasa said the Department intended to increase the impact and reach of the programme it was offering to ensure that it reduced incidents of GBV, and would work with the higher health programme that the Minister would be leading.

The reason NSFAS was not coming to the Committee to account was that the Department was working towards ensuring that agencies such as the NSF and NSFAS, which were critical in the delivery of DHET-related work, were held to account by the Department itself. It continued to engage them on governance issues which had been reported, but it would address the matter of those entities coming before the Committee.

Responding to the challenges that students face in obtaining their certificates due to the backlog and criminality, she responded that the Department had a tracking system and was working to expedite the delivery of certificates. She promised to provide a detailed and specific response to Members later.

Ms Pretty Makukule, Chief Financial Officer, provided additional clarification on the infrastructure situation already addressed by Ms Gasa. She said there were two sources of funding for TVET infrastructure, the first of which was funding from voted monies that were distributed as subsidies to each of the 15 TVET colleges. This was mainly related to college plans and funds, primarily for maintaining current infrastructure across the board, such as academic infrastructure, student housing, and so on. The second funding source came from the National Skills Fund, which had invested R2.8 billion in the 13 colleges. This was for the entire campus, besides student housing, so it would encompass the administration building, classrooms, and so forth. She reported that strides had been made regarding procurement transformation targets, and they now had legislation to implement that without hindrance.

Dr Sishi said he would follow up on the issue of certificate issuance. The Department had been operating on the basis of the report received from the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), which had reported that 99.98% of all certificates sent had been issued.

He brought the Committee's attention to the fact that there were commercial institutions that administered trade examinations, which could be the reason why some students’ certificates were delayed or withheld, but that would need to be looked into to provide further information.

He then promised Ms Christians that the Department would investigate the issues she had raised and get back to her. Concerning the issue of corruption at Fort Hare University, the DG informed the Committee that arrests had been made and that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had completed its three-year-long investigation. These developments have helped to stabilise the campus environment.

The safety programme, which was run in conjunction with the police, had proved successful, but certain institutions still struggled with maintenance issues. Dr Sishi bemoaned the way that, despite all the difficulties affecting the safety of students, some of these institutions neglected to use their maintenance budgets.

Responding on the work the Department was doing at Mangosuthu University, the DG said a report had been given to the Minister by the independent assessor. The process now was that the Minister would share the report with the Council, and then it would be gazetted and taken to the National Assembly. The same process would be used for other universities of interest. He reiterated the Department’s commitment that NSFAS would be brought to the Committee so that Members could interact with it.

The meeting was adjourned.