Hansard: NA :Vote No 17 – Higher Education and Training
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 22 Jul 2014
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Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 20
TUESDAY, 22 JULY 2014
PROCEEDINGS OF EXTENDEED PUBLIC COMMITTEE – NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
____________________________
Members of the Extended Public Committee met in the National Assembly Chamber at 10:01.
House Chairperson Mr C T Frolick, as Chairperson, took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
START OF DAY
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 20
APPROPRIATION BILL
Vote No 17 – Higher Education and Training
The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Hon Chairperson, Cabinet colleagues who are present today as well as Deputy Ministers, our Deputy Minister Mduduzi Manana, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon Members of Parliament, our director-general and staff of the department, heads and executives of all our post-school organisations and institutions ... Minister Nxesi said I have rented a crowd, but there isn't a rent-a-crowd here. Up there are people from all our institutions. [Applause.] : My wife and family, the second deputy general secretary of the SA Communist Party, SACP, Comrade Solly Mapaila, hon guests, my special guests who are here, those in our department who are retiring and whom we have brought to this Budget Vote debate, ladies and gentlemen and comrades, 20 years ago the democratically elected government led by the ANC set out on a new path to dislodge and destroy the structures of the apartheid regime, and to embark on the task of building a new and better South Africa. We inherited a racially divided, patriarchal and highly unequal education system that, I should remind this House, some members on my left were complicit in promoting and sustaining.
Our policy interventions have thus been aimed at transforming the education system to overcome the legacy of apartheid and colonialism, and to confront racial, gender, class and other forms of inequality. As stated by President Zuma in his state of the nation address on 17 June 2014, we have now entered the second phase of our transition from apartheid to a national democratic society. This requires radical socioeconomic transformation to push back the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The President stated that this government will continue to invest in education and skills development, as that is the key to economic growth and development. As the President stated, education remains, ``an Apex Priority for this government.''
Since the establishment of our department, we have made important advances. We have expanded enrolments in all post-school institutions, especially for blacks and other previously disadvantaged people. The expansion has been most pronounced in the technical and vocational education and training, TVET, colleges – which is the new name for our further education and training, FET, colleges – where headcount enrolments have increased by over 130%.
We have also established three new universities and have created the new National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, has expanded to include students in TVET colleges, and the amount disbursed annually has grown rapidly by approximately 270% since 2008. A turnaround strategy in colleges is in place.
In our university sector, we are also focusing on prioritizing infrastructure, especially of student accommodation for historically disadvantaged institutions; support for teaching and learning; and producing of the next generation of academics.
We have emphasized bridging the gap between theory and practice in vocational and professional education through increased workplace learning wherever possible. All employers must stop complaining and come to the party on vocational education and training ... [Applause.] ... by opening their workplaces to place students as well as lecturers, where appropriate.
Particular attention has been given to artisan development, and our Deputy Minister will elaborate on this. The sector education and training authorities, Setas, have been brought closer to colleges and universities, and are working to build partnerships between themselves, educational institutions and employers. We have also been investing in the establishment of a skills-planning mechanism.
In consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, we developed the White Paper for Post~School Education and Training, which I released in January this year. This is a comprehensive strategy for transforming the post-school system, and most of the new initiatives over the past five years are in alignment with it. We are currently developing a national plan from this White Paper.
For the 2014 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the department's budget, excluding direct charges, increases at an annual average rate of 6,8% from R34,3 billion in 2013-14 to R42 billion in 2016-17. The amount of R36, 9 billion for 2014-15 is an increase of R2, 5 billion, or 7, 4% on the 2013-14 allocation, excluding funds from the skills levy. The skills levy, which is channeled through the Setas and the National Skills Fund, is expected to increase at an annual average rate of 9, 5% from R12, 3 billion in 2013-14 to R16, and 1 billion in 2016-17.
Guided by our White Paper, all legislation pertaining to higher education and training will be reviewed. Amendments to all our pieces of legislation are envisaged during the next five years. My department will develop, in consultation with the Transformation Oversight Committee, a social inclusion policy framework for public comment. The intention of this policy framework is to ensure that all post-school institutions implement policies to overcome unfair discrimination of all kinds as required by the Constitution. Incidences of racism and sexism, including gender-based violence such as rape and sex for marks, have been reported in the media over the past year. These and all other demeaning practices must be routed out of our system and we expect all institutions to assist in doing this. [Applause.]
Of particular concern to me is the persistence of authoritarian and semimilitaristic initiation practices at some universities, which border on being racist and serve to make many students feel excluded and marginalised, if not actually humiliated. This appears to have been the case at North West University, NWU, for the past 20 years. Furthermore, it is amazing that after two decades of democracy, unofficial but real quotas still exist to limit the numbers of black students in university residences. I am pleased to say that the council of NWU and the new vice chancellor has assured me that such practices will stop. We will be monitoring this carefully and I hope that other stakeholders will assist us.
I want to make it absolutely clear that in South Africa, we no longer have Afrikaans, Zulu or Tswana universities. All our universities are South African universities ... [Applause.] ... and must serve all the people of our country. No university can be complacent in this regard, as discriminatory practices take many forms.
The department will also develop a disability policy framework for the post-school sector. The framework will set norms and standards for the treatment of students and staff with disabilities in all aspects of university or college life, including academic life ... [Applause.] ... culture, sport and accommodation.
Chairperson and hon members, our top priority is to expand the TVET colleges – which as I said, were previously called FET colleges – while improving their quality. Our turnaround strategy to improve the functioning of colleges is starting to bear fruit and will continue.
As I mentioned, TVET college enrolments have more than doubled over the past four years. Over the 2014-15 to 2016-17 periods, we have allocated R18, 5 billion, and this increases to R25, 2 billion – if we include the NSFAS TVET bursary allocation – to ensure that TVET college enrolments continue this expansion. To correct this distribution, R2, 5 billion has been committed by the department towards the refurbishment of two existing TVET college campuses and the building of twelve new campuses, all in underserved rural areas. Construction at three campus sites are about to commence.
With the help of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants, my department has continued to deploy qualified support chief financial officers to all TVET colleges. We are also ensuring the appointment of capable human resources managers and student support practitioners. I am pleased to announce that the Auditor-General will take over the auditing of our TVET colleges, and we are starting with the first 15 colleges in the 2013-14 financial year.
All TVET college principals and deputy principals have successfully been transferred to my department from the provincial education departments with effect from 1 April last year. I have also appointed councils to all colleges. With regard to the process of shifting responsibility for the colleges to national government, collective agreements on the transfer of lecturers and support staff have been finalised.
In line with our White Paper, we will conduct a review of the entire gamut of vocational qualifications. We expect this will be done with the collaboration of the Department of Basic Education, so as to develop an array of qualifications that are nationally coherent and fit for purpose.
In addressing the challenges of those students who need to improve their mathematics and science marks before entering particular programmes at college or university level, we are developing a TVET college-based Mathematics and Science Foundation Programme at a higher certificate level. [Applause.] Hear that! Hon Chair and members, we are moving South Africa forward with post-school education and training.
South Africa has millions of youth who leave school with a national senior certificate or less, and who cannot access opportunities for further education. We also have millions of adults who wish to study further. Currently, our public adult learning centres serve approximately 300 000 individuals, and that is woefully inadequate. Provision must be extended, which is why we will be grouping these centres into new institutions called community colleges, which will involve providing for both formal education but also vocational type programmes. A draft national policy on community colleges will soon be gazetted, and I urge all stakeholders to interact with it and give feedback.
With regard to universities, over the next five years it is my intention to consolidate the work done since 2009, to ensure that the higher education system is effectively integrated into the post-school education and training system. In line with the vision outlined in our White Paper, we are expecting to grow this sector from a headcount enrolment of 953 000 students in 2012 to approximately 1, 1 million students in 2019. This is well on the way to achieving our target of 1, 6 million students in public universities by 2030.
Aside from expanding enrolments, we also need to focus on quality and student success. We expect our universities to focus on improving their graduate production from 165 000 graduates in 2012 to approximately 217 000 in 2019. In other words, we expect higher graduation rates during this term.
To support better efficiency and success, we are expanding foundation programmes for prepared school-leavers. We have also set aside R609 million for teaching development grants to support a better teaching and learning environment in our universities.
As mentioned earlier, I have established three new universities, two of which are the University of Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje University. Each university has a 10 to 15 year development plan and we have set aside R3, 1 billion over the next three years for the infrastructure development of the two universities. [Applause.]
The third new university, the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, SMHSU, was legally established this year. I will formally incorporate the Medical University of SA, Medunsa, campus of the University of Limpopo into SMHSU later this year. Its first intake next year will be 5 O00 students. It will be a comprehensive health sciences university ... [Applause.] ... offering higher certificates right up to PhD programmes, embracing medicine and broader health and allied sciences professional programmes.
I recently published a policy for the provision of distance education in South Africa for the post-school sector in order to expand opportunities. We will use innovative technologies and open education resources in order to achieve this.
We have also maintained a strong focus on teacher education. In 2013, approximately 14 700 new teachers graduated, compared to only 6 885 in 2009, an increase of 113% in new teachers per annum. In the next five years, we will expand beyond the provision of teachers for basic education, to include the production of teachers for the whole system, including early childhood development, TVET colleges, community colleges and our public universities. Our projections are that public universities will produce in excess of 23 000 new teachers annually by 2020.
We will also focus on increasing PhDs amongst university academics, from 39% in 2012 to 47% in 2019, and at the same time we have created entry posts, especially for young black women and women academics, into our system so as to encourage them to teach. In this regard, we have set aside R180 million in research development grants to universities.
For the 2012-13 to 2014-15 periods, we have allocated R6 billion towards infrastructure projects for our universities, which includes R210 million for the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, but excludes the R3, 1 billion to the Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje universities. An amount of R2, 3 billion has been committed towards infrastructure projects.
We have invested R1, 6 billion for the same period on student accommodation, and R1, 4 billion of this amount goes to historically disadvantaged institutions. This amount, together with the R700 million contribution from different universities, will provide at least 9 O00 new beds for the system.
With regard to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, access to quality higher education for the poor is an essential aspect of the transformation of our country. The NSFAS remains the cornerstone – and is actually one of the biggest achievements of this ANC-led government over the last 20 years. [Applause.] – to support poor and working-class students. No amount of collecting old magogos [elderly women] from Khayelitsha and kids who are supposed to be at school by the DA to come and march in order to try and distract us will work. [Applause.] They do this because they know; in fact, it's shameful that while we send South African students to study in Cuba, not a single student has been sent by the DA government from the Western Cape. None! You are opposing the 1% levy for government departments, for Setas to absorb young black learnerships, yet you come here and march about NSFAS. It is really very shameful. You must try and do better, even if you are an opposition party. [Applause.]
Since its inception, NSFAS has supported more than 1, 4 million students. We talk of the growth of the black middle class in this country largely because of NSFAS. The department's allocation to NSFAS will amount to R6, 1 billion, plus R2 billion for TVET colleges, supplemented further by R2 billion made available through NSFAS and other means. This compares to R2, 4 billion in 2008.
Allow me to conclude by thanking the Deputy Minister of our department, the entire staff of the Department of Higher Education and Training led by the Director-General, Mr Gwebs Qonde, my personal staff in the Ministry and our public entities. Finally, my sincere gratitude also goes to the President and my Cabinet colleagues for their support. Together we will move South Africa forward, through the provision of quality and affordable post-school education and training. Siyabonga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Ms Y N PHOSA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 21
The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (Dr B E Nzimande)
Mrs Y N PHOSA: Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister and other members of the executive present this morning, the director-general and the officials of the Department of Higher Education and Training, leaders of universities and technical vocational educational and training, TVET, institutions, heads of all the entities of the Department of Higher Education and Training, all dignitaries present, ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to debate Budget Vote 17 of the Department of Higher Education and Training. This occurs four days after the country and indeed the world celebrated the Nelson Mandela International Day in honour of our global icon, the late former President of the country, Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. It is through his inspiring and visionary leadership that we are reminded that, I quote:
It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine and that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.
In this context we ought collectively to work together, freeing the potential of the youth of our country as envisioned by the forebears of our Constitution. Let me also take this moment to pay my profound respect to the late Prof R Botman, the former Vice Chancellor of the Stellenbosch University and the late Prof F de Villiers, the former Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Zululand. As a sector in particular and as a country in general we have, indeed, lost esteemed academics. Their departure has left a void in our sector. However, we are eternally grateful for their immense contributions.
The ANC's original approach to education and training was reverted to in 2009 when President Jacob Zuma restructured government during the appointment of the new Cabinet. He categorically stated that the aim was to enable government to achieve visible and tangible socioeconomic development within the five years of the fourth administration. The restructuring was further meant to enable effective implementation of the ANC's progressive policies.
The department was split into a Department of Basic Education which deals only with schooling, the Kha Ri Gude Adult Literacy Campaign on the one hand and the Department of Higher of Education and Training on the other. The latter takes responsibility for higher education, the college sector – including the FET colleges and other colleges such as nursing and agricultural colleges - all post-literacy adult education and, broadly, workplace skills development. The latter includes the infrastructure of the Sector Education and Training Authorities, Setas, as well. Flowing from the President's pronouncement, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, in his 2009 Budget Vote speech, articulated that, I quote:
Therefore, one of our immediate tasks is to create a diverse and differentiated post-school system to provide a diverse range of learning opportunities for the youth and adults. This system will be realised through, amongst others, the improved alignment of the university, college and sector education and training authorities, Seta, systems.
Today we are debating the first budget of the post-school education and training sector in the Fifth Parliament. We are simultaneously celebrating 20 years of freedom and democracy. It gives us an opportune time to reflect on the path we have travelled as we now cast our eyes to the future with great optimism. Through our reflection on the higher education sector over the years, there are many achievements that have been recorded in our country. There is no doubt that much ground has been covered since 1994 with regards to the transformation of the country's education system from where it was pre-1994.
Such achievements over the years are an indication that the ANC-led government has been committed to transforming education for the benefit of the people of this country and the youth in particular. Through our reflection we are also alive to the challenges facing our education system and the valuable lessons that have emerged in the process as the department and its stakeholders tackled the varied strategic tasks for a better tomorrow as envisaged in the National Development Plan, NDP.
It is clear, however, that the challenges in the education sector require the involvement and the participation of society at large. All of us as stakeholders, within our respective mandates, must therefore work with the department to ensure continued success of our education system for the benefit of this country. This is important and Madiba alluded to it when he said, I quote, ``Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world'' - which South Africa is also part of.
Our President in his state of the nation address affirmed that education and skills development constitutes the Apex Priority necessary for the sustained success of our country. As we collectively share this vision, we necessarily support the commitment to further invest in education and skills development. This emanates from our collective recognition that our country is still grappling with the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
When the department was established in 2009, priorities were set in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework of 2009 to 2014 focusing on post-school training with a special focus on the delivery of outcome 5 which is "A skilled and a capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path." Progress has been made towards achieving the deliverables emanating from this outcome. I repeat: Progress has been made towards the achievement of these deliverables emanating from this outcome.
In creating a seamless, post-school education and training environment, the department took over the functions of two ailing sectors, which are the technical and vocational education and training colleges and the adult education and training, ABET, from the provincial education departments and Sector Education and Training Authorities from the Department of Labour. The department's focus in the main was also to align and implement policies and ensuring compliance with the legislation. However, working together in the implementation of these policies and also balancing our performance with compliance, indeed, can help the department to do more and do better - even much better.
However, we are mindful that higher education institutions are autonomous but our country still needs higher education that is efficient, effective, credible and accountable. Although the higher education sector is fairly stable, there were some challenges with some universities in relation to governance and management matters. This, of course, compelled the Minister to appoint independent assessors and, subsequently, administrators. The turnaround strategy by the department aimed at improving the administrative function and to protect the use of the fiscus of these institutions has, indeed, yielded positive results. This is because from where we are standing, there has been great improvement in these areas of intervention by the department.
We commend the Ministry for taking bold measures to strengthen governance and ensure sustainability of these institutions tasked with human resource development and knowledge production for our country. Presently we can confidently report that all the universities are successfully out of administration. I think the department deserves a round of applause in this regard. [Applause.] And the committee recommends sustainability of this good practice.
During the vigorous engagement with the department, it was reported that only about three TVET colleges are still under administration but you can rest assured that there is a turnaround strategy that was presented to us on request. And even with this turnaround strategy we will end up taking all the colleges out of administration.
It will also be important to mention that it was reported that all TVET colleges have functional councils which are imperative to ensuring good governance and effective administration. Of significance for now is that the Council on Higher Education is undertaking a study to investigate the effectiveness of independent assessors and administrators in strengthening governance at universities. We will be awaiting the outcome of this necessary study to ensure that all of us put our hands on deck in addressing these challenges of our time.
After 20 years of democracy our higher education sector has successfully achieved high levels of representation in terms of race and gender. The Council on Higher Education's 2011 vital statistics show that the percentage of African students increased from 61% in 2006 to 79% in 2011. Our government has ensured that the financial circumstances of the majority of our youth should not be a barrier to accessing higher education and TVET colleges. This was realised through the investment made through the National Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, to fund the academically capable students who come from poor backgrounds.
The 2011 NSFAS review report alluded to the fact that the scheme provides financial aid which creates access to higher education for students who would otherwise not be able to attend university. The committee is encouraged that in 2013 the scheme disbursed about R8, 7 billion in loans and bursaries to 416 000 students at 23 public universities and 50 TVET colleges. What is appreciable about NSFAS is that 40% of the loans for the university students are converted into a bursary and the interest rate is at 4%, lower than that of commercial banks. We believe that this bursary scheme provided to students from disadvantaged families should be used as a catalyst for improving their lives - contributing towards the betterment of their lives, the lives of their families and of the entire South African community.
The challenge identified in our engagement with NSFAS is that the demand does not match the available resources and consequently only 50% of the eligible students could be funded in a financial year. In 2013 the budget shortfall reported for continuing students is R2, 6 billion. And this is found to be common in historically disadvantaged institutions which enrol a higher number of students from poor backgrounds. I want to believe that, as we move forward, the Department of Finance and National Treasury will take this into consideration when looking into this matter and consider increasing the budget, especially in this area of work.
In the light of these realities we call for a strengthened administration of the NSFAS for the benefit of deserving students from disadvantaged families. The financial contributions of the National Skills Fund and the sector education and training authorities, Setas, remain significant. We can report that despite some challenges that still exist there is some collaboration and support between universities and TVET colleges in terms of student bursaries, placement of students in the workplace for work-integrated learning and infrastructure expansion. We would like this progress to continue.
In his delivery agreement, the Minister committed to increasing access to occupationally-directed programmes in areas where these are needed, thereby expanding the availability of intermediate level skills, for example, of different kinds of engineers, technical skills, skills for the green economy, etc that are most needed as economic drivers. We commend the department for its successful delivery in this regard. Reportedly, the student headcount enrolment in the TVET programmes has increased by 90%, as it was 345 566 in 2010 and is now 657 690 in 2013. Of significance is the clearance of the backlog of certification of TVET National Certificate (Vocational) by the department.
I would like thank the department, the hon Minister, the Deputy Minister, all the officials from the department and also all the members of the committee for their meaningful engagements in the discussions in the committee. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Prof B BOZZOLI
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 22
Ms Y PHOSA
Prof B BOZZOLI: Hon Chair, I would like to begin by congratulating Minister Blade Nzimande on his reappointment to the Cabinet and to the Higher Education portfolio. As a fellow social scientist, I look forward to working with you and your department towards the goal of creating an excellent 21st century higher education system.
To me, universities are one of the great achievements of humankind. For over a thousand years, longer than the life of any party, government or corporation, they have nurtured greatness, thoughtfulness and invention and have protected freedom of enquiry. The richness of human experience is reflected in what they teach, and learn. As a newly elected Member of Parliament, I intend to bring to the attention of the public three essential things: firstly, that we need to protect and further develop our universities for the sake of our future; secondly, that a high quality, high level and fully diversified post-school educational system is not a luxury but a necessity for the 21st century and, thirdly, that although the government has set out proposals to establish such a system in its recent White Paper, summarised by the Minister in his speech, it is unlikely that it will ever happen if we continue along the present path. There is a mismatch between the fine words the Minister spoke and the reality on the ground, which I believe many in the gallery would have felt in their hearts as they listened.
If the National Development Plan, NDP,'s vision of a post resources economy is to be realised, we need effective educational institutions at the very highest levels. We all know that we will stand or fall in the 21st century by our ability to educate highly able professionals and thinkers in every area of endeavour. The risk is as follows: as a result of its weak school system and its failure to grow the economy, the government is faced with a mass of three-and-a-half million unemployed and, in many cases, unemployable people under the age of 24. These young people are beginning to constitute a threat to the ANC's power base. What is their solution? It is to cram as many of these hapless young people as possible, as fast as possible, and as cheaply as possible, into tertiary institutions. The rhetoric is that this will provide them with the skills they need to find work, and the skills the economy needs to grow.
The reality is that this is not going to be the outcome. Let us take two areas in which this strategy is supposed to be operating: firstly, the universities - over the past 20 years, hundreds of thousands more students have been admitted into universities. There are now just under a million of them, up from half a million in 1994. In many ways, this is an admirable achievement. There is nothing wrong with broadening access – it is a desirable goal which the DA obviously supports, but the ANC has done this without a matching increase in budget. There have been increases but they do not match – the numbers increased.
In real terms, the government funding per student actually fell by over 10% between 2000 and 2010. As a result, universities are groaning under the strain; classrooms are often crammed beyond capacity; the infrastructure is falling behind; class sizes have increased, making teaching more anonymous and less effective; academic staff are demoralised; and the failure and drop-out rates of students remain shockingly high. Fifty per cent of students fail to complete their degrees, and if the department thinks that mass distance methods provide an easy solution, it should remember that the majority of these failures and dropouts are University of South Africa, Unisa, students.
Furthermore, research is severely underfunded; quality is difficult to sustain. Our researchers are subjected to a productivity regime which keeps them on the treadmill, but pays little or no attention to their real needs. In the most expensive areas in research, we remain decades behind the curve, and this is in the universities that are working. Five universities out of 25 - 20% of them - have recently been under administration, as we've heard. Several more are limping along. They are plagued by riots, poor governance, appalling teaching, bad leadership, an almost complete absence of research, and infrastructure decay.
It is impressive that in spite of this onslaught of numbers and shrinkage of budget, several of our universities - such as the Universities of Cape Town, Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch - have managed to sustain an extraordinary level of worldwide recognition. They have done so, hon Chair, without the support or blessing of the Minister, who has rubbished international rankings, and who rarely talks of quality or excellence.
Instead, Minister Nzimande constantly attacks the good universities, mainly for not being transformed enough. Yes, this is an important matter, but is being transformed all there is? Fort Hare was recently named the most transformed university in the country. This is in a bizarre recent departmental report commissioned by the Minister which claims to have developed a mathematical formula to measure degrees of transformation.
Yet, amazingly, senior members of the ANC do not appear to be sending their children to Fort Hare, or other mathematically calculated most transformed institutions. They send them to the best universities. Do they know something the hon Minister does not know?
Minister Nzimande also uses divide and rule tactics, pitting historically black universities against the rest. Yet, our two historically black universities, after 20 years of ANC rule - universities with the proudest traditions - Fort Hare and the former Turfloop, both have been reduced to the most shameful state under ANC rule. Both have experienced long periods of administration. This is just really a euphemism for bankruptcy, institutional collapse and receivership.
And what about the other solution for mass unemployment and poverty? The old further education and training, FET, colleges are now called technical and vocational education and training, TVET, colleges. There are 50 of them and they educate 650 000 young people in technical, trade and other occupations. Many more than 50% of these students dropout or fail. The ANC-led government sees these as places which can educate the unemployed at a rapid rate, boost our flagging economy and mop up the disgruntled poor. Are they doing this? ``No', is the short answer.
After 20 years of neglect and mismanaged reform - by the way, if you have a turnaround strategy, it's a turnaround from your own 20 years of rule - according to the department's presentation to the portfolio committee, here comes the euphemism again: They are under administration. Thirteen of them are undergoing forensic review – again, according to the department's presentation to the portfolio committee - implying gross financial mismanagement. Transformation in these colleges appears to have been so rapid that one of the department's own reports said they lack institutional memory and stability. The department is taking over these colleges from the provinces, but it has not dealt with the constitutional obstacles to the transfer of the budget.
The hon Minister has nevertheless developed plans to cram 150 000 more students into these colleges, long before these fundamental problems are fixed. When challenged on this, he said ``We are going to have to fix the aeroplane while it is already flying''. What this really means is that tens of thousands of young people, almost all of them poor, will do badly in failing institutions and will never succeed in their occupation of choice.
But that's not all. The department is, in addition, planning to build 12 more TVET campuses, absorb the agricultural colleges, and perhaps even - too little and too late - expand teacher education. It has also developed an ill-conceived central applications service, with some dodgy tender procedures which are likely to surround it, which sounds as likely to succeed as the Presidential Hotline. And, all the while, its budget does not increase proportionately.
The Auditor-General himself has expressed concern about the inadequacy of Higher Education's R50, 3 billion budget. The department, he says, will be unable to meet its goals. The portfolio committee agreed. This leads us to perhaps the most fundamental question of all: Why does the budget not increase sufficiently? Why is higher education expenditure only 12% of total education expenditure? For Africa as a whole it is 20%; for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development, OECD, countries, it is 23%, and for the world as a whole it is 19, 8%. We are way behind international benchmarks.
Does the Treasury perhaps have a problem with Minister Nzimande or is it that the ANC of today increasingly relies on the retrograde nationalism of the dispossessed peasantry? It is led by a less well-educated rural big man and his atavistic followers. It is failing in the cities, which were originally its base for support.
As a result, it is so busy harking back to the 18th century that it seems to find it difficult to engage seriously with the demands of modernity, let alone post-modernity. Perhaps, it is not surprising that higher education is so badly neglected.
Hon Chair, I fear that, under the ANC, many universities and colleges are becoming corruption zones and riot factories. You can't neglect higher education and pursue the National Development Plan, and you can't do higher education on the cheap. You will end up crashing the plane, even while you are trying to fix it, and you will destroy the futures of our children. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr M S MBATHA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 23
Prof B BOZZOLI
Mr M S MBATHA: Hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, esteemed guests, and fighters at home, higher education is probably the most important way in which the black majority will have been moved out of poverty. Higher education, at one point, had the opportunity to make sure that we steadily moved the country to be an inclusive and united country. Had we declared education a fee-free opportunity for all South Africans in the First Parliament of 1994 we would have, by today, produced more black middle-class citizens than we currently have today.
In 1994, higher education should have been a fee-free opportunity for all South Africans. This would have been the only justification to pay for the sins of apartheid. When apartheid dealt a heavy blow to black families and black people in general, one of the most important tools it used was higher education. It made a point that black families, at least not in their massive scales, received higher education.
Hon Minister, you have indeed established two new universities, but these new universities are only attended by a couple of hundred students this year. These two new universities, according to your projections, will in the next 10 years at least attract an enrolment of 10 000. Today, as we sit, our basic education produces approximately 400 learners per year in matric out of a total estimated 700 learners who write their examinations. We will steadily never be able to accommodate the massiveness that we should have in the higher education system.
We therefore believe in the following: The expansion of higher education should be radically done so as to enable higher education to again attract poor black families out of the poverty cycle and make sure that we create a cycle disconnection between families of the old and the new generation. Expanding higher education will require heavy investment, but more so, it will require the establishment of clear plans by current universities of how they themselves will grow. For instance, how about targeting the year 2019 and saying that the University of Cape Town will most likely have an intake of 50 000 by then? That is the kind of quality contribution we would like to see going forward.
The sector education and training authorities, Setas, must be aligned to the industrial policy and the industrial objectives of the country. The department must have a scholarship that takes, at least, 10 000 students a year to the best universities in the world.
We also call on the Ministry to consider advising the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, to cancel the historical debt. This is the very same historical debt that traps young professionals from living sustainable livelihoods.
We need a medical school in each and every university so as to enable the injection of good professionals, in particular black professionals, into our public health system because if you are to break the bond between public and private health systems you must inject out of your own. Higher Education must work with Basic Education to ensure that Grade 11 and 12 students, at least, have access to a computer with internet and laboratory in every black school. If you do not do that, hon Minister, you will spend the next 20 years of your rule still producing, in particular, ill-prepared, and unready black high school learners who will enter higher education. Thank you.
Mr A M MPONTSHANE
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 23
Mr M S MBATHA
IsiZulu:
Mnu A M MPONTSHANE: Mhlonishwa Sihlalo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, Sekela likaNgqongqoshe kanye noNgqongqoshe abakhona [Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and Ministers present ]
English:
... the NDP document describes the performance of our institutions as both excellent and mediocre but, of course, referring to the NDP document may not be a very helpful exercise as I don't think the hon Minister is a fervent supporter of the NDP, taking into account his political orientations.
IsiZulu:
Angithi, Mphephethwa? [Is it not so, Mphephethwa?]
English:
The mediocre description speaks directly to the infrastructure at some of our universities, especially the previously disadvantaged institutions. The department, in our Fourth Parliament, tabled a research document on hostel accommodation. It portrayed a horrible picture of the living conditions of those students who have no choice other than to reside in pigsty-like places.
The challenges which the department faces can be classified into three broad categories: insufficient funding; the management or the lack thereof; and the mixture of both funding and mismanagement. Take, for instance, the NSFAS. Since its inception it has distributed over R40 billion, yet we have been told that, this academic year, only half of the eligible applicants could receive loans and bursaries. Clearly this is a case of funds not being adequate.
The department is talking of holding a workshop on how to manage funding expectations. This is very problematic because, on the one hand, we encourage learners to pursue higher education, but then, on the other hand, we turn around and say we have a workshop to manage their expectations. This is very problematic. I feel for you, hon Minister.
Yet it is a case of the scheme not being managed effectively. The weaknesses in the vetting of applicants have ensured that the wrong people are receiving loans and bursaries. Here, again, the department is centralising the application system. The question remains: How will this centralisation stop people from defrauding the scheme? Because the scheme is being defrauded, hon Minister. We need more details from the department as to how it is going to manage this. If there is no change in attitude among both the recipients of the scheme and those who manage the scheme, the centralisation of the NSFAS will be like pouring new wine into old vessels.
One of the challenges that have been pointed out by the NDP is a curriculum that does not speak to our society's needs. The NDP speaks about further education and training, FET, colleges which are not effective enough either. The number of graduates produced each year in some of our institutions does not meet the needs of our society and only helps to increase the number of unemployed youth.
The document speaks of some of the academic staff at some of our higher education institutions, particularly in our FET institutions, being insufficiently qualified. Some of these challenges, the NDP argues, can be traced back to the schooling years, as poor teaching from barely qualified teachers does little to prepare students for the rigorous requirements of university or FET college study.
This issue of educators who lack sufficient content knowledge has been acknowledged by the quality watchdog, Umalusi. I am mentioning these things, hon Minister, because the training of teachers is the responsibility of your department. I have just heard that you have produced more than 8 000 or 800 teachers, which is commendable. But let us move away from the numbers and look at the quality of those teachers who are being produced by our institutions.
The poor performance of our municipalities has been ascribed to, amongst other things, the lack of skilled personnel. This is the same thing that you hear, for instance, from the Department of Water and Sanitation about the number of dysfunctional water schemes, and the refrain from these departments is the lack of skills, especially engineering skills. Even when one questions the excessive use of consultants by some of our departments, the response is the lack of skills.
What is your response, Minister? Is it a matter of your sector pumping out graduates with irrelevant qualifications or is it a matter of poor co-ordination between your department and other departments?
I was happy that I did attend the Budget Vote by Minister Gordhan where he mentioned that there is going to be partnership between yourself and his department. Hopefully, Minister, you have overcome what happened to you yesterday; thinking of racism. The IFP supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 24
Mr A M MPONTSHANE
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Hon House Chairperson, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nzimande, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon Phosa, Members of Parliament, director-general and staff of the department, heads and executives of all our post-school entities and institutions, the second deputy-general secretary of the SACP, Comrade Solly Mapaila; ANC National Task Team Co-ordinator, Comrade Magasela Mzobe; our honoured guests, comrades and friends, let me just start by saying to hon Bozzoli, who, regrettably, happens to be my former sociology lecturer ... [Laughter.] ... that the reason why we are led by an uneducated rural person is because when she was enjoying the fruits of white minority rule, this person she refers to was fighting to liberate this country, jailed and exiled so that we can enjoy the fruits of this democracy. [Applause.]
It gives me great pleasure to address this House today on Budget Vote No 17 of the Department of Higher Education and Training. This first budget of the Fifth Parliament consolidates the good story that was clearly articulated by the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency, J G Zuma, in both his 2014 state of the nation addresses and elaborated on further by hon members of this House during the state of the nation debates.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training has, through his budget speech today, given much impetus to the good story about the post-school system that we desire for this country. Whilst the next five years of this government will seek to consolidate the gains of the last 20 years of our democracy, the department has equally redefined the trajectory of the post-school education and training system going forward. This new landscape is aimed at ensuring that our education and training system breaks the vicious cycle of unemployment, inequality and poverty.
We will continue building the system guided by the imperatives of our second phase of the transition and further guided by the National Development Plan and the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training. Our road to 2030 will be a radical one, but it will be achieved in steps, the first of which will be the 2014-2019 Medium-Term Strategic Framework, which articulates the mandate given to government, a mandate that has at its apex the priority of education and training.
Let me now focus and unpack a few key strategic objectives of the department as they relate to artisan development, youth development programmes, career development and the ``Apply Now'' campaign, improving access to post-school education and training for people with disabilities and our endeavours to eradicate the impact of the dual epidemics of HIV and TB in order to promote a sense of healthy wellbeing within our sector.
I am pleased to announce that we have now put in place the building blocks for the rebuilding of our artisanal training system in the country. Our renewed focus on intermediate skills, especially artisan-related skills, is aimed at aggressively supporting government's push for infrastructure development and industrialisation as key drivers of economic growth.
In February this year, I launched the Decade of the Artisan advocacy programme borne out of the successful Year of the Artisan programme in 2013, where we managed to reach every corner of this country conversing with our young people on the importance of taking up artisanship as a career of choice. Our target is to produce 19 000 competent artisan candidates by 31 March 2015, and this drive is geared towards achieving the National Development Plan target of producing 30 000 competent artisans annually by 2030 and, resources allowing, we will be able to achieve the NDP target earlier than directed.
In order to achieve this, we will also bolster the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, whose remit will include operationalisation of the National Artisan Moderation Body. We are strategically positioning our technical and vocational education and training colleges to play a decisive role in the production of high calibre artisans.
There are also interesting developments in the area of renewable energy which the department has decided to support. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology in partnership with an initiative called Green are establishing the SA Renewable Energy Technology Centre at the Bellville campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the first of its kind in the country and on the continent. [Applause.]
Our department, through the National Skills Fund, has allocated R105 million over the three-year period, 2013 to 2016, for infrastructure and initial running costs. This initiative takes cue from the bold announcement on energy renewal made by the President during the state of the nation address.
As part of enabling sector education and training authorities, Setas, to contribute to and complement national efforts aimed at reducing unemployment and alleviating poverty, especially amongst the South African youth, I requested both the manufacturing, engineering and related services Seta as well as the energy and water Setas to train the vulnerable youth of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha here in the Western Cape province on solar geyser installation and thus shield them from the high temptation of drug usage, crime, idleness and destructive acts to themselves and their communities. I am happy to report that the training of 500 learners will commence this week, giving credence to our commitment of green skills for sustainable communities. [Applause.]
In 2013, I launched World Skills South Africa and, subsequent to this, the department initiated a process to establish a formal governance structure for World Skills South Africa. The World Skills Competition offers aspiring artisans a platform to demonstrate their knowledge and skills whilst at the same time compete with their peers from more than 70 countries of the world. In the interim, the Seta CEO Forum Artisan Development Subcommittee is overseeing preparation for the next World Skills Competition in Brazil to be held from 11 to 16 August 2015. This subcommittee is the most appropriate structure to utilise, as the occupations involved in the World Skills Competition are artisan related.
The South African national competition will take place from 28 to 31 January 2015 in Cape Town, and this will be preceded by regional competitions, hosted by our TVET colleges. Employers from the various sectors are pledging their support through providing sponsorships, training of participants and equipment for the competition.
Let me take this opportunity and inform the House that last week, on 14 July 2014, I met with the Vice President of Samsung, Dr Ji Oh Song and his delegation from South Korea, and I took them through a number of our TVET programmes and visited selected institutions in the Western Cape. We are forming a partnership with Samsung and they have made an undertaking to sponsor young South Africans to be trained in IT software solutions, IT network systems and web design in South Korea in September this year. [Applause.]
Following my visit to two mining communities in the North West province last year, where I had an opportunity to interact with a number of young people who pleaded with me to intervene in their plight of poverty and unemployment - they pleaded with me that they needed skills in order to improve their employment prospects - I am happy to report that, together with the Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA, we have trained 1 000 young people in portable skills and entrepreneurship around a number of our mining communities, including the two that I visited.
The MQA allocated an amount of R25 million for training in bricklaying, plumbing, electricity, house wiring, life skills, business and entrepreneurial skills. Some of the youths were trained in Level 1 and 2 Mining, and they will have the opportunity to permanently join the nearby mines. One of my special guests today in the public gallery is Mr Richard Mbulelo who trained in electricity basic house wiring and advanced entrepreneurial skills, who gave a moving testimony that the programme has indeed enabled him to be confident as a young South African. [Applause.]
These programmes were implemented in various municipalities such as the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, City of Matlosana Local Municipality, Sekhukhune District Municipality, Merafong City Local Municipality and Bojanala Platinum District Municipality.
At the programme launch and certification event in both Klerksdorp and Carletonville, I further made a call to mining houses to join government in the skilling of young people and I am happy to report that AngloGold Ashanti Ltd has since trained an additional 315 young people in Level 1 and 2 courses in the Carletonville mining area. Dilokong Chrome in Limpopo has also commenced with the training of portable skills to 50 unemployed young people. This particular mine has committed to place some of these young people in infrastructure development programmes.
An area that has been neglected in the post-school education and training system has been the provision of education and training for people with disabilities in our universities and colleges. As the Minister has indicated, and in line with the White Paper, a comprehensive policy and an implementation framework for people with disabilities will soon be developed.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training has mandated me to oversee this process and, in this regard, a ministerial committee on the development of the policy framework for disability has been established. Our director-general is in the process of calling for nominations for members of the ministerial committee.
The intention of developing this framework will be to set out norms and standards for the integration of student and staff with disabilities in all aspects of university and college life. We are very serious and committed to improving access to post-school education and training for persons with disabilities.
One of my very important tasks is to oversee the initiative to develop and strengthen the HIV, TB, STIs prevention, and treatment, care and support interventions in the entire post-school sector. We are doing this in response to the South African National Strategic Plan on HIV, STIs and TB 2012 to 2016.
The Higher Education HIV/Aids programme, HEAIDS, led by Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, is one of our vehicles to implement comprehensive health care programmes within all of South Africa's public higher education institutions and TVET college campuses, catering for a population of close to 2 million young students and staff.
The HEAIDS programme has also begun implementing comprehensive programmes that respond to the impact of the dual epidemics, HIV, STIs and TB in the higher education and training sector through the launch of our own strategic plan called the Higher Education and Training Strategic Framework on HIV/TB/STI that I launched on 1 December 2012.
Since I announced the extension of the HEAIDS programme into the FET college sector in December 2012 as a landmark victory, all programmes have been extended to students in the TVET sector that have never received such support in the past.
I am proud to announce that through a recent 2014 independent national survey, it has been shown that the campaign has been able to get a total of 40% first-time testers to be screened for HIV, STIs and TB in the sector, whilst a total of 75% were motivated to test and gained knowledge on HIV/TB/STIs and other health care services due to the massive advocacy and awareness done through the HEAIDS First Things First campaign. This means that the young people in our country are able to access HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, and hence a healthy and prolonged lifestyle for them and their families.
We have an obligation to engage our youth if we are to build a strong, skilled and capable workforce and, in this regard, in terms of the HEAIDS programme youth dialogues are being held around the country to teach our young people about the dangers and risk of these kinds of diseases. A programme that I launched at the University of the Witwatersrand towards the end of the fourth administration was actually giving credence to this matter.
We remain committed to the cause of sending students abroad. During the debate on the state of the nation address, I outlined our plans and gave clear figures of students who are outside the country and those that we intend sending abroad this year. One of my special guests today in our public gallery is Ms Tshepang Monica Mashiloane, who is part of the group of 15 students who will be departing for Russia in September this year to study towards her Masters degree in Pedagogical Education. [Applause.]
We have resolved to take up scholarship offers that are strong and worthwhile for our country but we will equally be spending from our own purse in so far as sending capable students to excellent and world-class universities is concerned.
In June 2012, we launched the Apply Now campaign with the aim of creating awareness of career options and application procedures to be followed for post-school education and training. The intention was to reduce long queues and some of the chaos that generally takes place at most of our universities at the beginning of each academic year.
I am pleased to announce that the campaign has been a resounding success and in this coming year I will be conducting SRC road shows where I will meet university and college student representative councils, SRCs, to engage on many matters of concern as well as how we can work together to minimise student protests especially at the beginning of each academic year.
Let me conclude by thanking the President for yet again inviting me to his executive and the support he continues to give us. My outmost thanks go to the Minister of Higher Education and Training for his guidance and support. I would also like to thank the director-general of the department, his deputy and all staff for the work accomplished and for the work still to be done. I also wish to thank the chief of staff in the Ministry, my head of office and the staff in my office for their tireless work and willingness to work beyond the call of duty.
Finally, I would not have been able to serve in this calling without the unflinching support of my family, my friends and my comrades. I thank you.
Mr N M KHUBISA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 25
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION
IsiZulu:
Mnu N M KHUBISA: Seningaze nimemeze kangaka! Ake nginisize-ke nami.
English:
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members, the NFP is aware of the huge role that the Department of Higher Education and Training has to play to ensure that the vision of a post-school system that can assist in building a fair, equitable nonracial and democratic South Africa is achieved. The ideal is a post-school system that is responsive to the needs of individual citizens and employers in public and private sectors as well as broader societal and economic objectives.
Having said that, the NFP will therefore robustly advance the notion of a close co-operation and correlation between universities, technical and vocational education training colleges, TVET colleges, universities of technology and skills and enhancement centres. In welcoming and supporting the budget of the Department of Higher Education and Training, which we support from the side of the NFP, we welcome the increase of 6,8% per annum, from R34,36 billion in 2013 to R42 billion in 2016-17.
We need to tightly monitor the sector education and training authorities, Setas. Most of them show signs of financial mismanagement, as the report of the Auditor-General showed. We need value for money. Setas have got to perform. They must produce the pool of skills that we need in the job sector. So far, some Setas' performance has been very shoddy and very poor.
The NFP will also push strongly for more teacher education colleges that are linked and accredited by universities, and would call for investment in science, mathematics and technology. Science and mathematics educators will have to be produced. Over and above that, we also need educators in commerce and accounting studies.
Whilst the NFP welcomes the increase and allocation of R6, 1 billion in the 2014-15 financial year to R6, 8 billion for the 2016-17 financial year, the department must deal with reports of mismanagement in so far as National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, is concerned. In some of the institutions, this kind of picture compromises the basic tenet of equipping and preparing our students for their future. So, this must be dealt with once and for all, hon Minister. Obviously, acts of mismanagement and all these forms of misdemeanours that occur mean that we have one thing to do: Heads must roll!
I would like to reiterate what I said during the briefing by the department: There is a need, from the side of the NSFAS, to profile students according to their geographical location, i.e. where they come from; which schools they come from; are the schools rural or urban in character; are the students from former model C schools; what subjects do they do at universities, universities of technology and TVET centres; how long do they take to complete their studies; where are they at the moment; what do they do after completing their studies; do they contribute to the socioeconomic growth of our country?
These are the pertinent question that we need to ask ourselves. It might appear scary, but we need to ask if we really want value for money. For instance, the Department of Higher Education must account as to how students that come from poor communities benefit from the NSFAS. There are students who do not know about the NSFAS. We need to assist them in order for them to access higher education. Of course, we also need lecturers and trainers with skill and competencies at TVET colleges who will assist our learners to compete in the job market.
The Department of Higher Education has to develop a clear system and modus operandi of tracking down graduates from TVET colleges in particular in order to assess where they are and if they are making a meaning impact on our society. Of course, this is a job that can be done and it must be done now! Some of the TVET colleges do not perform well and are under administration. The department will have to tell what strategies have been put in place as turnaround strategies to ensure that these colleges do perform.
Finally, the issue of student accommodation is a thorny one in higher education institutions. The Department of Higher Education and Training must address it. The NFP would advocate for a system whereby the department puts on the agenda permanent accommodation that would be owned by the department, which is affordable, so that our children are not lost in towns and in other areas when they go to get education in universities and technikons. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mrs J D KILIAN
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 25
Mr N M KHUBISA
Mrs J D KILIAN: Chairperson, the hon Minster, Deputy Minister, the academia, the department, colleagues in the House, at the outset, I want to quote two formidable human rights activists and what they said about education. The one from the African soil and the other, an Afro-American, both worked for the liberation of their people during the 1900s. The one is our revered icon, Madiba. I want to quote a statement that he made:
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
The other person is Malcolm X, a civil rights activist in the USA in the 1950s. He was 39 years old when he was assassinated in 1965. He said:
Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.
Successful nations of the world have proven time and again that a government's investment in an education system and the effective management of its outcomes, with due respect for the autonomy of all institutions, pays significant dividends for the nation's future social and economic prosperity.
The Department of Higher Education and Training is tasked with developing capable, well educated and skilled citizens who are able to compete in a sustainable, diversified and knowledge-intensive international economy and society which meets South Africa's developmental goals. It should do so against the legacy of apartheid, which is very real.
It is my privilege to focus on the university sector today and to highlight some of the successes and challenges in this sector. We know that 83% of the current financial year's budget goes to the sector. It is in the main through direct transfers to the universities. A small portion of the money is earmarked for the NSFAS, for the Council of Higher Education and for the SA Qualifications Authority.
We have to acknowledge certain achievements in the past 20 years. First of all, the university sector has almost doubled. Previous speakers mentioned the number of enrolled students as well. In 1994, about 500 000 students were involved in the university sector. In 2013, this figure increased to almost 1 million. This represents a 78% increase in university enrolment. Secondly, we have had significant demographic changes in our country's student population. In 1990, only 32% of the student population was black African. Since 2009, more than two-thirds of all university students are black African. Thirdly, several speakers have pointed to the challenges of the NSFAS but we must not underestimate its huge impact on this sector.
It has already given 1, 4 million students tertiary education opportunities. [Applause.] The amount allocated in 1994 – we must remember where we come from - was a mere R10, 3 million. This year, more than R6 billion is allocated to providing opportunities for students from disadvantaged communities. [Applause.] Many NSFAS alumni now play an important role in our economy, in our Public Service and generally in society.
Sadly, despite the whopping increase in funding for the NSFAS, only about 50% of deserving qualifying students can be funded. This is where we need the private sector to dig deeper into their pockets. We need more bursaries for young people and - mind you, hon Minister - other departments can also come to the party. We need all departments in the public sector and in the private sector to come forward to offer bursaries because we have to overcome the challenge that we are facing.
With an age cohort between 15 and 24 years old, we have 10 million young South Africans. The hon Minister has indicated to our portfolio committee that he is focusing on this 3,5 million but we must not forget the others. We need them to be developed to achieve their maximum potential. There is no alternative to a massive and concerted drive to equip our young people with knowledge and skill to take up their place in our economy.
However, we must also remember that the hon Bozzoli has referred to poor research. We have had some significant increases. University research output has increased from about 5 500 in 2003 to 9 600 in 2010. Yet more needs to be done and we acknowledge that.
The hon Minister has already referred to the new universities. Despite significant progress, we also have to overcome specific challenges, and there are many. We have not yet established South African universities.
Enrolments at historically white institutions continue to reflect a lower proportion of black students and the converse is also true. Historically black institutions are almost exclusively black. This is not good for nation-building and for social mobility. A racial breakdown of graduation and dropout rates indicate that we have not achieved equity of opportunity and outcomes for disadvantaged students.
Our throughput rate of 17% at our universities also lags far behind the international norm of 25% for comparable countries, and I know that our NDP target is 30% by 2013. Due to overcrowding at some of the contact universities, we have to investigate opportunities for distance learning. Yes, there will be challenges that we have to confront. - Hon Bozzoli referred to the dropout rate at Unisa, but we cannot be like the hon Bozzoli.
This necessitates for the broadband rollout across our country to become a national priority. Hon Minister, we really need you to assist us in achieving that. The department, in collaboration with universities and other higher education institutions, have come up with some strategies to address some of these challenges. The phasing-in of the central applications system for students has been referred to by the hon Deputy Minister, particularly as far as the career options and guidance for recently matriculated students is concerned.
There is differentiation in course offerings at universities but we can no longer have historically white and historically black universities. We must have universities for specific courses that become well-known for their output. Then, we need to renew the academic profession. We would like to thank the hon Minister and the department for an initiative to in fact address this very serious problem of ageing racially imbalanced corps of lecturers and professors.
We have to get more funding for postgraduate students and fortunately there is funding available through the National Research Foundation. Obviously, we need to attract people to a career in the academia. Those role models for our young children are so important but the best students often go to very lucrative positions and they leave the academia.
I would have loved to address some of the other challenges but time will not allow me to do that. I would like to just make two or three remarks in summary. Yes, we need to improve the quality. The NDP has identified very serious shortcomings and we need to look at that. We will work a plan to address those.
However, it basically boils down to backlogs of the past system and we have to work through it all. We have to bridge the academic gap. Certain township schools and people who qualified through those schools have difficulty adapting in the academic world of universities. This is where I would like to ask, and I am going to do it in my mother tongue:
Afrikaans: [11:37]
Dit is belangrik dat ons 'n beroep doen op universiteite om weg te doen met van die ontgroeningspraktyke wat in baie opsigte as rassisties beleef word. Dit mag nie so wees nie, maar dit is hoe dit beleef word. In stede daarvan, moet hulle universiteite moderne intellings maak, waar studente mentorskappe en bykomende ondersteuningsprogramme kry.
Ons het regtig nodig om te besef dat as ons hierdie land wil red en na 'n werklike sukses wil stuur, is dit nodig dat almal 'n rol speel.
English:
Yes, you can conclude, and you can throw stones, but the fact is this: There are many challenges. Yet, South Africans are renowned for their ability to overcome challenges and to rise above doom and gloom. Thank you. The ANC supports the budget. [Applause.]
Ms D CARTER
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 26
Ms J D KILIAN
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson, at the advent of democracy, a great hope was born. People everywhere had high expectations that finally every South African child would receive high quality education. It is therefore not surprising that the National Development Plan, NDP, views the improvement and expansion of higher education and training as critical to achieve the envisaged inclusive economic growth we are aiming for.
The government has set itself ambitious goals. The aim is to have 10 million university graduates by 2030. Over the next three years the department is aiming to have approximately 3 million students enrolled in higher education institutions. Hon Minister, we need to ask the question: Do we really need students to enroll or does our country require graduates?
If we scrutinize the statistics report released by the Director-General of Higher Education and Training in December last year, we have to thank him because it was, as far as I can understand, the first of its kind but the unfortunate part was the timing. It was the 2010-11 statistics report that was only released in December 2013, but it really paints a gloomy picture.
A total of 16% of students enrolled successfully completed their undergraduate degrees; 18% of students enrolled obtained their masters degrees; 12% of students enrolled obtained their doctoral degrees. This has been issued by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Hon Minister, there was mention of distance learning. Just to give you the statistics that I got from you as well, distance learning boasts a whopping 8% undergraduate pass rate, 9% on masters and 5% on doctorates. I really think that we need to look at how we can deal with these problems.
Cope believes a big part of the blame and the failure also rests with the Department of Basic Education that seeks such a low standard. The lowest standard in the world is set in South Africa.
Monash South Africa said the graduation rate has ranged from 15 to 20% for several years now. We also have to go back and say it is not only now. I have got comments that I got from the internet where people were saying that even in 1955 the pass rate was not very high; it was also about 20 to 25% but the lack of academic preparedness is definitely a challenge. Universities are not offering enough support, which is another problem. We have academics who are specialists in their fields but not adequately skilled to teach; course hopping without finishing the programmes they have started; financial constraints; and then parent's dreams, it's dangerous!
Hon Minister, serious consideration should be given not only in career guidance, but also a high-level aptitude test should be made available to grade 9s. Do we know what the level of suicides in this country is because scholars do not know what they want to do? We would not have a problem of course hopping if students know what other skills to go into.
Hon Minister, bridging and foundation courses are really not sufficient to try and improve academic performance. There is a need to provide nonacademic support, as student accommodation and adjusting to university life also impact on the student's achievements.
A review report on student accommodation at the country's 23 universities published in February found that only 5, 3% of first-year students, those who arguably need accommodation the most, were in university residences. The report also found that hunger was the major problem amongst students, with some going for days without having any food. A graduation goal of 20%, hon Minister, is not good enough and Cope believes that 50% would be a healthy graduation rate. Hon Chair, thank you. [Time expired.]
Mr E K SIWELA
Ms D CARTER
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 26
Mr E K SIWELA: Hon Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members and distinguished guests in the gallery, I greet you. I am honoured and humbled by the opportunity to participate in today's debate on Budget Vote No 17. I come from Utah, a rural village - Professor Bozzoli - in Mpumalanga just like the President who comes from a rural background. There you are likely to come across women and children who move around aimlessly because of either lack or shortage of opportunities for them to work or play.
The picture I have just painted above is the same in every province. South Africa, like many of the developing countries, is experiencing a youth bulge. Economists like Munthali have argued that the growing youth population could be an important demographic dividend if equipped with the right employable or self-employable skills.
A large economically active population can contribute to falling poverty rates. These demographic dividends will happen only if the economically active become engaged. With the right investment and continued progress through the demographic transition, in time large youth populations can become economically productive populations that can drive the economy.
In South Africa, this is not, by any means, through any fault of their own but mainly as a result of a system that sought to exclude blacks in the mainstream economy by offering them inferior, useless education that would permanently condemn them to a life of poverty and suffering. The attitude of the then regime is correctly captured in the words of Dr Hendrick Verwoerd when he said,
When I have control over native education, I will reform it so that natives will be taught from childhood that equality is not for them.
He further stated that:
There is no place for the Bantu in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour ... What is the use of teaching the Bantu child mathematics when it cannot use it in practice?
Certainly, the Bantu child was not a person, but somewhat a `thing', because it is referred as an ``it''. I purposefully gave this background just to remind us, especially those with short memories, who will want the ANC to forget the past injustices. This is also to remind them how the past influenced the present. At this point I would also like to remind the hon member, Prof Bozzoli, that all the problems she highlighted in her speech ...
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chair, is the member prepared to take a question?
Mr E K SIWELA: No.
At this point I would also like to remind the hon member Prof Bozzoli that all the problems she highlighted in her speech are as a direct result of the unjust past and not ANC rule. The ANC merely inherited a contaminated education system. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, educational problems such as unequal access to school, unequal access to educational opportunities, inadequate funding, inadequate facilities and shortage of education material, and inadequate qualified staff contributed immensely to the crisis we are facing today as a community and a country. The shortage of skills is well documented and need no further emphasis.
The Freedom Charter drafted in Kliptown in 1955 by a progressive organisation such as ANC was a beacon in the struggle against apartheid, much as today's National Skills Development Strategy III is a roadmap in our struggle against poverty and inequality. Education is a central part in this effort especially because it addresses, amongst other things, the needs of our youth.
The Sector Education Training Authorities, Setas, are central to skills development, and currently we have 21 Setas, reduced from 23. As hon Phosa has already alluded to in her speech, the department inherited the Seta sector which had a myriad of challenges ranging from maladministration and poor governance; lack of monitoring and evaluation; and misalignment with education and training institutions to poor skills planning. Hence there were numerous calls on the government to do away with the Setas.
However, the sector plays an important role in the skills development of the country. Doing away with the Setas will merely compound the problem of skills shortage. There has been an improvement in the sector over the years since the function shifted to the Department of Higher Education and Training. There is now a greater coherence, accountability, improved employment of resources, better management of funds and streamlining of their operations in order to fulfil their role as a central cog in the skills training and job creation machinery as envisaged in hon Minister Nzimande's first budget speech of 2009. However, we are not claiming that all is well but good work in progress.
Setas play a role in the technical and vocational education training, TVET, college system. This is in line with the National Skills Development Strategy, NSDS, III as it encourages a closer co-ordination and synergy between public TVET colleges and Setas. Setas are to strengthen TVET colleges and prioritise them when it comes to training provision.
The anchor of government's intervention on the skills development front has been the adoption of the NSDS. This strategy, amongst other things, sought to build a closer relationship between the Setas and the public TVET colleges, the universities of technology and employees. The purpose was to shift the focus of our country towards trade and occupational programmes so as to increase the production of artisans and technicians as well as to facilitate workplace training.
Consequently, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, declared 2013 the year of artisans. This project was a resounding success and was followed up early this year by the launch of the Decade of the Artisan by the hon Deputy Minister from the Department of Higher Education and Training. Despite the challenges, the alignment has proved that with hard work and commitment, we can achieve more.
We commend the success of the Setas and Indlela in exceeding the artisan development target by 20% in the 2011-12 financial year and by 28% in the 2012-13 financial year. These achievements show that we are on the way towards achieving the artisan target as envisaged in the National Development Plan, NDP.
The recent National Skills Accord between the government and state-owned enterprises, business and labour and all social partners to increase the numbers of apprenticeships and to take on learners and interns for practical workplace experience includes a commitment by business to absorb TVET graduates. Setas will also play an important role in the implementation of commitments to this accord.
The ANC-led government will increase opportunities for workplace-based training and experience which will be created through greater partnerships between the sector education and training authorities, workplace and educational institutions. Partnerships between employers, public TVET colleges, universities of technology, private training providers and Setas are promoted so that the integration of education and training becomes a reality experienced by all South Africans.
The real value added by Setas is the understanding of labour market issues in their respective industrial and economic sector. Setas must ensure that they are backed by employers and workers, are acknowledged as a credible and authoritative voice on skills, and create interventions and shape solutions that address needs within their sectors. The ANC will advance reforms in skills development to ensure employers and labour, in partnership with any institution, carry out more technical and artisan training.
Setas have set targets in addressing work placement for youth doing learnerships and those in TVET colleges. These partnerships will facilitate synergy between sectors towards working towards a common goal.
The Seta grant came into operation on 1 April 2013 and requires Setas to target funding towards structured workplace learning and experience, and promoting partnerships between education and training institutions and employers. This will assist to institutionalise this very important work within post-school education and training.
Over and above the work of the Setas, we should take this moment to appreciate the work done by the National Skills Fund in contributing towards skills development. I thought I should conclude with the good story of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. In 2013-14 the NSFAS allocated R382 million to the University of Pretoria towards the expansion of medical and veterinary facilities to increase student intake; R213 million to the University Johannesburg towards the development of work-integrated learning facilities for engineering students, accessible to engineering students across South Africa; and a further R106 million towards the development of renewal energy training facilities.
These stories are not in the public domain and we should highlight them so that the public knows what the levies from the employers are used for. With that said, the ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Mr M M TSHISHONGA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 27
Mr E K SIWELA
Mr M M TSHISHONGA: Hon Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament and hon members of the public, before I forget, let me state that I can't say that the work of education must continue, and not approve or support the budget; I cannot. [Applause.] I want to touch on what the Minister has elaborated on with regard to quantity, the number of students we produce and so on. However, there was not much on quality. I am not sure whether we have an assessment tool to indicate whether we are doing well or not.
Of course, transformation must take place in schools. I think it must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and must have timeframes. Education must be regarded as an empowerment tool in the sense that it must enable our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be creative, in order for us to have jobs, a better economy and then a better life for all.
Hon Minister, I think that, in this sense, we have our priorities wrong. We have put up gantries, and called them e-tolls and tollgates, to improve roads. We spend more money on improving roads but we give the Department of Education a meagre budget. Can't we have a tollgate or an e-toll to get more money for education? [Laughter.]
Hon Chair and hon Minister, it is said that it's not the size of the dog that determines which one does the better work, but the fight in the dog. We must equip our children so that they have the fight in them to improve and transform the way they think. We must not do one thing day in and day out, and expect different results. Let us be creative and help to get more money for our children. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Y CASSIM
Mr M M TSHISHONGA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 27
Mr Y CASSIM: Hon Chairperson, I cannot in good conscience support a budget and plans which are destined to fail our people, particularly the poor and vulnerable. The budget and plans of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, both in the short and medium term, reflect an ANC government, and a Minister, that has its priorities all wrong. Its plans further depict a government which is either completely out of touch or is determined to bury its head in the ground whilst students suffer en masse.
Hon Minister, earlier you used the word ``shameful''. If you truly understood the conditions of our poor students, particularly black students, you would know that we should all be ashamed about what is taking place. Hon Minister, I am mandated by our people to remind you of the thousands of young South Africans, particularly from rural areas, who hiked long distances in January of this year to continue their studies, only for half of them to be told that their government did not budget sufficiently for them.
Hon Minister, I previously asked you what your plan is. The budget and plans before us are clearly not aligned to the National Development Plan, NDP, which proposes that all students who qualify for the NSFAS should have access to full funding. The NSFAS budget for 2014-15, discounting Funza Lushaka and other funders, depicts a mere 0, 96% increase from the previous budget. If this isn't sad enough, the general NSFAS allocation, which is the main indicator of access, has actually decreased by 3, 7%.
Hon Minister, I am warning you for the umpteenth time that this crisis will snowball next year as the 50% of eligible NSFAS applicants, turned away this year, will have to compete with a new batch of matriculants to pursue their futures. Furthermore, the medium-term NSFAS budget increase over the next three years is less than R1 billion, not discounting Funza Lushaka, other funders, increases in student enrolments and increases in demand.
Hon Minister, the working group on fee-free higher education submitted a final report in August 2013. Why has this report not been made public? Furthermore, in the portfolio committee we were misled by the Deputy Director-General for university education, Dr Parker, into believing that R30 billion is required to assist eligible students. She failed to mention that, in fact, R9, 8 billion is required initially and R30 billion over a period of three to four years, in terms of the notes we recently received from the committee.
The DA calls for the NSFAS budget to increase immediately, in accordance with the findings of the working group, so as to make free higher education for poor qualifying matrics a reality. We further call for the entire cost of NSFAS to be converted into a bursary on completion of studies, as well as approval of the NDP proposal for nonqualifying students to have access to bank loans, backed by state sureties. We reject the call by Dr Parker to manage the expectations of students as a slap in the face of poor South Africans. We reject this with the contempt that it deserves.
Hon Minister, the inadequate budget of the NSFAS is not the only issue harming our people. The new, ironically named, student-centred model, which is being piloted and introduced at a cost of hundreds of millions, has failed spectacularly.
Funds for successful applicants who opt out cannot be used to assist other needy students. The criteria for accepting financially needy students is on the quintile basis, which has resulted in nonqualifying students receiving funding based on the school they attended, while genuinely needy students are told that there are insufficient funds for them. Nearly 50 000 student applications have gone missing at the University of SA, Unisa, alone. There has been no academic appeals criterion for continuing students with extenuating circumstances in a particular year. The insistence of adopting both the 50% plus one and the N plus two progression rules as requirements for continued funding disqualifies students with adverse performance in a particular year.
Furthermore, repeat modules will now not be funded, which means that a single prerequisite module would prevent poor students from continuing or completing their studies, even if they meet both progression rules. The NSFAS has also made it clear that it will not fund bachelor of technology, BTech, qualifications, even though it is a prerequisite for diploma holders who enter postgraduate courses, and to access research funding. Hon Minister, this affects the poor and vulnerable. There should not be a double standard in the opportunities for poor students and those who are privileged.
Furthermore, hon Minister, even those students who are funded are treated without dignity or justice. The much-vaunted sBux system has been one of the root causes. It is a limited system which has prevented social development, Funza Lushaka and disability-funded students, amongst others, from accessing the full extent of their allowances. The majority of NSFAS students only started receiving meal and book allowances as late as May and June of this year. How does the Minister expect these students from poor backgrounds to have studied or lived with dignity, thousands of kilometers from home, without a book or a meal until May and June this year? These very same students, set up for failure, will then be told that, according to the progression rules which state that they cannot be funded for repeat modules, they will not be able to continue with their studies or complete their studies, even though it is not their fault.
Hon Minister, students and institutions alike are outraged, with the University of Cape Town, UCT, effectively withdrawing from the pilot project this year. In fact, most of the students are now being withdrawn from that pilot project. You will know of a meeting that has taken place this year by the institutions that have openly voiced their concerns on the matter. How can the NSFAS plan to expand this model to 70% of institutions next year and 100% in 2016, when it has failed so dismally with less than 30% of institutions, currently?
We stand with the young people of this country in calling for free higher education for poor qualifying matrics. This is certainly feasible if only our priorities are corrected. Hon Siwela, I certainly hope, and I'm certain, that the ghost of Verwoerd is not sitting in Treasury saying that we shouldn't allocate the necessary funds in order to make this a reality. We have shown, in our alternative budget, that it certainly is feasible. Government can save R24 billion by simply streamlining departments and programmes. An amount of R30 billion can be saved by simply cutting corruption. That has nothing to do with the ghost of Verwoerd. I agree that there are many problems that we have inherited from apartheid ... [Applause.] ... and I applaud the department on the work done to correct those problems.
Hon Minister, please understand that we can do something about this issue in particular. I beseech you, on behalf of poor South Africans across this country, to do something about it. We call for the NSFAS to amend its plans, if we are to support those plans. Certainly, the current plans are not going to benefit the poorest of our people and the majority of our people. Hon Minister, when you speak at the end of this budget debate, we call on you to give a solid commitment to immediately make fee–free higher education a reality, as it is certainly feasible. I would appreciate that on behalf of all South Africans. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr C D KEKANA
Mr Y I CASSIM
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 28
Mr C D KEKANA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister - I hear the voice of the hon Chief Whip - Members of Parliament, guests, ladies and gentlemen, I'm actually the second student who was taught by the hon Belinda Bozzoli. I must say that one thing that she emphasised was that, according to the academic approach, we should be constructively critical. Now, if she doesn't mind, I would like to criticise her because, often, when people say that you must be critical, they mean that you should criticise others except them. [Laughter.]
Concerning the first issue that she is saying, very quickly, is that Ministers are taking their children to the liberal or English speaking universities. She mentioned Turfloop and Fort Hare universities and asked why they don't enrol them at Turfloop and Fort Hare. The point I want to make is that she knows that those universities and the other black universities were not designed to develop South Africa, but were designed because of Verwoerd and the doctrine of separate development. The political reason was for the development.
That is why in all the black universities there is no faculty of engineering because of the legacy of separation. The black people were permanent in the rural areas and temporal sojourners in the urban areas. Now, the most important point is that one of the reasons for separation was the colonial regime, which impacted on us in a very complex way. Therefore, I don't think it's fair to simplify everything down to finance, because it is not just about money.
For example, let's look at the issue of language at English universities. I was with Prof Bozzoli when the issue of language as one of the causes of the high failure rate was examined. The experts say that people perform better when they learn in their mother tongue language. All of us who attended the University of Witwatersrand were taught in English, which was not our mother tongue. This applies to the whole of Africa.
When you go to Germany, you'll find that the Germans are taught in their mother tongue from primary to the tertiary level. This also applies to the French. Even in a new state like Israel, which was established in 1948, they learn in Hebrew. So, I don't think that simplifying and reducing everything to finance it will help our Minister to address the problem, because the problem is complex.
Fortunately, I went to Turfloop before going to Witwatersrand. At Turfloop I was studying Political Science and Marxism was banned but, when I went to Witwatersrand, I was surprised that people were learning Marxism and yet both universities were in the same country. [Interjections.] They were even reading No Middle Road by Joe Slovo, who was banned in the country. In Social Sciences, therefore, there was academic freedom.
In Natural Sciences, some of the students who came to do engineering at Witwatersrand failed their first test. They were told by their fellow white students that the test was about the mathematics they had done in matric. The question was how they failed that mathematics test when they'd passed matric. This made us realise that the mathematics that we were taught in matric was not the same as the mathematics that whites were taught. [Laughter.] Whites were taught a type of mathematics that prepared them for engineering whilst we were taught a funny mathematics. [Laughter.]
So, these are the complexities of our country and I don't think that it helps to reduce all these complexities that are in education to just a matter of finance. As people usually say, you don't just throw money ... [Interjections.] Yes!
Now, the last point I want to make about this is that the movement for people in this country is from rural to urban areas. Generally, the population of people in the urban areas is big. Even if you were to establish the faculty of engineering at Turfloop, which is not in Limpopo, but in a rural town in the villages in Turfloop, it wouldn't attract the type of the academic whom you would need, in the same way the urban area university would attract them.
The ``bush universities'' as they were called, therefore, deprived students of many resources that were necessary for any university that should be of international standard, which is what that type of university would need. What I'm saying is that the colonial thing is something that we perhaps underestimate because it didn't affect all of us. But, I can tell you, up to today or maybe for another century, we will be struggling to overcome this.
Now, going back to my speech, I'm supposed to speak about the technical and vocational colleges. [Laughter.] The new design of our education system has excited many of us, because the emphasis has been that the ratio on the universities would be 40%, which is the German model; and for technical and vocational it should be 60%. The point is that not everybody in our country will be a professor or a doctor.
To acquire skill, therefore, is very important. The people have criticised us about the type of the education system that our country offers. They say that the type of education that our country offers is academic. In other words, people are just taught theory and not skills. The country needs people with skills now. That is why the Minister speaks about the ratio and that more people should enrol at the technical and vocational institutions.
I hear that for every engineer, about 15 technicians are needed. This is really exciting for me, because this will not just boost economic development, but I think that it will address all the 65 matriculants who are unemployed.
For instance, if one did history, when he seeks employment he is told that history is not useful for the company. Those matriculants will be able to acquire technical and vocational skills that are in line with the interests of the economy. This would benefit both gentlemen and ladies. While doing that, they will be able to upgrade themselves to fight poverty.
Remember the Industrial Revolution in Britain? It actually came about through the system of journeymen and apprenticeship. It trained many peasants in feudalism. Actually, it replaced feudalism with capitalism. In feudalism, peasants could not move upwards. If you were born a peasant, you would die a peasant. But, through the Industrial Revolution, the peasants got training and they could be artisans who either owned companies or work for somebody with the aim of moving out of peasantry. At that stage it was a positive move.
In our country, we think that we can help our nation by training our youth to acquire technical and vocational skills, for them to be able to move out of the class they are locked in, the working class, and be the future entrepreneurs and skilled people who can make livelihood from the skills they have acquired.
We hope that, with the assistance of the sector education and training authorities, Seta, which must integrate the relationship between colleges and private sector, the private sector will open up their doors so that the colleges do not only offer theory but there is a factory floor where the students can go and gain experience about the theory they have gained.
Unless we work together in this country on the triple Ps - public-private partnership, we would be dooming our country ourselves. Minister, it is very important that the new design of universities, firstly; technical and vocational colleges, secondly; and community colleges, thirdly, absorb everybody - the old and the young, whoever is interested in improving his or her own personal life - to get the opportunity for training and improving their lives.
I know that there is eagerness, a burning desire out there, for people not to be a crying nation, but to do something about their own lives. The problem is that they come from somewhere where they were deprived all the time, and now opportunities have been presented to them. This should also be emphasised by the opposition parties rather than to criticise the weaknesses that are there. I think that the opportunities are greater than the weaknesses.
South Africa is therefore moving to greater heights. I wish I could live for another 30 years to see the South Africa that will develop into a First World country. [Applause.] Thank you.
THE MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 Take: 29
Mr C D KEKANA
The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Hon Chairperson, let me just highlight this matter which I wanted to talk about. I just want to say that one of the most important things that our department is doing is to really place great emphasis on linking education and the workplace. In keeping with our slogan which says, ``... turning every workplace into a training space'', I am very pleased also to say that we are in discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry to allocate some broad-based black economic empowerment, BBBEE, score points for those employers that are particularly training black youth. [Applause.]
Sector education and training authorities, Setas, are opening offices in rural areas and technical vocational education and training, TVET, colleges. We will also be reviewing the Seta landscape. By the way, we are working together with the Setas. Professor Khubisa, I think you were raising this matter. We will give you the information as soon as it is available.
We are also very proud of our skills works. We have done a skills profile of the kind of people we need for the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, the 18 Strategic Integrated Projects, SIPs.
Allow me, Chairperson, to really thank the ANC and all other parties that supported the budget. You are supporting progress. [Applause.] I would also like to thank all our institutions, which worked co-operatively with us, despite the many challenges we are facing, whether it is our universities, TVET colleges, Setas, quality assurance institutions and so on.
Hon Bozzoli, I will start by responding to you as a social scientist. The problem with the DA is that it thinks in dichotomies, not dialectically. It is quantity versus quality, instead of quantity and quality. Due to many challenges in the TVET colleges, the DA is telling us not to do anything and expand until we have improved quality. That is why you will not understand the concept of fixing the aeroplane in the air because that is dialectical, not dichotomous. [Applause.]
The second problem with the DA, as their point of departure, is that they have failed to find fault with the work we are doing in the department in the last five years, because we admitted the faults first ourselves. They changed their representatives in the previous portfolio committee three times. Now, they have been mandated to just go for Nzimande at whatever cost, blindly.
But, I must say, hon Bozzoli, that I am really shocked at the condescending and patronising manner with which you talk about our historically disadvantaged institutions. It is really shocking that you are thinking in terms of black and white; that former black universities are horrible and former white universities are perfect.
You are dismissing, by the way ... [Interjections.] Yes, that is dichotomous thinking. That is exactly what I am saying. You are forgetting also the Professor Makgoba study that you are dismissing. We have a challenge in this country's universities. Our senates are lily white. That is what that study is coming up with, and it is the truth. We cannot move forward without our universities coming up with a strategy to tell us how we are going to actually make our senates, which are our professors, be more representative of the South African community. You are silent about that. [Applause.]
Also, you seem not be collecting information. The University of Fort Hare was never under administration. In fact, the institution has improved significantly. You seem also not to understand the conditions under which people work in the historically disadvantaged institutions. To be so insensitive, makes me doubt the contributions you are going to make here. Also, because of your dichotomous thinking, you are thinking only from the standpoint of universities. That is why you do not understand when we talk dialectically about postschool and the relationship amongst these institutions. This thing of saying that I support some universities and not other universities is not true. If I had the time here, I would tell you about the projects that we are doing across our university sector. These are all our universities. [Interjections.] No, don't tell me that my time is up when I speak the truth.
Hon Cassim, you mustn't come to Parliament and speak as if you are at a DA Students Organisation, Daso, rally. This is not a Daso rally. Regarding the system you are saying is failing, we have only started this year's National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, to experiment with it. The aim is to make sure that the money we give students to spend is not spent on other luxuries and things. That is all what it is. It has not failed. We have only started at the beginning of this year. It is because Daso does not like it because it ordinarily does not affect your typical Daso students. That is the reason why you are actually talking like that. [Applause.]
I think that we have a long way to go together, hon DA members. I want to come to the committee and actually raise a whole range of these issues so that you don't come and grand stand here. We talk facts, engage and analyse.
Mr Mpontshane, I thought that today you were ... I don't know what happened today, you were a little bit ... But, we are glad that the IFP is supporting this budget.
In closing, to the EFF, you don't start a university with 10 000 people, but I am not amazed why you don't understand. I am not surprised why you don't understand about universities, and I will share that with you some other day.
Thank you very much to everybody who participated in the debate. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Order, hon members! Members are reminded that the debate on Parliament's Budget Vote will take place at 14h00 in the Chamber.
Debate concluded.
The Committee rose at 12:20.
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