Question NW2228 to the Minister of Science and Technology
10 October 2017 - NW2228
Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Science and Technology
With reference to the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARCHI), (a) how many chairs have been established in the past fifteen years and (b) in each case, what are relevant details with regard to the (i) chair field, (ii) university host, (iii) occupant and (iv) total cost of the chairs programme in each specified year; (2) (a) how many chairs have (a) been renewed and (b) not been renewed at the end of each five – year cycle and (b) what were the reasons in each case?”
Reply:
1. (a) The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) was established in 2005; and to date, 199 research chairs have been awarded, of which 195 are filled and four are vacant.
(b) (i) Of the 195 filled research chairs, 81 (42%) are in the natural and agricultural Sciences, 59 (30%) are in the humanities and social sciences 39 (20%) are in health and medical sciences, and 16 (8%) are in engineering and applied technology fields.
(ii) of the 199 awarded research chairs, 12 (6%) are hosted by the universities of technology (UoTs), 25 (13%) by comprehensive universities and 162 (81%) by traditional universities;
(iii) SARChI is a strategic programme of government aimed at attracting established researches from industry and abroad to the higher education sector. Of the 195 filled research chairs, 152 (78%) research chairs are occupied by established researchers drawn from local higher education institutions, and 43 (22%) research chairs are occupied by established researchers attracted from industry and abroad; and
(iv) a total amount of R2 billion has been invested by the Department of Science and Technology (DST); and in the same period, more than 4 billion was leveraged from other sources by the research chairs. The total cost of SARChI in each specified year is summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: SARChI investment over years
|
Service Year |
Award Year |
Total No. of Chairs |
Total (R '000) |
|
0 |
2017 |
195 |
482 200 |
|
1 |
2016 |
190 |
471 500 |
|
2 |
2015 |
149 |
376 500 |
|
3 |
2014 |
142 |
350 400 |
|
4 |
2013 |
124 |
309 800 |
|
5 |
2012 |
91 |
229 700 |
|
6 |
2011 |
90 |
227 000 |
|
7 |
2010 |
79 |
183 500 |
|
8 |
2009 |
72 |
166 000 |
|
9 |
2008 |
70 |
161 000 |
|
10 |
2007 |
34 |
80 000 |
|
11 |
2006 |
3 |
7500 |
2. (a) All research chairs that underwent the first five-year review cycle were renewed. In 2015/16 financial year, a research chair in indigenous Knowledge Systems that was held by Prof. NI Goduka at the Walter-Sisulu University (WSU) was rescinded due to internal institutional issue which led to lack of performance by chair.
(b) During the last quarter of the 2016/17 financial year, a second five-year review process was initiated for a total of 70 research chairs that were established between 2005 and 2008. This process is still underway. A comprehensive report with reasons for not renewing some research chairs will be made available before the end of the 2017/18 financial year.