Questions and Replies

Reply:

a) In terms of proclamation 88 of 2022, the SIU initiated investigations on potential misuse and/or misallocation of funds by the institutions. Once the SIU has concluded its report, the Department will study the report, and engage the NSFAS and institutions which are implicated by SIU before it takes any steps. The Department has in the interim asked universities to conclude outstanding financial reconciliations.

b) NSFAS is improving its internal controls and reconciliation processes to identify outstanding funds and recover or process payments due far sooner. The Department further monitors the performance reports of universities and conducts site visits, reviews audited financial statements and annual reports of the universities, and where substantial evidence or complaints on maladministration are reported to or detected by the Department, investigations are undertaken as per the empowering provisions of the Higher Education Act (1999).

Section 42 (1) of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, as amended, states that the Minister may issue a directive to the council of Public Higher Education Institution (PHEI) if the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the Council or the Management of the PHEIs, (a) is involved in financial impropriety or the PHEI is being otherwise managed’.

If Section 42 (1)(a) is not fulfilled, then the Minister may consider Section 42 (4), which states that “in the event that the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the council of the PHEI concerned has failed to comply with the directive contemplated in this section within the stated period, or the steps taken, fail to remedy the deficiency within a reasonable period of time, the Minister may, depending on the circumstances-

(a) appoint an independent assessor in accordance with section 44; or

(b) appoint an administrator in accordance with section 49B; or

(c) take any other appropriate action allowed by this Act or any other law”, as a form of intervention.

Reply:

The Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, (the Act) as amended, states that degrees, diplomas, and certificates are awarded by higher education institutions subject to their statutes and the Act. Section 65 C of the Act adds that no degree, diploma, or certificate may be awarded upon any person who has not been registered as a student, against the qualification, for the period (and conditions) prescribed by the Senate of the institution.

Universities are established by the Minister in terms of the Act. Each university has a Programme and Qualification Mix (PQM) that is approved by the Minister; qualifications that are placed on the universities’ PQMs are approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training (the Department), accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), registered on the National Qualifications Framework (HEQSF) and by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and supported by a professional body, where applicable. The Minister, therefore, determines the scope and range of operations for higher education institutions.

The Department, the CHE and SAQA have initiated a Data Validation Project (DVP); the aim of this project is to ensure that qualification types and naming conventions are consistent across the three databases. This exercise was necessitated by the emergence of different qualification types and nomenclatures that were used interchangeably after the HEQSF Alignment process.

The DVP is an ongoing process; where inconsistencies are identified, clarity is sought from institutions and due process is followed to secure the necessary approval of qualifications. There are cases where some qualifications need to be discontinued because universities conduct periodic reviews of PQMs to ensure viability of qualifications. In some cases, qualifications are discontinued because of national reviews, an example is the old two-year Bachelor of Laws. When qualifications are discontinued, the university engages with the Department and the last date of First Time Enrolment is recorded on the PQM. This record is then archived by the Department.

Where there are concerns around the quality of academic programmes, the CHE conducts reviews of the qualifications and improvement plans are developed and approved by the CHE, this information is then shared with the Department. The CHE and the Department adopt a developmental approach around quality assurance and enhancement hence the need for improvement plans, site visits and periodic institutional audits of universities.

Professional bodies play an important role in ensuring the integrity of professional qualifications and in protecting the public. The CHE has signed Memoranda of Agreement/ Understanding with several professional bodies to promote cooperation and collaboration that ensures the quality of qualifications that lead to professional registration.

Additional notes:

The role of the CHE in quality assurance of qualifications is upheld in the Higher Education Act and universities’ senates and councils play an important function in safeguarding the academic integrity of qualifications. While some universities still offer and award qualifications that are not aligned to the HEQSF to pipeline students that were registered before 31 December 2019, these are being phased out. This is done while offering and awarding HEQSF aligned qualifications with different nomenclature.

The Department will, for a period maintain two separate PQMs for each university, HEQSF aligned and non-aligned. The Department envisages that non-aligned qualifications for distance education programmes will be phased out by 2028 and non-aligned contact programmes, by 2026.

Reply:

The Department will decide on the allegations once two related processes have been concluded. The first process emanates from the work of the Special Investigation Unit which is conducting an investigation at the University of Fort Hare, following the Presidential Proclamation published on 5 August 2022, in the Government Gazette no 47199. A report is expected during March / April 2024, and is likely to be delivered to the President’s office. The second process stems from the legal proceedings underway, involving the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Mr Oscar Mabuyane and the University of Fort hare.

Reply:

The Department has a plan to assist deserving institutions to build student accommodation. A number is institutions have been identified and have been presented to National Treasury for approval:

Institution	Campus	Sector	No of Rooms	No of Beds
University of Limpopo	Turfloop	University	1925	3500
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)	Bellville	University	413	750
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)	District Six, West	University	330	600
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)	Mowbray	University	440	800
Central University of Technology (CUT)	Bloemfontein	University	550	1000
Central University of Technology (CUT)	Welkom	University	550	1000
Gert Sibanda TVET College	Sibanesetfu	TVET	495	900
Gert Sibanda TVET College	Perdekop	TVET	330	600
King Hintsa TVET College	Teko	TVET	462	840
Lephalale TVET College	Lephalale	TVET	660	1200
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU)	Ga-Rankuwa	University	1100	2000
Sekhukhune TVET College	CS Barlow	TVET	440	800
Sekhukhune TVET College	CN Phatudi	TVET	385	700
Tshwane University of Technology	Ga -Rankuwa	University	330	600
Tshwane University of Technology	Pretoria West	University	990	1800
Tshwane University of Technology	Soshanguvhe	University	495	900
University of Johannesburg	Soweto	University	330	600
University of Johannesburg	Auckland Park	University	411	748
University of Johannesburg	Doornfontein	University	385	700
University of KwaZulu-Natal	Pietermaritzburg	University	825	1500
University of KwaZulu-Natal	Edgewood	University	330	600
University of KwaZulu-Natal	Westville	University	495	900
University of Limpopo	Turfloop	University	1925	3500
University of Zululand (UniZulu)	KwaDlangezwa	University	1925	3500
Institution	Campus	Sector	No of Rooms	No of Beds
University of Zululand (UniZulu)	KwaDlangezwa	University	210	400
Majuba TVET College	Newcastle	TVET	825	1500
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)	Nelson Mandela Drive Delivery Unit	University	330	600
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)	Zamukulungisa Delivery Unit	University	330	600
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)	Health Sciences Faculty Drive Delivery Unit	University	440	800
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)	Ibika	University	330	600
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)	Potsdam Delivery Unit	University	330	600
Northlink TVET College	Tygerberg	TVET	495	900
Northlink TVET College	Wingfield	TVET	330	600
Vhembe TVET College	Mashamba	TVET	385	700
Vhembe TVET College	Makwarela	TVET	330	600
Total			20856	37938

The funding for the programme is dependent on the funding allocation from National Treasury.

Reply:

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation is fully aware of the skewed demographics in the senior academic ranks of universities and since 2018 embarked on a wide-ranging programme of sectoral redress to transform the social structure of our academic system.

In 2018, the Department of Higher Education and Training instituted the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) funded by the University Capacity Development Grant (UCDG). This innovation was brought about around the time of the Summit on the Transformation of Higher Education in 2015.

The Staff Development component of the UCDP contributes to the creation of an academic pipeline that enables the recruitment, retention and progression of academics, particularly black and women academics, along the entire pipeline, including through enabling research development, teaching development, leadership development and professional development opportunities for academics and professional staff. A general requirement that is applied to all the sub-programmes of the UCDP is that 80% of the beneficiaries must be Black and/or women South African citizens.

One of the sub-programmes of the UCDP is the Future Professors Programme (FPP). It aims to recruit young academics into a structured and intense programme to accelerate their readiness for the professoriate. The FPP contributes to building demographically transformed, professional, and capable senior academics at public universities in South Africa across various disciplines. The programme is being implemented to address the deficiency in black and women professors, at South African public universities. Currently, 144 lecturers are supported in the programme with the rest to be onboarded in 2024/25. Of these, 68 (47%) are males and 76 (53%) are females, 126 (88%) are Black (African, Coloured and Indian) and 18 (12%) are White. A total of 87 academics have completed the programme with 52 of them promoted to Professorship and the rest rated through the National Research Foundation’s rating system. All 26 universities are participating in the programme. So far (up to the 2023/24 financial year), a total amount of R135 229 574 has been invested in supporting approximately 171 senior lecturers into a structured programme to develop them towards professorship positions.

In addition to the FPP that specifically focuses on the development of senior academics to be ready for Professorial positions, three programmes that act as the pipeline for the FPP are being implemented. These programmes include the Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme (NESP) which recruits candidates who are interested in pursuing an academic career and who hold an Honours degree or junior degree. These candidates are supported through a structured and developmental programme to acquire Master’s degrees and are granted an opportunity of a one-year academic internship at South African universities which prepares them to apply for academic positions at universities. This includes a full scholarship to acquire a Master’s degree (or starting from an Honours level) and a one-year internship at a South African university. So far, a total amount of R113 384 650 has been allocated to universities for the implementation of this programme since its inception and a total of 193 positions and scholarships have been awarded to universities.

Next in the pipeline is the New Generation of Academics Programme (the nGAP) which recruits new academics against carefully designed and balanced equity considerations and disciplinary areas of greatest need into permanent posts at universities and supports them through an intensive development programme that includes acquiring PhDs and development towards a fully-fledged academic. To date, the programme has allocated a total of 872 posts to universities which amounts to a total investment of R2 263 522 782. So far, 772 lecturers have been recruited and appointed to the universities permanently. Of this number, 415 (54%) are females and 357 (46%) are males, 22 (3%) are white and 750 (97%) are black. A total of 188 of these lecturers have acquired their PhDs, and of these 101 are females and 87 are males. All universities are benefitting from the programme.

The third programme that can serve as a feeder to the FPP is the University Staff Doctoral Programme (USDP). The USDP supports existing permanent academics and professional staff at universities to achieve doctoral degrees through full scholarships. So far, a total of R183 456 061 has been invested in the programme since its inception in 2018 to support a total of 420 academics in universities. A total number of 324 academics are currently pursuing the PhDs with 196 (60%) being female and 128 (40%) male. Black academics supported constitute 290 (90%) and 34 (10%) white. Eighty-seven (87) academics supported have completed their PhDs and the rest are in progress. The Department has also specifically supported university programs which foster collaboration between historically-white and historically black, and urban and rural-based institutions.

Although COVID-19 negatively affected the progress of many of the academics supported through these programmes, the UCDP interventions are in full swing and will carry on until the demographics in the academic system reflects the demographics of the population.

Reply:

1. The proposed funding model for the missing middle is a loan scheme linked to a credit guarantee.
2. 31 884 students.
3. The funding model allows for students to repay the loan once they are employed.

Reply:

Neither the Department or the universities are aware of newly developed assessment systems. Section 28 (1) of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, as amended, provides for the establishment of a senate as a university governance structure accountable to the council for the academic and research function. In addition, the Department ensures that universities have developed policies which provide for transparent selection and admissions.

The systems used by the three universities have been in use for some time but are continuously enhanced as institutional policies evolve. The systems are set up according to the minimum admission requirements per programme and when final results are received the system matches these against the applicant, calculates the point score as per the policy of a particular university, checks for designated subjects and levels and determines if the applicant meets the requirements or not. If minimum requirements are met, the applicant is placed in a selection pool (for the programme applied for) for faculties to consider and if they do not meet the minimum they are declined (automatically). The pool is then ranked by the system from highest point score to lowest and faculties are then allowed to proceed with selections and view the fresults.

If an offer is made, the system sends out an offer via email and the applicant is given time to accept the offer which differs per institution. The system also sends a reminder email. Should the offer be accepted this is recorded and the applicants receive registration information. Should the offer not be accepted it is forfeited but can still be accepted by the faculty where late acceptance is permitted. For applicants that accept offers and do not register as per the designated deadlines, a faculty may revoke the offer. While there is some automation, selection is not automated and faculties still quality assure the results and make an offer or decline an applicant 

Reply:

The information requested by the honorable member is not readily available as registration of post-graduates is still underway. Once all universities have finalised registration, data will be collated and verified with confirmations from the National Research Foundation, the Services SETA, National Skills Fund, National Student Financial Aid Scheme and other fellow government departments as well as state owned enterprises who sponsor post-graduate studies of students. Enquiries will also be made on how funding is sourced from the latter institutions.

Reply:

1. NSFAS is able to assist students with applications where there is no stable network, however it should be noted that applications closed on 15 February 2024.
2. A team can be deployed to Magabheni Sizakele Centre through a formal request sent to NSFAS. NSFAS will then assess if similar challenges are experienced in surrounding areas so that its intervention is not confined to specific or limited areas, and is also implemented in a manner that seeks to manage public sector funds efficiently.

Reply:

1. Section 34 (1) of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, as amended, (the Act) states that “the council of a public higher education institution must appoint the employees of the public higher education institution”. Furthermore, subparagraph (3) states that “the council must determine the conditions of service, disciplinary provisions, privileges and functions of the employees of the institution, subject to the applicable labour law.

2. In this regard the university advised that it extended the contract of its head of security on the basis of his 35 years’ experience. He holds Security Course Certificate Grade A, B, C, D and E.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Whether the Minister will furnish Mr L J Basson with:

(a) a list

There is no list as no events were planned to celebrate the 30 years of democracy in the republic.

(b) full description of all events planned by his Department to take place before 29 May 2024 in celebration of the 30 years of democracy in the republic.

There are no details available as no events were planned to celebrate the 30 years of democracy in the republic.

(i) Projected total cost or expenditure of each event and

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

(ii) Breakdown thereof in terms of expenditure for

(aa) catering

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

(bb) entertainment

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

(cc) venue hire

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

(dd) transport and

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

(ee) accommodation.

No cost or expenditure were incurred.

If not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?

No events are planned to celebrate 30 years of democracy in the republic.

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

There is no specific event that the department is planning in celebration of the 30 years of democracy in the current financial year (2023/2024) due to budget constraints. However, it is something that will be considered later in the 2024/2025 financial year.

1. None
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. N/A

Reply:

(a) Motheo TVET college has been offering these programmes as skills programmes since 2001. The current administration of the college inherited these programmes, which were offered as unaccredited skills programmes registered by the former Industry Boards as Competency Based Modular Training (CBMT) Programmes were registered as shorter skills training programmes. Upon realising that these programmes were not accredited, the management of the college took a decision to accredit these programmes through the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) since 2019. For ease of reference the accreditation letters of these programmes is attached, as well as other programmes as received from the QCTO. The college has always marketed these programmes as skills programmes, and not as accredited programmes. (b) The colleges stands to be guided otherwise in terms of reimbursing students/parents for tuition that has been paid as these are legacy programmes registered with old industry boards as far back as technical colleges and manpower centres. (c) The occupational programmes in questioned are accredited with QCTO and the details are as follows:

• Upholstery is now OC: Furniture Upholstery
• And welding is now OC: Welder

This course has their workplace component included in the curriculum. The college is working with industry partners to place all students successfully with employers. Attached find the accreditation certificates for all these occupational programmes.

Reply:

(a) During the conceptualisation phase of the National Artisan Development Academy, a research committee was established with members from the University of the Free State (UFS), Central University of Technology (CUT), Services SETA and Motheo TVET College. The study employed a qualitative research design that involved desktop analysis of supply and demand of trades and related occupations.

The analyses involved:

1) the review of the Sector Skills Plans of six Sector Education and Training Authorities that provide funding for trade and related occupations (with particular attention paid to PIVOTAL lists, scarce and critical skills lists),

2) DHET’ s list of priority occupations and Department of Trade (DTI) Sector Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) scarce skills as well as applicable policy and legislative framework. The research activities described above resulted in a combined list of 36 possible trades. These were further grouped according to their levels of similarities. Based on these analyses, a total of 23 trades were extracted from scarce skills. Sixteen trades were common across scarce and pivotal lists. Seven trades were listed as scarce and not pivotal. Nine trades were listed as pivotal and not scarce. The trades were grouped according to similar practical equipment requirements. Nine groups could be identified, covering 31 trades. Five trades could be allocated into any group. The study recommended that Groups 1-6 be accommodated at the Academy, in addition to Hairdressing and Beauty Treatment which fall within the scope of the Services SETA is accommodated at the Academy.

(b) The National Artisan Development Academy have 3 hostels on the campus where we can accommodate a total of 192 students. Students who are in programmes which are funded by NSFAS like the Occupational Certificate: Hairdresser and Visual Art & Design N4 to N6 will be accommodated in these hostels. The Student Support Services (SSS) Unit is assisting the college with student housing at the Academy for students resides from outside Bloemfontein.

Reply:

Part 1: Prior to this Parliamentary Question, I was not informed of the amount charged by the Sol Plaatje University (SPU). This is because the accreditation of private student accommodation is carried out by the institutions in line with their own policies and processes.

In its response to the question, SPU indicates the following:

• It imposes a fee for the accreditation of off-campus accommodation for the purpose of ensuring that this accommodation meets the University’s standards for safety, quality, and student comfort.
• It charges between R500-R1500 per year for each facility.
• Following accreditation, a nominal monthly administration fee is charged for each student housed, covering ongoing oversight and support services.

Part 2 – Main Question: Yes, it is a standard practise for universities to be charged private accommodation owners a fee for the accreditation of their facilities.

Part 2 (a): SPU responded as follows:

• These funds reimburse the University for administrative tasks, including managing payments to landlords and covering associated costs such as banking fees.
• The revenue directly contributes to enhancing the living and learning environment of its students. Specifically, it offsets bank charges and supports the residence budget.
• Despite facing financial challenges in managing residence operations as detailed in its published financial statements, these efforts reflect the University’s commitment to providing quality student accommodation.
• The charges are pivotal for maintaining its high accommodation standards.

Part 2 (b): SPU reports that it introduced private student accommodation in 2023 and for the 2023 financial year, it raised an amount of R4.2 million.

Additional Information: In addition to the above, SPU indicates the following:

• The University is committed to ensuring the highest standards of off-campus accommodation for its students.
• In line with this commitment, the University implements an accreditation system accompanied by a structured fee model:

Reply:

In the first instance, the feasibility study for the establishment of the campus was delayed by more than 5 months (May to Mid-October) due to the Limpopo Department of Education (LDE) denying access to the site (former Giyani College of Education). The Department resolved this by escalating the matter to the Limpopo Office of the Premier (OTP). Subsequently, the Limpopo OTP organized a meeting with the Department and LDE on 16 October 2023 where LDE agreed to grant access to the site, and a site visit was carried out 01-02 November 2023.

In the second instance, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) was denied access (from mid-November 2023 to end of February 2024), the Department resolved the issue by once again escalating the matter to the Limpopo OTP. The Department’s Senior Management, led by the Director-General, held a meeting with the Director-General of Limpopo on 13 March 2024. The meeting was also attended by the Limpopo Department of Education (LDE), the Mopani District Municipality, the Giyani Local Municipality (led by the Mayor), and TUT. The Limpopo OTP undertook to ensure that the Department and TUT have access to the site. The meeting agreed on an establishment of a broader Project Steering Committee that includes the Limpopo Office of the Premier, LDE, Mopani District Municipality, Giyani Local Municipality, and Community Structures.

Reply:

For both universities, the process is currently at the second phase of technical planning studies focusing on detailed technical, geospatial, campus infrastructure, ICT, equipment, staffing and student support services costs. The scope further extends to the following tasks:

• Conducting a detailed audit of the qualifications, expertise, and capacity of existing staff at Hammanskraal police academy to determine skills gaps and requirements for the new higher education institutions and developing a talent acquisition model;
• Exploring mechanisms for securing collaborative partnerships and/or a consortium with universities already offering postgraduate qualifications with various specialisations in crime and policing studies;
• Conducting international benchmarking to assess the enhancement of education and training through next generation technologies;
• Investigating the various modalities of articulation pathways between the TVET (technical, vocational, educational, and training) sector and the new higher education institutions; and

Exploring the development of articulation pathways at the postgraduate level between the new higher education institutions and partnering universities.

The results of Phase Two technical modelling will enable the Department of Higher Education and Training to align implementation and funding plans with the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework planning process.

Reply:

	Minister	Deputy Minister
(a)	N/A	i) BMW ii) BMW
(b)	N/A	i) X3 XDRIVE 20D ii) X3 XDRIVE 20D
(c)	N/A	i) 2021 ii) 2021
(d)	N/A	(i)12/10/2021 (ii)20/12/2021
(e)	N/A	i) R761 199.40 ii) R768 666.99

Reply:

There are 14 Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges as follows:

NO	REGION	NAME OF COLLEGE
	Gauteng & Free State	Ekurhuleni Central Johannesburg Maluti
2.	Western Cape & Northern Cape	False Bay
3.	Mpumalanga & North West	Gert Sibanda Taletso
4.	Kwa Zulu Natal	Coastal KZN Umfolozi Esayidi
5.	Eastern Cape	Buffalo City Ingwe King Hintsa King Sabata Dalindyebo Port Elizabeth

Reply:

1. With regard to the objectives and purposes of the Skills Development Act, Act 97 of 1998, what total amount has been paid by employers in skills development levies since the inception of the Skills Development Levy, National Skills Fund (NSF) and the implementation of the specified Act;

Employers have the direct relationship through the mandatory grant process. The NSF as a catalytic funder focuses on skills development across the value chain of SA and has a direct relationship with stakeholders and/or implementing agents such as Skills Development Providers, Government Departments, PSET institutions none of which pay a levy to the NSF.

 

2. what (a) total amount has been raised by the NSF in reliance upon the Act, in particular section 27, and (b) is the source of the funding in reliance upon section 27(2)(a) to (f);

The pilot project underway through the Presidency called the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) is the only source of additional funding and this has been included in the MTSF (through DHET).

Background

“Section 27 (1) of the Skills Development Act (SDA) states that the National Skills Fund is hereby established and section (2) further state that the Fund must be credited with:

• 1. 20 per cent of the skills development levies, interest and penalties collected in respect of every SETA, as required by sections 8 (3) (a) and 9 (a) of the Skills Development

Levies Act (SDL Act);

• 1. the skills development levies, interest and penalties collected by the Commissioner from employers which do not fall within the jurisdiction of a SETA, as required by section 8 (3) (c) of the SDL Act.
  2. money appropriated by Parliament for the Fund;
  3. interest earned on investments contemplated in section 29 (3);
  4. donations to the Fund; and
  5. money received from any other source.”

2 a) The total amount has been raised by the NSF in reliance upon the Act, in particular, section 27.

With reference to the Act and the question raised, the NSF was established in 1999 in terms of section 27 of the SDA without legal persona.

From that period of its establishment to the period of 2010, the NSF was placed under the Department of Labour (DOL) as a chief directorate /Directorate and the total amount that was raised by the NSF during this period was R 8 439 078 000.

In 2010-11 NSF was transferred to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and in 2011-12 the NSF was listed as Schedule 3A Public Entity in terms of the PFMA, retrospectively effective from 1 April 2012. From the period of 2011 to 2023 the total amount that was raised by the NSF during this period was R49 464 097 000.

In summary and in total considering the period when the NSF was in DOL and the NSF in the DHET, the NSF received a total amount of R57 903 175 000.

 

2 b) The source of the funding in reliance upon section 27(2)(a) to (f)

With reference to the section 27 of the SDA and the question raised, the NSF current main revenue sources are:

1. 20% of the skills development levies as contemplated in the SDL Act; and
2. Interest earned on investments held at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC); and
3. Money received from any other sources - uncommitted surplus from the SETAs and to certain extend interest received from the Skills Development Providers (but the amount is not material).

The NSF may also receive revenue from the following sources as per section 27 of the SDA (but this is not prevalent as NSF has not received any of the amount listed below):

1. The skills development levies collected and transferred to the NSF, in terms of the SDL Act in respect of those employers or sectors for which there is no sector education and training authority (SETA)
2. Money appropriated by Parliament for the NSF
3. Donations to the NSF

With reference to the 20% of the skills development levies as contemplated in the Skills Development Levies Act, 1999 (Act 9 of 1999) (SDL Act) as per section 27 (2) (a), the NSF has accounted for R45 996 000 000.

With reference interest earned on investments contemplated in section 29 (3) of the SDA and as per section 27 (2) (d), the NSF has accounted for R6 789 000 000.

With reference to the funds received as a results uncommitted surplus from the SETAs that are transferred to the NSF in terms of SETA grant regulation 3(12) the NSF has accounted for R4 126 000 000.

With reference to section 27 (1) (f) “money received from other sources” / Other income the NSF has accounted for R 992 000 000 (for example transfers from DHET for special projects and

Finance income from advance payments to skills development programmes and projects)

3 a) Current value of the total amount raised.

The current value from 1 April 2023 to 31 Dec 2023 is the total of R4 152 000 000.

1. 20% of the skills development levies as contemplated in the SDL Act is R 3 313 000 000 and
2. Interest earned on investments held at the PIC as per section 27 (2) (d) is R838 000 000.

3b) The total monetary value of unspent skills development levies being held by NSF is R14,916 billion.

in terms of Section 29(3) of the SDA, the unexpended balance in the NSF at the end of the financial year must be carried forward to the next financial year as a credit to the NSF.

The unspent funds are currently invested investments held at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as per section 29 (2) of the SDA that state that Any money in the Fund not required for immediate use may be invested in accordance with an investment policy approved by the Director-General that complies with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act and may be withdrawn when required.

The total value of the unspent skills development levies being held of R14 916 000 000 is intended to be utilised for:

• 1. The 200 committed skills development programme and projects that the NSF has entered contract with the cash commitment of R 11 196 000 000.
  2. The 204 earmarked committed skills development programme and projects that have not yet been contract of about R 10 000 000 000.

The NSF in terms of its strategic plan and annual performance plan intends to support and respond to the National Skills Development Plan (NSDP)/MTSF/WP-PSET/NP-PSET and also responding to the other projects of national priorities by funding projects that are :

• 1. Identified to increase production of occupations in high demand (skills development programme and projects such Artisanal development etc)
  2. Link education and the workplace (skills development programme and projects - Work integrated learning /Learnerships/ Internships etc)
  3. Improve the level of skills in the South African workforce (skills development programme and projects such Worker education related interventions)
  4. Increase access to occupationally directed programmes (skills development programme and projects with the 50 TVET Colleges / 9 CET colleges / State SOCs such as NECSA etc)
  5. Skills development support for entrepreneurship and cooperative development (skills development programme and projects such SEDA related interventions),
  6. The human resource development strategy (support to the secretariate work of NSA /HRDC)

4. what is the total number of accredited qualifications that have been funded by the (a) skills development levies and (b) NSF;

The National Skills Fund has funded various programmes in relation to the Skills Development Act and National Skills Development Plan. The table below provides the reader with number of qualifications in the financial years 22/23 and 23/24.

 

Qualification	22/23	23/34
	Number	Number
Learnerships	10775	10818
Apprenticeship / Artisans	7071	5888
Bursaries (incl. Int)	813	1426

 

In addition to the numbers above, as a value add included are learners trained in:

• • • Occupations in High Demand (OIHD),
    • Persons with Disability and
    • Beneficiaries coming from rural communities.

5. What are the reasons that the money, raised through levies on employers and other sources of funding, has not been spent on skills development

1. Currently NSF has skills development programme and projects of contract values of R23 264 000 000 and cash commitments of R11 196 000 000 that still need to be disbursed based on the budget projections beyond 2024 financial year and
2. The NSF also has earmarked skills development programme and projects of 204 earmarked committed skills development programme and projects that have not yet been contract of about R10 000 000 000 disbursed.

The NSF in terms of its strategic plan and annual performance plan intends to support and respond to the National Skills Development Plan (NSDP)/MTSF/WP-PSET/NP-PSET and responding to the other projects of national priorities by funding projects that are:

1. Identified to increase production of occupations in high demand (skills development programme and projects such Artisanal development etc)
2. Link education and the workplace (skills development programme and projects - Work integrated learning /Learnerships/ Internships etc)
3. Improve the level of skills in the South African workforce (skills development programme and projects such Worker education related interventions)
4. Increase access to occupationally directed programmes (skills development programme and projects with the 50 TVET Colleges / 9 CET colleges / State SOCs such as NECSA etc)
5. Skills development support for entrepreneurship and cooperative development (skills development programme and projects such SEDA related interventions),
6. The human resource development strategy (support to the secretariate work of NSA / HRDC)

Reply:

1. The funding of health (including medical) research is managed between the Departments of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and Health and their respective entities. To ensure public good policy goals are coherently promoted across the two systems, there is a high degree of collaboration between the two Departments and its entities. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) is working with the National Health Research Ethics Council of the National Department of Health, the South African Medical Research Council, as well as the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to develop guidelines for health research data management. Public funded health research is informed by the priorities that are set by the National Health Research Committee of the National Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Science and Innovation. Researchers at the public funded Higher Education Institutes should adhere to the set priorities. Should a company want to fund research in line with the national health research priorities, the research proposal needs to be approved by the respective Institutional or provincial health research ethics committee, to ensure fairness and access.

2. The building of the capacity with regards to the research ethics committees is the responsibility of the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC) of the National Department of Health. The NHREC is a statutory body established under the National Health Act No 61 of 2003. The Act mandates the Minister of Health to establish the Council and it sets out NHREC’s functions, which involves giving direction on ethical issues relating to health and to develop guidelines for the conduct of research involving humans. The following are the functions of the NHREC as outlined in the Act:

• Determine guidelines for the functioning of health research ethics committees;
• Register and audit health research ethics committees;
• Set norms and standards for conducting research on humans and animals including norms and standards for conducting clinical trials;
• Adjudicate complaints about the functioning of health research ethics committees and hear any complaint by a researcher who believes that he or she has been discriminated against by a health research ethics committee.
• Refer to the relevant statutory health professional council matters involving the violation or potential violation of an ethical or professional rule by a health care provider.
• Institute such disciplinary action as may be prescribed against any person found to be in violation of any norms and standards, or guidelines, set for the conducting of research in terms of this Act; and
• Advise the national department and provincial departments on any ethical issues concerning research.

Reply:

1. (a) NSFAS received 1,936,330 bursary applications for the 2024 academic year (to date i.e. 07 March 2024).

(b) (i) The total number of applicants that qualified is 1 258 509.

(ii) The total number of applicants that did not qualify is 230 669.

(c)(i) Total number that was approved is 1 258 509.

(ii) Total number that was rejected is 230 669.

(d) (i) 1 258 509 of the qualifying students were approved.

(ii) 19 149 have submitted appeals.

(iii) 230 669 will not be catered for as they have been rejected.

2. The common reasons for rejection of the bursary applications at NSFAS are based on the following.

a) financial eligibility criteria where family income is above the NSFAS threshold of R350 000,

b) failure to meet academic eligibility criteria, such as the N+ rule.

Reply:

(1) The total number of beds that have been accredited by NSFAS is 83 750.

(2) NSFAS has paid accreditation agents for whom invoices have been validated and approved. The total paid to date for 2023 accreditation amounts to R1, 575,740.

Reply:

a) The NSFAS Board is currently undergoing legal processes related to the cancellation of these contracts. Contracts will be cancelled upon completion of this process.

b) In terms of the agreed upon process, the partners do not hold on to NSFAS funds in the partners bank accounts; funds are paid into students individual NSFAS bank accounts and these funds are immediately available to students upon them completing the know your client (KYC) bank processes.

Reply:

The act of taking leave of absence in the face of malicious allegations is usually exercised as an ethical step to allow a formal disciplinary process to proceed without any prejudice or hindrance, by an implicated party. As it relates to NSFAS, I have never been subjected to any disciplinary process or investigation and as such, the requirement of leave of absence doesn’t arise.

Reply:

NSFAS is currently still processing applications based on financial eligibility of a combined family income in the range of R351 000 to R600 000. Academic institutions will assist in establishing academic eligibility (e.g. STEM vs Humanities programmes and the 70:30 split respectively).

Once both requirements of financial and academic eligibility are satisfied, NSFAS will share the loan agreement forms and associated documents for each eligible student with the students. Disbursement will follow thereafter.

Reply:

The Department does not oversee the operations of service providers appointed by NSFAS, this is the role of senior management. NSFAS has advised that as per their agreements with service providers, they provide on boarding files to all partners in anticipation of the agreed upon monthly payment dates. A NSFAS payment file follows, after all partners have confirmed that students have been on boarded. Within 24 hours of NSFAS paying funds over to the partners, they release funds into students’ individual NSFAS bank accounts.

Reply:

1. (a) 131 528 applications have been rejected for the 2024 academic year. Their status remains at rejected.

(b) The applications were rejected due to not meeting either the financial or academic eligibility criteria.

2. (a) NSFAS has received 1495 appeals to date.

(b) NSFAS has not started working on the appeals yet. NSFAS applications closed on 15 February 2024. The team has been working on expediting the processing of applications.

(c) No appeals have been resolved yet.

Reply:

The Department is not in a position to share current (2024) enrolment data as the data has not been validated and audited at the university level. Ordinarily university audits are completed around July, Audited Disability enrolment stats have been disaggregated by race and gender in the table below. Unfortunately, DHET does not categorise student data in terms of the faculty they are located in.

Year	2022
Institution	Female	Female Total	Male	Male Total
	African	Coloured	Indian	No Info	White		African	Coloured	Indian	No Info	White
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	42	31	1	1	12	87	61	27	4	1	16	109
Central University of Technology	94	2			3	99	87	5			4	96
Durban University of Technology	207	5	10			222	167	2	10		2	181
Mangosuthu University of Technology	36					36	23					23
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	195	29	3		36	263	168	25	4		36	233
North West University	337	9	9	1	196	552	197	8	4	1	141	351
Rhodes University	50	6	4		24	84	33	10	5		21	69
Sefako Makgatho University	8					8	17					17
Sol Plaatje University, Northern Cape	26	3			1	30	24	4	2		1	31
Tshwane University of Technology	88	1			3	92	107				5	112
University of  Fort Hare	4				1	5	6	1			2	9
University of Cape Town	80	49	18	106	100	353	104	31	18	99	71	323
University of Free State	124	8	1		51	184	114	7	2	1	41	165
University of Johannesburg	88	8	2	1	28	127	72	3	5		19	99
University of KwaZulu-Natal	271	5	43		12	331	195	7	23		3	228
University of Limpopo	107	1				108	84					84
University of Mpumalanga	1252	2	2		4	1260	798	3	2		2	805
University of Pretoria	115	16	22	1	140	294	114	7	23	1	156	301
University of South Africa	1201	133	115	34	361	1844	789	81	83	9	232	1194
University of Stellenbosch	54	52	14	9	191	320	31	39	11	14	160	255
University of Venda	28					28	41					41
University of Western Cape	150	112	8	2	17	289	104	87	8	2	13	214
University of Witwatersrand	379	52	91		188	710	299	23	72		141	535
University of Zululand	163					163	126	1		1		128
Vaal University of Technology	248					248	227	2			3	232
Walter Sisulu University	10					10	12					12

Reply:

(a) what actions has he taken in the wake of the allegations,

On 10 January 2024 the NSFAS Board Chairperson, Mr Ernest Khosa informed the Board of his decision to take a leave of absence, and the Board, at the same meeting on 10 January 2024, decided to appoint an independent legal service provider to advise on the appropriate course of action. The firm Tshisevhe Gwina Ratshimbilani Inc. (TGR Attorneys) has been appointed and we now await their report.

(b) what are the precise allegations against the specified person,

The OUTA report contains recordings and transcripts of recordings of two meetings held allegedly between the Chairperson of the NSFAS Board, Mr Ernest Khosa and service providers to NSFAS. The report raised several allegations, including:

• The Chairperson privately met with service providers under investigation by the board for irregular appointments.
• The Chairperson allegedly received monetary benefits from service providers in exchange for facilitating appointments.
• The Chairperson purportedly made decisions with service providers that were contrary to the ongoing board investigation.

(c) how have the allegations affected the daily running of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS),

The leave of absence of the Chairperson has resulted in vacancies within both the Board itself and some of its sub-committees. Nevertheless, the Board has taken proactive measures to address this situation by reallocating existing members to fill these vacancies, thereby ensuring the continuity of leadership and preventing any void in governance.

(d) how does his department plan to solve the operational challenges and

The Department’s role is to exercise oversite. In the process of fulfilling this role it has approved funding for NSFAS’ ICT needs and capacity challenges. Whilst these are being addressed the Board has identified experts who will assist with implementing the turnaround strategy of the entity. Through reports the Department is monitoring the implementation of the audit plan and mitigation strategies it has advised NSFAS to implement. Further it engages with stakeholders, such as TVET Colleges and Universities, on whom NSFAS depends for timeous provision of accurate data to address bottlenecks. In addition, the Department will be instituting a board evaluation programme to assess the board’s performance against key KPI’s including amongst others institutional governance, policies to support critical standard operating procedures and performance management.

(e) who is the current acting chairperson of NSFAS?

The current Acting Chairperson is Prof Lourens van Staden.

Reply:

(a) The R3.8 billion funding will be sourced from the National Skills Fund (NSF) and the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), with the NSF contributing R1.5 billion and the SETA offering R2.5 billion in 2024. The transfers will be subject to NSFAS meeting certain conditions, including improved controls and processes.

(b) 31 884 students will be funded over a period of 4 years.

Reply:

a) The Department approached the university for a response which was then provided on 14 December 2023. In the report the university confirms that it developed a transformation strategy in 2022 as required, and the strategy creates safe spaces for engagement and discussion on institutional culture, and subsequently established UP Institutional Transformation Committee and UP Transformation Office, all which are tasked with developing and implementing various transformation initiatives.

b) All incidences on racial prejudice and other forms of discrimination which are reported to the Department are immediately investigated by senior officials, sometimes with the assistance of Higher Health and South African Police Services.

Reply:

a) The report compiled by Prof Ballim constitutes an investigation into the causes and failures of the NSFAS, and it investigates business, processes, systems, and capacity challenges of the NSFAS. The Department has engaged the government printers for a quotation, and the report will be published as soon as it is processed internally.

b) The 271-page report concludes with 21 recommendations. Some of the findings and actions processed thus far are captured in the table below:

FINDINGS	ACTION
Migration from a decentralized to a student centred model (SCM) occurred without properly configured operational model / enterprise architecture plan that articulates its processes and organizational capabilities	NSFAS has assigned an Executive to oversee the feasibility study into regionalization. NSFAS
Full integration of the IT systems with all PSET institutions to ensure integrity of data and efficiency of the flow of information on registration, academic progression and funding details is required. Upgrade IT system and protect systems against fraud.	NSFAS has developed a multi-year ICT implementation strategy. Thus far it has received R119 million to improve its ICT systems.
Develop an organogram and a staffing plan with requisite competencies	An organogram was developed in 2022. NSFAS turn-around plan aims to add communication, ICT and finance skills as the organogram is aligned to new challenges
Accelerate regulations that will frame the bursary scheme in consultation with the sector.	The Department is commencing with the development of a fee regulatory framework in 2024 which will advance regulations as opposed to guidelines. The regulations will incorporate the bursary scheme.
Protect systems against fraud.	NSFAS is cooperating with law enforcement agencies.
Desist from radical policy shifts which have no regard for implementation complexities	Evidence based decisions are being affected, such as, extensive research which guided the student funding model.

Reply:

It is not mandatory for Minister to publish all reports, particularly after they have been tabled in parliament. Nonetheless the report is available on request. Furthermore, work is underway to ensure the report is published in the government gazette.

Reply:

The Reporting Regulations of June 2014 does not require the Universities in the Annual Reporting to the Department to specifically disclose Total Security Costs as part of the audited financial Statements of Comprehensive Income. However, the Outsourced Security costs are stipulated as part of the Supplementary Data which is verified by the external auditors of the University.

As per the audited supplementary data received and the universities’ audited financial statements, the total amount spent by each institution of higher learning for outsourced security services in the 2022 financial year is shown in the table below. The University of Cape Town, University of Fort Hare and University of South Africa have not as yet submitted their Annual Reports and Financial Statements, we are consequently unable to gauge how much they have allocated towards outsourced security services thus far.

Further, University of Limpopo has not as yet submitted their Supplementary Data and a follow up has been made. The Supplementary Data supplied by Sefako Makgatho University and Sol Plaatje University suggest that the universities have not incurred costs for outsourced security services.  University of Pretoria was billed R11 000 for an outsourced security services.

NAME OF INSTITUTION	SECURITY EXPENSES
Traditional Universities	R'000
North West University	65 082
Rhodes University	8 036
Stellenbosch University	50 092
University of Cape Town (no data provided)
University of Fort Hare (no data provided)
University of KwaZulu Natal	32 831
University of Limpopo (no data provided
University of Pretoria	11
University of the Free State	44 779
University of the Western Cape	78 971
University of Witwatersrand	13 862
Universities of Technology
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	971
Central University of Technology	17 826
Durban University of Technology	54 155
Mangosuthu University of Technology	26 671
Tshwane University of Technology	25 210
Vaal University of Technology	57 271
Comprehensive Universities
Nelson Mandela University	1 832
University of Johannesburg	38 990
University of South Africa (no data provided)
University of Venda	45 530
University of Zululand	30 737
Sol Plaatje University (no data provided)
University of Mpumalanga	22 137
Sefako Makgatho University (no data provided)
Walter Sisulu University	108 265

Where no data is provided, DHET will follow-up with the university concerned.

Reply:

Question (a): Strategies being implemented to address disparities in access to STEM education, particularly among underrepresented groups.

The Minister recognises and supports the transformation in education, which includes addressing historical inequities to allow underrepresented groups in society to have access to STEM education. In this regard, though, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is the leader, and the Departments of Science and Innovation and Higher Education and Training are limited to providing support to the DBE for this effort.

Based on a collaboration agreement with the DBE, the Department of Science and Innovation facilitates learners' access to extracurricular activities that pique their interest in STEM and help them understand why studying STEM subjects is important. These activities include participating in STEM Olympiads and fairs, as well as having access to supplemental learning and teaching resources that offer real-world examples of the STEM concepts covered in the curriculum. Learners in public ordinary schools, especially those in quintiles 1-3 three, are given priority when these activities are implemented.

Question (b): Steps taken to promote inclusivity and/or diversity in STEM fields to ensure a skilled and diverse workforce for the future.

The Department commissioned and completed several studies as the evidentiary basis for policies and interventions aimed at promoting inclusivity and/or diversity in STEM. These studies with a focus on promoting inclusivity and/or diversity include the:

1. Retention, Conversion and Progression of Postgraduate students (2015) – a study that looked at the rate of progression from lower postgraduates (Hons) to upper postgraduate (PhDs);
2. Postgraduate Research Training in Engineering (2018) – which investigated low PhD graduation rates in Engineering, particularly women PhD engineers and PhD engineering graduates who are South African nationals vs. those from outside the country. This study also found that most PhDs in Engineering get employed in the financial, insurance and fintech sectors in the private sector;
3. Building the Cadre of Emerging Researchers in South Africa (2018) – also called the “Silent Majority” study. This study looked at who holds PhDs, who actively publishes and who actively seeks research funding among different emerging researcher groups (by gender and race) in our university system; and
4. Recruitment, Retention and Progression of Black South African academics in SA universities (2019) looked at just that, namely blacks and particularly black women recruitment, retention, and progression in the university rungs.

Based on these studies, the Department formulated, implemented, and even recapitalised targeted interventions at the National Research Foundation such as the Thuthuka Programme, and the Black Academics Advancement Programmme. The policy prescripts in the DSI-NRF Postgraduate Funding Policy were also informed by the findings of these studies.

A different set of studies aimed at ensuring the support of a pipeline of a diverse and future-proof, skilled workforce was conducted and completed, including:

1. The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) study on Pathways into the Labour Market and Self Employment for Natural Science Graduates (2021);
2. The Water Research Commission (WRC:2020) – Tracer study of water PhDs in South Africa. The study focused on the employability of PhD graduates in the water sector; and
3. The National PhD Tracer Study (2022) which looked at the relevance and demand for PhDs by different sectors (government, universities, science councils, private sector etc), among others.

The DSI is working with the DHET to finalise a robust one skills plan for the country, that is, a Master Skills Plan for the country.

Reply:

Below we outline the sequence of events, related timelines and information on each stage of the procurement process (for the Direct Payments of Allowances to NSFAS Students) that was followed in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act (Act No. 1 of 1999) (PFMA), the National Treasury Instruction Notes and Practice Notes, and the NSFAS supply chain management policy.

An Open Bidding (Competitive) process was followed by NSFAS in sourcing suitable bid proposals from prospective service provider(s) in the financial services and fintech sector to assist NSFAS, for a period of five (5) years (renewable), in the direct disbursement of allowances into the bank accounts of NSFAS funded students/ beneficiaries enrolled for a course of study at public universities and TVET colleges across South Africa.

A summary of the procurement process followed is outlined below:

1. Following the support and approval of the bid specifications by the NSFAS bid specification committee (BSC) the tender was advertised on 25 January 2022 in the National Treasury E-tender portal and the NSFAS website with the closing date of 25 February 2022 on the 90/10 Price and BBB-EE principle.

2. A total of 18 bids were received at the closing date of the tender, all of which were evaluated by the NSFAS bid evaluation committee (BEC) against the tender requirements. The BEC convened on seven (7) occasions. An independent expert was appointed to assist and guide during the evaluation process, however noting that this independent expert did not have any voting rights, and accordingly did not evaluate and score any of the 18 proposals received.

3. Of the 18 bid proposals received, a total of nine (9) bids were disqualified for not achieving the mandatory requirements of the tender.

4. The remaining nine (9) bids were subjected to the technical and functional evaluation criteria, of which the outcome was that all nine (9) achieving the minimum score of 70% out of 100%.

5. The nine (9) bids were all invited to present their proposed solution to the BEC on 11 May 2022 and 13 May 2022.

6. A total of four (4) bidders achieved the minimum score for the presentation criteria and passed all the tender requirements, and thus progressed to be evaluated for Price and BBB-EE.

7. On 08 June 2022, the BAC adjudicated on BEC recommendation report and recommended that the CEO support (for onward approval by the NSFAS Board) the tender for the Direct payments of allowances to NSFAS students (SCMN022-2021) for a period of five (5) years, renewable, award to the following four (4) bidders:

• Coinvest Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Tenet Technology (Pty) Ltd
• Ezaga Holdings (Pty) Ltd
• Norraco Corporation (Pty) Ltd

8. On 13 June 2022, the NSFAS Board approved the tender for the Direct payments of allowances to NSFAS students (SCMN022-2021) for a period of five (5) years, renewable be awarded to the following four (4) bidders:

• Coinvest Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Tenet Technology (Pty) Ltd
• Ezaga Holdings (Pty) Ltd
• Narraco Corporations (Pty) Ltd

9. On 15 June 2022, all four (4) bidders were issued with letters of award and negotiations on price standardization, etc and signing of Service Level Agreements followed thereafter.

Reply:

(a) The Department plays no role in developing internal capacity of NSFAS. Section 9 of the NSFAS Act (No.56 of 1999) refers to the appointment of employee. It states that the board is responsible for the appointment of the Executive Officer who will manage and administer the affairs of the NSFAS under the authority of the board, and perform the functions determined by the board.

(b) The Minister has requested NSFAS to furnish him with a turn-around plan, which includes, amongst others, improving capacity of the entity. Thus far, NSFAS reported that it has appointed a COO who will advise the board on the long-term strategy of disbursement of allowances.

Reply:

1. The limited spaces at universities arise because each institution must align with its enrolment plans. Students are therefore encouraged to diversify their options and consider TVET Colleges. In this regard, TVET colleges have planned to enrol a total of 482 244 students in all programmes for the academic year of 2024.
2. Financial sustainability will be addressed through the provision of loans for the missing middle students, that is students whose household income is between R350 000 and R600 000, thus ensuring that as students repay the loans, they enable more students to access the PSET sector.

Reply:

Background and Context

1. HIGHER HEALTH Delivery against the HIGHER HEALTH Model

HIGHER HEALTH has a three-tier model that has emerged from our hands-on experience over many years. We continue to conceptualise and deliver our programme in terms of three broad processes:

• Level 1: Knowledge transfer –designed to reach the entire student population.
• Level 2: Practical learning – a more focused intervention that requires active student participation.
• Level 3: Linkage to services – to cater to individual students based on their needs.

The implementation of the HIGHER HEALTH Model has reinforced the significance of a holistic approach to health education. By employing different tiers, the model ensured comprehensive coverage of health topics while catering to individual student needs. The diverse programs within the model enabled knowledge transfer, practical learning experiences, and linkage to essential health services, fostering a conducive environment for students' overall well-being.

First Things First Health Days are the vehicle for much of the Health Promotion, testing, and screening that has become a hallmark of the HIGHER HEALTH approach. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the importance of health promotion for health service providers to ensure sustainable working life for individuals involved in providing health services. Such sustainability begins when students preparing to manage their own future health and welfare in working life. HIGHER HEALTH model has been instrumental in supporting students to manage their health and determining their level of risk. The increased demand for education as prevention increased health-seeking behaviours amongst students in the reporting period.

Step-by-step measures and/or policies to combat high incidences of sexually transmitted infections in institutions of higher learning; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details

1. Background Context and Policy

• (WHO) Global Health Sector 2022-2030 details the vision, goals, and actions to ending the STI epidemic. Strengthening STIs case management is one of the key priorities of the strategy Effective people-centred

• HIV, TB, and STIs: National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2023 – 2028 for HIV, TB and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s) has been developed, and aims to reduce barriers to accessing health and social services. It builds on lessons from the previous NSP and promotes a new and urgent focus to reducing inequalities for all people living with HIV, TB and STIs who are not benefiting from treatment and care services.

• The inclusion of mental health services and social support is based on the strong association between HIV, TB and STIs, sexual and gender – based violenece (SGBV), human rights violations, inequalities and mental health and Viral hepatatis has also been included and the prevalce linked to linked to HIV and STIs. HIGHER HEALTH is scaling up interventions that includes health awareness campaigns, distribution of IEC materials, dialogues on HIV/STI/TB, risk screening for ADAP/LGBTQI/Disability, HIV testing, TB screening, cancer screenings, referrals, contraceptives distribution, and female condoms provision. Each intervention aimed to improve the health and well-being of students.

2. Training and Capacity Building for HIGHER HEALTH Clinicians

• Training on the latest National Department of Health (NdoH), Adult Primary Care (APC) guideline 2019/2020 which is a comprehensive approach to the Primary Care of Adults 18 years and above.
  • APC 2019/2020 aligns with all NDOH policies and Clinical protocols for Primary Health Care and includes the latest reviewed version for STI treatment which is the Comprehensive STI Clinical Management Guideline 2017.

3. Service Delivery

• Provision of Information
• Counselling and education, including HIV testing
• Circumcision promotion (counselling to continue condom use)
• Cervical cancer screening
• STI Campaigns Condom promotion, provision and demonstration to reduce the risk of STIs.
• Risk Screening – Screen all Beneficiaries accessing HH Mobile Clinic.
• Linkage to Care for all Beneficiaries screened positive, and their Contacts are referred for treatment and further management to the Clinic.
• Review the compliance/ adherence with treatment and Follow-up care for all Referrals and Contacts to ensure successive referrals.
• Monitoring and evaluation

Reply:

The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) supports several cutting-edge scientific advances and innovations which enhance the country’s global competitiveness. Some of these scientific advances and innovations are in the areas of Precision Agriculture, Precision medicine, Nanotechnology, Hydrogen and fuel cell, as well as carbon capture and use, and are central to the modernisation approach of the key economic sectors (such as health agriculture, manufacturing and energy) outlined in the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Decadal Plan.

PRECISION AGRICULTURE

The Decadal Plan prioritises modernising agriculture and the development of precision and digital agriculture tools that are key to increasing efficiencies in the sector as well as unlocking the bottlenecks with access to science-based decision information and thus inclusion for all farmers. The National Biosecurity Hub launched by the Minister together with his counterpart in agriculture, is a strategic platform prioritising cutting-edge research development and innovation as well as access to molecular and digital tools for diagnosis, detection, surveillance and management of major pests and diseases as well as food safety. The goal of the National Biosecurity Hub is to strengthen national biosecurity, using international standards in the development of national sanitary and phytosanitary systems (SPS), build technical and information management services and meet the SPS requirements of international trade. The hub will serve as a platform to:

• prevent, respond to and manage pests and diseases that threaten plant health, animal health, and food safety;
• conduct research on reported and emerging threats (e.g., biology/detection/diagnosis);
• develop a Biosecurity Information Hub to store and manage SPS and related information (monitoring and surveillance);
• promote engagements on SPS matters by establishing appropriate communication structures; and
• leverage human resources, financial resources, and infrastructure from public and private sectors to support the national biosecurity system.
  • The National Biosecurity Hub, coordinated by Innovation African@UP and co-funded by DSI and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is unlike any other globally as it is designed for a resource-constrained environment, and its hub and spokes model is designed to aggregate the benefits from individual commodity/government-industry co-funded multistakeholder and multi-institutional research programmes with a national biosecurity Information Hub that houses the consolidated digital surveillance information. The heat maps and long-term data monitoring is then accessible to DALRRD, which has the mandate for biosecurity and the system would also enable the prioritising of new research needed and building early warning systems.
  • The Hub includes linkages with major partners; for example in plant health with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and all relevant universities in South Africa as well as industry partners such as GrainSA and Cropwatch Africa and allows for Integration of data that makes digital systems useful, for example the Biosecurity Africa app used to capture, store & visualise data and partnerships enable the flow of information (i.e. from Biosecurity Africa app to Information Hub.

b) The DSI encourages collaboration with:

(i) Academic institutions

The DSI has played a pivotal role in supporting the collaborative development of a Precision Agriculture Information System by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with the ARC. This system is instrumental in de-risking the agricultural sector by furnishing farmers of all scales with data-driven insights that improve decision-making, optimise resource (water, fertilisers) utilisation, and address risks and threats associated with climate change, pests, and diseases.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Precision Agriculture Information System provides weekly information on soil and crop health conditions by integrating ground data collected nationwide and satellite data from the European Space Agency.

(ii) Industries

Based on the development of the Precision Agriculture Information System the DSI provides training for farmers and extension services affiliated with both DALRRD and the private sector to proficiently use the system for optimising crop production.

(iii) International partners

In terms of international partnerships, to foster the digitalisation of the agricultural sector in the SADC region, especially through the utilisation of the Precision Agriculture System, the CSIR has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAD), promoting the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

2(a) PRECISION MEDICINE

This is an emerging field that utilises advanced technologies and data analysis to tailor medical treatment and prevention strategies to individual patients based on their unique genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The DSI, together with the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has been driving the precision medicine initiative in South Africa since 2016. The Programme is aimed at addressing the significant healthcare challenges faced by South Africa, with a rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer as well as host genomic influences on susceptibility to infectious diseases (HIV/ TB).

b) The DSI encourages collaboration with:

(i) Academic institutions

Precision medicine-funded projects are spread across universities and universities of technology in all the major provinces of Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

(ii) Industries

Since 2016, the SAMRC/DSI has invested €14 million (Euro) in Precision Medicine projects. This small investment has resulted in spin-out companies and the development of products:

• Breast cancer screening, and other cancer-personalised approaches using organoid and omics technology.
• Infrastructure investments have led to fully capacitated labs that are now able to develop scaled genomics studies.
• Pharmacogenomics projects allow understanding of treatment failure with known drugs from the country’s essential drug list.

(iii) International partners

In terms of partnerships, the Precision Medicine Programme is actively seeking programme partners to drive this agenda to develop population-specific genomic studies to move Africa forward and offer an opportunity for the healthcare sector on the continent to incorporate the latest technologies to provide quality care and precision medicine options to African patients. The DSI/SAMRC has established and leveraged international partnerships to support emerging priority areas, namely precision medicine, and antimicrobial resistance.

The DSI/SAMRC play a significant role within the European Union- Africa Personalised Medicine (EU-Africa PerMed) Consortium, which has the final objective of integrating African countries into the International Consortium for Personalised Medicine (ICPerMed) programmes to contribute to the implementation of Personalised Medicine (PM) in the global context. This includes fostering joint precision medicine projects and programmes between Europe and Africa and strengthening bilateral EU-AU science, technology and innovation (STI) in health. In the long run, incorporating African countries in the global precision medicine research agenda can contribute to reducing existing health disparities between developed and developing countries, as well as facilitating access of African countries to new tools and technologies that have the potential to make healthcare more efficient and equitable.

3. NANOTECHNOLOGY

The ability to manipulate matter at the nanometre length scale has given birth to nanostructured materials with exceptional properties that were never observed for similar micro-structured and bulk counter-part materials. Such properties include high chemical and biological reactivities, high surface area-to-volume ratio, high mechanical strength, high electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity as well as unique light scattering and absorption properties.

This cutting-edge technology offers several opportunities for development of the manufacturing sector with applications in water treatment, health and consumers materials such as cosmetics. Domination of markets is largely determined by speed to commercialisation of the nanotechnologies. South Africa and most African countries are lagging compared to other countries in Asia, Europe and America. The Nanotechnology market in the U.S. is estimated at US$16 Billion in the year 2020, and clearly this cannot be ignored. In response to this development the Department has initiated to drive the development of Nanotechnology in the country including the establishment of the Nanotechnology Innovation Centres, one at Mintek and the other at CSIR these focus on research that drives the development of commercial products. Some of the Industrial products developed at Mintek include the water filter systems for mine-water treatment, development of point of care diagnostic kits for detection of HIV, TB and lately Covid-19. The CSIR has developed commercial products which include plastics used in food packaging, cosmetics, and paint additives.

3(b) The DSI encourages collaboration with:

(i) Academic institutions

Nanotechnology research and education is spread across the country. The DSI supports postgraduate training through a master’s programme which is offered across four universities, the University of the Western Cape, University of the Free State, Nelson Mandela University and the University of Johannesburg. Research is funded across different institutions nationally, including the North-West University for research into health and safety assessment of nanomaterials, the Nanomedicine Platform at Nelson Mandela University and the Green Nanotechnology at the University of the Western Cape.

(ii) Industry

The Nanotechnology Innovation Centres collaborate extensively with industry with Mintek focusing on the mining sector and the CSIR broadly on the manufacturing sector. Several agreements are in place for the joint development of technology and provision of services to industry. The Nanomaterials Industry Development Facility (NIDF) was set up at the CSIR to assist the industry and SMME sector with scale-up and pilot facilities as well as characterisation for product development.

(iii) International partners

On international collaboration, the DSI has several active programmes in place such as the participation in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the development of standards, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for safety aspects. There are also several agreements to stimulate collaboration between scientists in joint projects with several countries including the BRICS countries, as well as Egypt and Ethiopia in the current year.

4(a) HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL, CARBON CAPTURE AND USE TECHNOLOGIES

The Decadal Plan identifies energy innovation as a priority area to support a diversified and sustainable energy mix that is secure, accessible and affordable. A stable and reliable energy mix is key to supporting economic recovery. The DSI has invested in the development of emerging energy technologies focused on local value addition and reducing the carbon intensity and greenhouse gas emissions of the country's energy mix, to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.

Investments have been made in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies that leverage the country’s resource endowment in platinum group metals (PGMs), wind, solar and land availability to drive the transition to a low carbon and sustainable energy system. However, the transition to a low carbon economy needs to be just and equitable and have minimal negative impact on existing sectors.

In this regard, the DSI has invested in the demonstration of carbon capture and use technology to support the continued use of coal in power generation while reducing the emissions from the coal fired power plants. The carbon capture and use (CoalCO2-X) technology captures the flue gas pollutants (carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx)) and converts them into value added products such as fertiliser, sulphuric acid and nitric acid, using low emissions hydrogen and ammonia produced from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The conversion of the flue gas pollutants into the value-added products used in agriculture and industry provides an opportunity to create new industries and jobs adjacent to the coal fired power stations, while preserving existing jobs in the coal sector.

The reduction of the carbon intensity in the energy mix will support the global competitiveness of South African made products, given the move by some trading partners such as the European Union to impose punitive taxes on imported goods based on their carbon content.

4(b( The DSI encourages collaboration with:

(i) Academic institutions

The DSI has supported the development of technologies along the hydrogen and fuel cell value chain under the Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Programme through the Centres of Competence (CoCs) located at Universities and Science Councils. The leading Universities include North-West, University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape, while the Science Councils include Mintek and the CSIR.

To date, the HySA Programme has been able to train MSc and PhD graduates in engineering and related fields, publish in ISI journals, generate a healthy portfolio of Intellectual Property Rights, as well as develop prototypes and demonstrate them in real world environment. Furthermore, commercial products have been sold and trade secrets declared through Spin-off companies. PGM based catalysts and other components for fuel cells and electrolysers, as well as metal hydride-based hydrogen storage technologies have been locally developed that will position South Africa to be a significant player in the global hydrogen economy. A summary of the outputs from the HySA Programme include:

• 192 (MSc and PhD) graduates in engineering and related fields.
• 352 publications in ISI journals.
• 30 intellectual property rights filed.
• 15 intellectual property rights granted.
• 27 technology demonstrations in real world environment.
• 18 commercial products.
• 7 trade secrets declared.
• 3 spin-off companies.

On the carbon capture and use technology, the North-West University and University of Cape Town are working on the production of low emissions (green) hydrogen and ammonia, as well as the development of catalysts for the conversion of the captured carbon dioxide to low emissions diesel respectively.

(ii) Industries

The HySA CoCs have worked with industry partners such as Anglo-American Platinum, Sasol, Impala Platinum and Bambili Energy (small medium and micro enterprise (SMME)) in the development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The carbon capture and use technology has been successfully demonstrated at a Cement plant in partnership with PPC Cement and EPCM global (SMME).

(iii)International partners

In the Hydrogen Economy, South Africa is an active member of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) and is the current Chair of the IPHE. The IPHE is a governmental platform with 23 member countries, including the European Commission, and is dedicated to the development and sharing of information on the Hydrogen Economy, as well as to assist in the development of safety, codes and standards to promote the global trade in low emissions hydrogen. In addition, South Africa collaborates at bilateral level with several countries like Japan, Germany, United Kingdom and Germany.

Reply:

The NSFAS has received various complaints relating to alleged theft of student allowances via the direct payment service platforms. These complaints are being investigated and we are working with the direct payment service providers and law enforcement on resolving the complaints.

The investigation process will reveal what transpired and as such will confirm who should be held accountable for the alleged loss suffered by the students.

Reply:

a) The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Giyani Campus is being established at the former Giyani College of Education which is currently owned by the Limpopo Department of Education (LDE). In May 2023, my department commenced with a feasibility study for the establishment of the campus, but it then experienced a delay of more than 5 months from the side of LDE. An agreement on the way forward was reached on 16 October and the Department is now finalizing the feasibility study. Notwithstanding the delay mentioned above, in September 2023 I allocated R31.916 million to TUT for the University to carry out refurbishments and deferred maintenance on existing facilities upon the completion of the feasibility study.

b) The feasibility study will be completed in December 2023 and TUT will commence with the refurbishment and deferred maintenance in February 2024 which will enable the first intake of students during the 2025 academic year. Subject to the current budget cuts process, more funding will be allocated from 2024/25 onwards and over an anticipated 6-year period. The funding to be allocated during 2024/25 will enable TUT to start with the planning of the major projects during the 2024 calendar year.

Reply:

The NSFAS Board has sought legal advice on steps to take to cancel the impugned tender process. Of the advice received, approaching the High Court on self-review is the most legally astute and will afford all parties to state their cases before the court. NSFAS will abide by the just and equitable order once granted by the court.

Reply:

On the 21 November 2023, the occasion of the opening applications for 2024, Universities were discouraged from embarking on lengthy contracts since NSFAS is finalising its concept note on piloting student accommodation in universities at the start of the academic year 2024. Should CPUT be selected or asked to be part of the pilot project, NSFAS will advise on its decision to accredit or not accredit all properties within a radius of 1 (one) to 16km from all CPUT campuses, namely Paarl/Wellington, Bellville, and Cape Town.

Reply:

a) (i) The budgets for Higher Education Institutions are published in the Appropriation Bill annually.

(ii) The budgets for Higher Education Institutions are made public quarterly

b) (i) The amount transferred to Higher Education Institutions are published in the Annual Report of the Department.

(ii) The total amount transferred to Higher Education Institutions are made public quarterly.

Reply:

The Department did not conduct any financial audit on the University of Venda in the 2022-23 financial year. In terms of the Department’s annual reporting regulations for universities, an annual audit of the financial statements of a university is conducted by external auditors appointed by the University. All universities submit their annual report with the audited financial statements to the Department at the end of June each year.

Reply:

I, the Deputy Minister, and any department staff did not attend the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023 in an official capacity. The Honourable Member should note that nothing prevented officials from attending the Rugby World Cup final in France at their own expense.

1. (a) to (c) not applicable;
2. (i) to (iii) not applicable; and
3. (aa) to (cc) not applicable.

Once again, we are proud of the Springboks' triumph and especially the exciting matches against France, England, and New Zealand.

Reply:

There is no motive or desire to withhold the report. I have tasked my team to process the report further to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

Reply:

1. No, I have not been informed of any recording of the Chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and others. The honourable member can share further information.
2. NSFAS has appointed a panel of Legal Service Providers. All Legal Service Providers are appointed from this panel as and when legal services are required.

Reply:

The Department is currently finalizing the infrastructure plan for 2024/25 financial year. However, the plan consists of the completion of campuses that are under construction.

The process of planning for new campuses is dependent on the budget which has not been finalized. The projects that are in the plan are summarized below:

NAME OF FACILITY	CAMPUS NAME	Province	Status
Ikhala TVET College	New Sterkspruit Campus	Eastern Cape	Practical Completion
Ingwe TVET College	Ntabankulu Campus	Eastern Cape	Feasibility
Gert Sibande TVET College	New Balfour Campus	Mpumalanga	95% Construction
Umgungundlovu TVET College	Greytown (Completion)	KwaZulu-Natal	Planning
uMfolozi TVET College	Bhambanana (Completion)	KwaZulu-Natal	Planning
uMfolozi TVET College	Nkandla B Campus	KwaZulu-Natal	Planning
Mnambithi TVET College	Berville/Escourt Campus	KwaZulu-Natal	Planning
Letaba TVET College	Giyani Campus	Limpopo	10% Construction
False Bay TVET College	Mitchels Plain Campus	Western Cape	Planning
Mthashana TVET College	Vryheid Campus	KwaZulu-Natal	30% Construction

The request for the Villiers campus has been presented to the Department. The request will be processed.