Questions and Replies

Reply:

Each university is assigned a NSFAS servicing agent. The servicing agents liaise directly with universities to address any NSFAS related issues, including disbursements.

INSTITUTION	PROVINCES	SERVICING MEMBER	EMAIL ADDRESS
Tshwane University of Technology	Gauteng	Zukiswa Siyolo	[email protected]
Sefako Makgatho University	Gauteng
University of Pretoria	Gauteng	Michaela Brink	[email protected]
University of Limpopo	Limpopo
University of Free State	Free State	Mugelane Petersen	[email protected]
Central University of Technology	Free State
University of Cape Town	Western Cape	Junethe Cloete	[email protected]
University of Stellenbosch	Western Cape
University of Western Cape	Western Cape
University of Zululand	Kwazulu-Natal	Joan Mahlohla	[email protected]
University of Kwazulu Natal	Kwazulu-Natal
Mangosuthu University of Technology	Kwazulu-Natal	Natalie Phiri	[email protected]
Durban University of Technology	Kwazulu-Natal
University of South Africa	Gauteng	Lesego Moroeng	[email protected]
Sol Plaatjie University	Northern Cape
University of Witwatersrand	Gauteng	Anga Bokwe	[email protected]
University of Johannesburg	Gauteng
Vaal University of Technology	Gauteng
North West University	North West	Aqeelah Moss	[email protected]
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Western Cape
Walter Sisulu University	Eastern Cape	Mthetheleli Ndaba	[email protected]
University of Fort Hare	Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela University	Eastern Cape	Pinky Njemla	[email protected]
Rhodes University	Eastern Cape
University of Venda	Limpopo	Linda Mcetywa	[email protected]
University of Mpumalanga	Mpumalanga

Reply:

(a) The Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) accredits tour guide trainers based on the 8-core criteria document that was developed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).  

(b) The eight core criteria are used to ensure that trainers meet the highest standards. Trainers must submit the following policies and procedures:

1. Policy Statement: The organisation’s aims, objectives and purpose.
2. Quality Management System: Outline procedures that implement quality management.
3. Review Mechanisms: Outline how the implementation of policies would be monitored. 
4. Programme Delivery: Outline how learning programmes would be developed, delivered and evaluated.
5. Staff Policies: Outline policies and procedures for staff selection, appraisal and development.
6. Learner Policies: Policies and procedures for the selection of learners are outlined, and learners are given guidance and support.
7. Assessment Policies: Outline policies and procedures for forms of assessments that are used and how they are managed.
8. Management System and Policies: Indicate the financial, administrative and physical structures and resources of the organisation, and procedures of accountability within the organisation.

(c) The set standards are the qualifications that are on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). There are two guiding qualifications, i.e. National Certificate: Tourism: Guiding, NQF level 2, SAQA ID 17174; and Further Education and Training Certificate: Tourist Guiding, NQF level 4, SAQA ID 71549. There are also skills programmes for Culture, Nature and Adventure Guiding.

(d) Over and above the trainers being tour guides themselves, they must be trained on the following unit standards:

-   Conduct outcomes-based assessment – SAQA ID 115753

-   Conduct moderation of outcomes-based assessments – SAQA ID 115759

(e) – (g) In the past three financial years there have been no improvements or changes to the qualifications as the industry has not requested them. However, there has been a need to re-align the qualifications to meet the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations standards, i.e. occupational qualifications. The curriculum is not improved by the SETA but by the accredited trainers. The SETA’s responsibility is to improve the set standards, i.e. the qualifications that are on the NQF with input from the guiding industry.

Reply:

(a) (i)   According to the CATHSSETA report, there were 778 tour guide learner applications from the legacy data, which was transferred into the new system. 1 230 New applications of tour guide learners were processed on the new system.

(ii)  Training providers were requested to upload documents to the system, as well as submit hard copies as a security measure during the implementation of the system.  At that stage, CATHSSETA needed to ensure that the system functioned properly in relation to the management of learner documents. 

(b) The SETA is considering the physical submission of documents to be optional and stakeholders will be advised accordingly.

Reply:

(a) The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) pays allowances directly to students enrolled at 44 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges through the wallet system. Furthermore, NSFAS transfers funds for the allowances of qualifying students enrolled at six colleges that are responsible for making payments to their respective students. The following TVET colleges make allowance payments to their NSFAS students:

• College of Cape Town;
• Northlink;
• False Bay;
• Boland;
• West Coast; and
• South Cape.

The below responses are based on data obtained from NSFAS, as the Department is still in the process of obtaining the necessary information from the six colleges responsible for disbursing allowances.

(i) 2020

In terms of the NSFAS report, 12 colleges contravened the Bursary Rules and Guidelines by lodging student claims for tuition fees exceeding their respective tuition allocations. Furthermore, 26 colleges contravened the bursary policy by lodging claims for accommodation for more than 40% of its NSFAS recipients. Given the broad geographic footprint of TVET colleges with 265 campuses across the country, the Bursary Rules and Guidelines stipulates that colleges may lodge accommodation allowances to a maximum of 40% of its NSFAS recipients.

(ii)    2021

In terms of the latest NSFAS report, allowances have been paid to all qualifying students. The report indicates that 22 colleges are not complying with the requirement on claims for accommodation, as their claims exceeded 40% of their NSFAS recipients.

(b) The Department has introduced various measures to address these challenges and issued a communique in March 2021 compelling colleges to ensure that the awards for allowances are made within the available budget, as the funds earmarked for allowances have been fully allocated to colleges for 2021. The Department, together with NSFAS, convened a meeting on 13 May 2021, with colleges exceeding the stipulated percentage regarding student claims for accommodation. These colleges were urged to work on a strategy that will ensure their compliance with the Bursary Rules and Guidelines in respect of the awards for allowances. Some of these colleges have already shared the strategies they are putting in place to manage the excessive demand for accommodation allowances.

Reply:

The definition of indigenous languages in the "Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions" (2020) was developed following broad consultations with different language practitioners and stakeholders in the country. In line with the Higher Education Act, the Department relied heavily on the advice from the Council on Higher Education, which made substantive input on the content of the policy, including the list of definitions included in the policy's initial draft. The Department also sought consistency in the use of terms with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which uses the term "indigenous languages", to underscore the importance of recognising and developing historically marginalised languages of the people of South Africa.

Alternatively, the policy framework could have used the terminology "indigenous African languages" as commonly used in literature. However, this expression could easily have been construed as excluding Afrikaans as it emphasizes the "Bantu" origins of the languages and their wide usage by the native population. The definition of the term "indigenous languages" in the policy is used purely to highlight the historical marginalisation of African languages as a result of both colonial and apartheid legacies, and the need to develop these languages for scholarly ends.

The policy framework does not in any way exclude or disadvantage Afrikaans or any other South African language, for that matter, as the need to develop all official South African languages other than English is well articulated in the policy, and in fact is, its underlying motive. The main objective of the policy is not to argue or settle the debate around the issue of indigeneity or otherwise of languages, but rather to highlight the fact of historical marginalisation of African languages in academia and propose ways and mechanisms in which this historical injustice could be corrected.

In terms of the Khoi language, the definition includes the following “an indigenous language is a language that is native to a region or country and spoken by indigenous people”. It, therefore, includes the Khoi language family.

These definitions should be read in the context of the policy and its aims. The policy aims “to contribute to transformation in higher education with specific reference to universities through enhancing the status and roles of previously marginalised South African languages to foster institutional inclusivity and social cohesion”. This policy does in no way, imply that Afrikaans must be removed/or not further developed. It simply aims to achieve the aspirations of Section 29(2) of the Constitution by making sure that all previously marginalised languages enjoy parity of esteem and that language is not an obstacle to access for all South Africans.

As indicated above, the Policy Framework does not exclude Afrikaans and San languages as indigenous languages. The definition adopted in the Policy when read correctly within the broader context of the framework is meant to highlight the colonial and apartheid history of the exclusion of indigenous African languages or simply indigenous languages of Bantu origin. At no point is the Policy intended to settle the debate of the indigeneity or otherwise of Afrikaans or any other language.  

Reply:

(1) To assess the real impact of the proposed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system budget cuts, it is important that the earmarked budget provided by National Treasury for the purpose of implementing the TVET Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) be excluded from the baseline increase, as it is actually being subsidised through a baseline reduction from the TVET Direct Transfers (subsidies). The PPN allocation is, therefore in real terms not a baseline increase, as the TVET sector and public TVET colleges will receive no additional funding for this purpose in particular.

The following table reflects in real terms the proposed budget reduction for the TVET sector over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which excludes the PPN:

Budget	2021/22 R'000	2022/23 R'000	2023/24 R'000	Total R'000
TVET Compensation of Employees (CoE) budget cut	(908,399)	(1,206,281)	(951,175)	(3,065,855)
TVET subsidy budget cut	(100,000)	(100,000)	(100,478)	(300,478)
Sub-Total	(1,008,399)	(1,306,281)	(1,051,653)	(3,366,333)
TVET operationalisation of new campuses budget cut	(16,664)	(22,136)	(31,648)	(70,448)
TVET Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant budget cut	(204,282)	(265,613)	(458,610)	(928,505)
Total	(1,229,345)	(1,594,030)	(1,541,912)	(4,365,287)
Impact on student enrolments: TVET CoE and subsidies
Budget reduction %	-8.39%	-10.47%	-8.60%	-9.17%
Annual Performance Plan Targets
Headcount enrolments in TVET colleges (State funded)	505 770
TVET enrolment reduction	(42 419)	(52 978)	(43 492)	(138 889)

As can be noted from the above table, the budget for the rest of the MTEF has been reduced by R3.3 billion affecting the TVET Compensation of Employees (CoE) and TVET Direct Transfers (subsidies), which translates to a reduction of student headcount enrolments by approximately 138 889 over the MTEF period. 

(2)   For many young people, attending a TVET college secures them with the skills and opportunities for employment in industries and businesses, and for some to venture into self-employment. A reduced budget will restrict access to TVET colleges for many students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, thereby exacerbating the challenges of escaping the generational trap of poverty.

(3)  The Department has been supporting TVET colleges in developing strategies to overcome the difficulties faced by the contracting budget:

-     The Department has identified the need for TVET colleges to expand access by developing partnerships with both private and public sector enterprises, and has incorporated this as a performance target for colleges to achieve. Colleges with partnerships have been able to increase their enrolments despite facing constrained budgets.

-     The Department has encouraged colleges to initiate online learning as a platform of learning that can be accessed by a larger number of individuals that do not require to be physically at the college.

-     In line with this and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, computers will be disbursed to TVET students thereby enabling the digital revolution for expanded blended and online learning.

All these innovations will boost the quality and quantity of competency achieved by young people attending TVET colleges.

Reply:

(a) Since the introduction of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System in 2010 and subsequent Medium-Term Strategic Framework, the Department has been engaging with universities through enrolment planning on their targets for scarce skills areas.  In the new enrolment planning cycle, the targets for first time entering students into the scarce skills areas of engineering, life and physical sciences, human health, animal health and vet science, and teacher education are indicated in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1: 2020 to 2025 Proposed targets for first time entering students in scarce skills
	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	16 152	16 647	17 085	17 639	18 100	18 317
Life and Physical Science	16 948	17 161	17 584	17 391	17 459	17 614
Human Health	9 796	10 155	10 418	10 838	11 155	11 516
Animal and Veterinary Science	1 116	1 154	1 194	1 209	1 229	1 257
Initial Teacher Education	22 752	22 746	22 788	22 855	22 951	23 380

The targets for all undergraduate enrolments for the scarce skills are in Table 2 below:

TABLE 2: 2020 to 2025 Proposed targets for all undergraduate qualifications in scarce skills
	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	77 062	77 003	77 158	78 916	80 796	83 019
Life and Physical Science	58 267	59 240	60 613	61 218	62 092	62 890
Human Health	47 411	47 488	47 597	49 120	50 406	51 926
Animal and Veterinary Science	5 001	5 208	5 343	5 469	5 592	5 729
Initial Teacher Education	136 272	139 733	142 893	144 791	147 471	150 117

 (b) (i) Universities are funded through Teaching Input Units (TIUs) based on their approved enrolment plans.  If the universities adhere to the agreed upon targets, they will receive their full funding in terms of their approved TIUs.  If they are more than 2% under-enrolled, universities will be penalised financially and if they are more than 2% over-enrolled in their first-time entering enrolments, they will also be penalised due to the impact which over-enrolment has on the sector.

(ii) The above-mentioned strategy is not expected to have a significant impact on the Social and Human Sciences as the enrolment plan targets are also set in terms of the percentage in the Human Sciences (includes Social Sciences).  The targets are reflected in Table 3 below:

Reply:

HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The Department has not concluded any work exchange and/or employment agreements with any entity of the Republic of Cuba from the 2010/11 financial year up to the 2020/21 financial year.

SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

(1) (a) South Africa and the Republic of Cuba signed a science and technology agreement in 2001 to promote development cooperation in S&T by means of exchanging scientists, research workers, specialists and scholars and exchange of scientific and technological information. However, the department has not employed any Cuban nationals and it is not due to employ any in the 2021-23 Medium Term Expenditure Framework period.

(b) There are no Cuban nations to be employed in the department, therefore there are no details of work to be carried out.

(c) There are no details for specific skills sets possessed by Cuban nationals to be communicated as there are no Cuban nationals employed/to be employed in the department.

(d) Details of the costs of employing Cuban nationals are not available as there are no Cuban nationals employed in the department.

2 (a) Despite having a bilateral agreement with the Republic of Cuba, the department has had no plans to employ Cuban nationals, and as such has not taken any steps to ensure that any specific skill set was not available amongst South African citizens.

(b) As no Cubans with specific skills set were employed by the department, the department has not taken any steps to ensure the specific skills set of the Cuban nationals were available in the Republic amongst South African citizens.

Some contextual issues

Following South Africa’s democratic transition, South Africa and Cuba established formal diplomatic relations on 15 May 1994 and opened resident Embassies in Pretoria (1994) and Havana (1995), respectively. Cuba has since become an established strategic partner for South Africa in the Latin American region. This led to the signing of an agreement on Scientific and Technological cooperation between the countries in 2001.

Reply:

a) (i)  93 532 TVET college students
            

b) (ii)  52 992 University students

Un-funding Reason	TVET Colleges	Universities
The academic pathway that is not funded as per the DHET guidelines for TVET colleges	5 376
Highest qualification level already achieved		22 014
N+ exceeded	140	22 649
Student failed	88 016	8 326
Student funded by other bursary		3
Total	93 532	52 992

Reply:

(a)  After due consideration, the College and Council have established that the relocation of the campus is not feasible due to the following reasons:

- no public land or suitable buildings are available within a viable distance of the current campus;
- no funding is available to purchase private land and construct an equivalent site; 
- any such move would in reality take 3 to 4 years and the challenge needs an immediate intervention; and
- the landfill is in fact closed and the challenges being experienced are due to a lack of management by the municipality in enforcing its closure.

(b) The Department has commenced with an intergovernmental process to secure the effective enforcement of the closure of the site. This process is being coordinated via the Office of the Minister.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

I thank the Honourable Mr. Nxumalo for highlighting the importance of cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world. In terms of cybersecurity skills, the focus of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) is on research and development and high-level skills. With respect to R&D and skills, the DSI has, over the last 10 years, implemented a few programmes contributing to high-level human capital development, the development of innovative Information Security products for improved service delivery and self-reliance, and the provision of state-of-the-art RD-enabling infrastructure.

With respect to high-level human capital development, the DSI funded an intervention at the CSIR to develop a critical mass of skills in Information Security competency. The programme was targeted at MSc and PhD level. In order to grow the pool of women practitioners in the Information Security field, there was deliberate focus on recruiting and supporting young, Black female undergraduate students.

Through a High-end infrastructure grant, the DSI also funded the Network Simulation and Emulation Laboratory (NSEL) at the CSIR. This facility/ platform is used by the CSIR to provide training in various aspects of cybersecurity. Besides university students, the platform was also used to deliver training to governments agencies such as the Defence Intelligence and interns.

Research, development and innovation projects that contributed to service delivery and self-reliance include:-

• An optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based contactless fingerprint acquisition device (FPAD) and investigated the feasibility of the technology for lifting latent fingerprints for forensics. The results of the latent fingerprint investigation have indicated that it is possible to use this technology for fingerprint forensics. This is the course the CSIR is pursuing currently.
• The development of a prototype for biometric recognition system for minors.

Moving forward, cybersecurity has been identified as a key foundational digital technology in the decadal plan on science, technology and innovation. More detailed implementation planning is underway to put in place a more ambitious R&D and high-level skills development programme for the next 10 years. This programme will include R&D in blockchain-based solutions that are beyond cryptocurrencies with the related science and innovation instruments being geared towards their enablement.

It is anticipated that these solutions will be implemented within the emerging national cybersecurity framework in both the public and private sectors.

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA)
(a) Plans in place	(b) Initiatives to provide cybersecurity learning to address the global deficit in the cybersecurity workforce	If not, why not	If so, what are the relevant details?
To develop an Occupational Certificate: Cyber Security Analyst To implement the programme for unemployed, retrenched and those in the workforce	The qualifications have been developed and submitted to QCTO for verification and submission to SAQA.		The qualification will cover the following components: Knowledge module NQF Level 4 Practical skills module NQF Level 5 Work experience module NQF Level 5 Once approved the qualification will be implemented for a period of 12 months.
To develop a skills programme in Cyber Security	The process of development is underway		Once approved the skills programme will be implemented for two weeks.
To raise cyber security awareness within MICT SETA	MICT SETA will continue to raise cyber security awareness through campaigns and training to its personnel.		Some of the plans and initiatives which were started and will continue to be practised include: Cyber security awareness talks/sessions hosted by the Chief Information Officer, and Marketing and Communications Directorate inviting an external stakeholder to educate and create awareness on cyber security to MICT SETA personnel. Cyber security awareness communication to all MICT SETA personnel through email systems. Training of ICT personnel on cyber security.
Cyber Security Learning Programme	In progress.		MICT SETA is currently funding the Cyber Security Short Programme for 43 learners.
Cyber Security Learning Programme	In progress.		MICT SETA is currently funding the Cyber Security Graduate Internship Programme for 10 Interns.

Reply:

(a)  It should be noted that universities have generally reported high levels of student participation in teaching and learning, with no university reporting percentages higher than 10% for students not engaged and 4 universities reporting higher than 5% for students not engaged. Universities' teaching and learning plans included the following:

• Development and delivery of online teaching and learning materials: synchronous and asynchronous methods were utilised;
• Development of print-based teaching and learning materials, and delivery to students;
• Uploading of teaching and learning materials to USBs and delivery to students;
• Development and delivery of alternative assessment strategies; and
• Catch-up programmes as students returned to campus.
  There are many students who lost funding because they exceeded the N+2 rule for various reasons. During the 2020 funding cycle, the Minister approved a concession in the application of the N+2 rule for 2020. This concession was applied as follows:
• Where students cancelled their enrolment in the first semester, the particular year will not add to the N+ calculation.
• Where students provided medical or psycho-social evidence that they had to cancel their studies, that year will not be counted.
• Students in their final year that exceeded the N+2 provisions would be funded to teach them out of the system in that year.
  (b) 22 832 NSFAS funded continuing students in 2021 exceeded the N+ rule and were unfunded.

Reply:

1. The clinical trials referred to in this context are often funded by philanthropic groups, international product development partnerships, other governments (such as US funds for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN)). Multinational corporations (MNC) generally make a contribution by providing the study product for free in the clinical trial, and fund the trials in some countries. Public funds in South Africa are generally used as a contribution to focus attention on the South African-specific situation (e.g. efficacy/safety in HIV-infected individuals), to ensure clinical data is obtained to ensure regulatory compliance in South Africa. Funding allocation for health R&D is informed by the objectives and priorities of the Bio-Economy Strategy.

2. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) contributed R4,5 million towards the ChAdOx1 trial (AstraZeneca vaccine) to ensure that HIV positive persons were enrolled in the clinical trial, as this is a particular need within the South African environment. In addition, the DSI contributed an amount of R1 million towards the use of local clinical trial sites for the World Health Organization Global Solidarity Trial.

3. The clinical trials referred to above generally do not result in new intellectual property (IP) as the purpose is to obtain safety and efficacy data on an existing product (owned by the MNC). If, in the unlikely event that IP is developed, the Intellectual Property from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act applies in South Africa (i.e. if the research is not paid at full cost, this will result in IP ownership by the university conducting the work. In such circumstances the product owner/MNC often gets some rights in terms of either co-ownership or first rights to license the IP).

Reply:

A number of institutions have put in place mechanisms to provide electronic devices to students. The extent to which students who needed laptops were supported to obtain these varied widely across universities, from 0% or close thereto for three institutions, to over 70% for 18 institutions. The average across the system in February 2021 was that 74% of students who required laptops were supported to obtain one, including 66% of NSFAS students. This was reported by institutions in the bi-monthly monitoring reports submitted to the Department.

In addition, the NSFAS has ordered the first batch of 170 000 laptops for NSFAS funded university and TVET college students. The timeline for the delivery of laptops has been hampered by the worldwide shortage of components to build laptops. Despite this, 7 300 laptops have been received and distribution will commence in the second week of June 2021. A consignment of 63 000 laptops are expected throughout June 2021.

Reply:

(a) NSFAS is not aware of 5 000 students that have been excluded financially. On engagement with the university management and SRC, this information could not be verified. NSFAS funded students are not required to pay registration fees.

(b) NSFAS has made advance payments to institutions covering two months and is not aware of, and does not expect any funded student to not have received their allowances. Universities are also expected, in terms of the 2021 guidelines for the DHET Bursary Scheme for university students, to keep a database of all single use accommodation providers for NSFAS students who provided a lease agreement and engage providers where challenges are identified with regards to the payment of accommodation allowances.

Reply:

(a) Students can change courses as continuing NSFAS funding is based on the NSFAS funding criteria.  In terms of the criteria, continued funding is based on academic eligibility testing, which includes the N+ rule.  N is the minimum qualification completion time, also known as regulation time specified by the institution for a programme of study funded by NSFAS.  N+1 applies to first-time entering students first registered after December 2017, whilst N+2 applies to students who first registered before January 2018. If a student has transferred from any other public university, regardless of whether they were funded at that university, the number of years already registered for the qualification must be counted as part of the minimum qualification completion time.

(b) No, NSFAS does not stop funding because students change institutions.  NSFAS funding stops when the student fails to meet the academic eligibility criteria and the N+ rule.

(c) A student contravenes the rules when they no longer meet academic eligibility requirements, exceed their N+ time, and move between institutions without declaring this. The expectations of students are outlined in the bursary guidelines. 

Reply:

(a) The Department was not informed that the Thekwini TVET College, Springfield Campus is experiencing issues with the landfill site adjacent to the campus. The matter has been escalated to an intergovernmental process that will involve the Municipality and Provincial COGTA coordinated by the Office of the Minister.

(b) As the matter has now been brought to the attention of the Department, an urgent intervention is underway to deter the illegal dumping on and around the site, which will in turn deter the burning of refuse by the illegal persons accessing the site.

Reply:

1. The Department has been informed about the protest of students at Esayidi TVET College, Umzimkulu Campus. However, the students were not protesting over non-payment of allowances but rather over their dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Bursary Rules and Guidelines, particularly the provision on the 60/40 split regarding the awards for travel and accommodation allowances. It should be noted that the matter has been resolved and students are back in class after it was addressed by the college management and the Central Student Representative Council (SRC) together with the campus SRC. 

(a) The majority of student allowances at the college have been paid to qualifying students with the exception of approximately 500 students. These exceptions are being attended to by an official from NSFAS who visited the college during the week of 17 to 21 May 2021 to help the college's financial aid office.

(b)  NSFAS is currently making weekly allowance payments, instead of the usual monthly payments, to reduce the backlog.

(c) The college uses various platforms to share information with students on the administration of NSFAS including through the college financial aid committee, which includes representation of the SRC.  

(2) According to NSFAS, the procurement of laptops has been completed and will be distributed in batches as of May 2021 to all eligible TVET college students. 

Reply:

The Minister released directions in the Government Gazette No. 44342, dated 29 March 2021 (attached) to guide public and private higher education institutions for the 2021 academic year.

The directions provide high-level guidance through a national framework and criteria to all institutions in managing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work builds on previous guidance provided in 2020 during the initial lockdown period and over the period that students and staff returned to campus as part of a phased-in approach. It is anticipated that the directions will be utilised by institutions during the academic year, in conjunction with any relevant directions issued as part of the national state of disaster.

In terms of the directions, institutions must maintain institutional plans for the effective management of operations during the pandemic and have in place a COVID-19 response Task Team. Each public higher education institution has also developed a teaching and learning plan, which considers the different circumstances that may arise during the pandemic, drawing on lessons from the 2020 academic year.

In addition, the Department is supported by Higher Health, which works closely with all public post-school institutions to provide guidelines and advice on the management of teaching and learning, and institutional operations during the pandemic and provides many other forms of support, including training and communication on key matters relating to the pandemic, and supporting institutions in the event of cluster outbreaks.

In the case of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, students are continuing with the blended modality of learning, which involves a mix of face-to-face tuition and guided self-study. In short, the protocols put in place during lockdown level 3 are still in place for teaching and learning, and for the conduct of examinations. Both these processes were successfully managed in the 2020 academic year and will continue in 2021. Higher Health is actively involved in colleges to assist with symptomatic staff and students, and the management of positive cases when these are identified. Where the incidence of positive cases is of concern, colleges are given the flexibility to shut down the affected campus for a limited period, in agreement with their respective Councils and Regional Offices, and provide a catch-up timetable for the days lost.

Teaching and learning at Community Education and Training (CET) colleges:

• The Department has reviewed the 2020 Curriculum Recovery Plan for CET colleges and will adjust in relation to COVID directives.
• The Department is aware that the implementation of the recovery plan will necessitate amendments to the CET college calendar to ensure that students cover the curriculum. This has financial and labour implications (time for tuition will be increasingly informed by the time lost, implying more hours worked by lecturers) which the Department will deal with internally, e.g. engaging labour organisations and the reprioritisation of the budget.
• An extra R45 million has been allocated by National Treasury to CET colleges for ensuring the safety of students and staff in compliance with COVID-19 regulations; provision of personal protective equipment, sanitisers and rotation of attendance to ensure social distancing.

Reply:

The projected 2021 average full cost of study as reported by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is R59 508.00 per annum for public universities. It should be noted that this includes both distance and contact students. It also includes students on the DHET Grant (capped funding) and the DHET Bursary (fully subsidised) funding. 

The projected cost for a student at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college is R62 000.00 per annum which covers tuition and allowances. It is important to note that all TVET college students are provided with textbooks, consumables, and safety gear irrespective of whether or not a student is a NSFAS recipient.

Reply:

1. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) confirms that Additiv Solutions (Pty) Ltd met all the requirements for support from the Photonics Prototyping Facility that is hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) National Laser Centre. As set out in the reply to question 404 in March 2021, the proposal was evaluated by the PPF Investment Committee, which includes industry experts and the DSI, and which evaluates and recommends proposals to be supported to the CSIR. Proposals are evaluated against the following criteria:

(a) Relevance and Impact (commercial relevance; feasibility; and significance of impact to the Photonics industry);

(b) Technical merit (clarity of objectives/motivation to use the PPF; novelty of technology; maturity of technology);

(c) Budget (alignment to tasks; and feasibility with existing infrastructure); and

(d) Management Plan (feasibility and efficiency of plan; and track record and team)

The proposal from Additiv Solutions (Pty) Ltd was evaluated by the PPF Investment Committee on 9 December 2019. The committee agreed that there was a clear need for lower cost 3D metal additive manufacturing machines, that the proposal met the requirements of technical merits, budget and the management plan. The proposal also met the requirements with respect to relevance and impact, but the committee did recognize that significant effort would be required with respect to market development and marketing, and that the prototype to be developed in this project would assist in this regard. The Committee agreed that the proposal from Additiv Solutions (Pty) Ltd therefore met the requirements for support from the PPF, and recommended it for approval.

2. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by 31 March 2021. However, there were delays with the procurement processes at the CSIR, which delayed the initial setup phase of the project. These delays were due to challenges with suppliers of hardware to the CSIR. The hardware necessary for this phase was delivered to the CSIR in December 2020 and February 2021 and this work is now completed. In the project scope, a prototype system had to be characterised, and then three subsequent "Beta" machines have to be characterised for Additiv Solutions. The prototype setup and characterisation is completed; the Beta 1 system is being characterised. This makes up the bulk of the work in the project and will completed by 31 May 2021. Additiv Solutions is also required to deliver 2 additional machines (Beta machines 2 and 3) to the PPF team for them to characterise the optical setup and complete all activities planned. This stage is dependent on Additiv Solutions and is expected to be completed by 30 June 2021. The project is on track, there are no remaining technical challenges.

3. This question relates to particular project at the CSIR. The Minister does not usually make statements on particular projects, and is not planning to do so in relation to the CSIR’s support to Additiv Solutions.

Reply:

(a)  The audited data for 2019 indicates that 1 074 912 headcount students were enrolled, representing an under-enrolment of -6 178 headcounts in relation to the projected target of 1 081 090 set for 2019. This represents a -0.57% deviation from the 2019 target. Universities are permitted to move within a 2% band of their planned targets.

(b)  The Department has not yet received the 2020 final audited data from universities. This is only due at the end of July 2021 once they have finalised their graduate numbers and their external auditors have undertaken the audit of the data to be submitted to the Department. Thereafter the Department can undertake the comparison between the 2020 enrolment planning targets and the actual 2020 enrolments. However, UNISA did signal to the Department last year that they had over-enrolled in 2020. The Department has had a number of discussions with UNISA on over-enrolments both in 2018 and in 2020. 

(c)  The Department has not yet received data for the 2021 academic year, as universities will still enroll students in the second semester. The 2021 audited data will only be received at the end of July 2022.

Reply:

(1) (a) The assumption that the rapid expansion of the tertiary system was not followed by the implementation of financial support is not a true reflection of the interventions that the Department has put in place to try to meet the system expansion. Government’s expenditure goal is to spend 1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product on university education. Given the trajectory seen over the past ten years, this target was achieved during the 2018/19 financial year. However, it is not clear if it will continue to be achieved.

(b)  Funding for the university sector is part of the budgetary processes of government and therefore competes with other government priorities such as health, social welfare, etc.

(2) The Department is aware of the systematic challenges and remains committed to being responsive to the constantly changing landscape within the post-school education and training system. The funding model or regulations are updated when the need arises. Post 1994, the Department revised the funding framework (Annexure A) and is in the process to develop a policy framework on fee regulation to manage the funding model accordingly to ensure it remains relevant. A policy review on student funding is also underway as requested by Cabinet.

Reply:

The NSFAS cohort study considers any student who received NSFAS funding at any point in time during their studies. The database of students who had received NSFAS funding in all previous years of study is mapped to the Higher Education Management Information System dataset. The NSFAS cohort study published in March 2020 considered all cohorts that entered the public higher education sector, i.e. universities, for the first time from the 2000 to 2017 academic years. The study found that the dropout rate for the 2009 NSFAS cohort was 22.2%, which is 9% lower than the national cohort average of 31.3%.

It should be noted that in order to determine how students, including NSFAS students, are performing, at least 4 years of data is required for a 3-year qualification and 5 years of data for 4-year qualification. The Department is currently in the process of updating the cohort report for this year.

Reply:

(1) The Department has developed a standardised organisational structure and Post Provision Norms (PPN) model for TVET colleges, which makes provision for a unit and funded post for Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) services within each TVET college. This model and standardised organisational structure is currently being implemented at a college level over 3 years in line with the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework budget. 

(2) The EHW unit at Head Office has been capacitating colleges whilst the PPN model was being developed and supporting the implementation of programmes in colleges.

Colleges were capacitated with 3-day EHW capacity-building workshops. There were 86 psychosocial interventions in TVET colleges. Processes of employee health and wellness were followed, which were agreed upon by labour structures within the Department.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and currently, the EHW unit has trauma counselled, tracked and traced 70 officials, and equipped colleges with various protocols in ensuring adherence to the prescripts of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

(3) The support functions and implementation of the EHW programmes does not depend on the establishment of an EHW unit, as it is the right of all members within the public service to be provided with health care services based on the Bill of Rights section 24 (a) and section 27 (i), as per the directive from the Minister of Public Service and Administration in Circular 1 of 2017 on Employee Health and Wellness.

(4) (a) The EHW programmes are based on the National Strategic Framework of Employee Health and Wellness of 2008. The programmes are as follows:

• HIV, AIDS, TB & STI programmes.
• The Health and Productivity Management programme focuses on the return on investment and other psychological, biological, medical and environmental challenges that impede officials to perform in the workplace. Implementation of this programme is done in tandem with leave determination policies, job access strategies, reasonable accommodation, employment equity and the Policy on the Implementation of Incapacity in the public service.
• The Safety Health Environment Risk and Quality (SHERQ) programme is directed by Regulation 53 of the Public Service Regulation that heads of departments must establish and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for employees of the department and a safe and healthy service delivery environment for members of the public. This programme does not operate in isolation but is implemented with the COVID-19 master plan and protocols, and reasonable accommodation and buildings, e.g. maintenance schedules of lifts and equipment by facilities management and the Departmental SHERQ policy.
• The Wellness Management Physical programme includes a sports policy whereby members of the Department can participate in healthy lifestyle programmes. Wellness Sporting Committees exist in colleges where a healthy lifestyle is promoted and ensuring that officials achieve a work-life balance. Daily body-mass-index screening is done as part of this programme.
• The Financial Wellness programme comprises of National Treasury workshops for Departmental officials, including colleges, on savings and managing finances.
• The Wellness Management Psychosocial programme cuts across all EHW interventions, implemented in conjunction with other Departmental programmes and customised for officials. Scheduled 8 of the Labour Relation Act is invoked in cases that need ill-health retirement.
• The Organisational Wellness programme incorporates SHERQ as the environment can incapacitate a person; hence, reasonable accommodation is implemented in various ways and can lead to officials being re-allocated to other work or work terrain appropriate for wheelchair-bound officials.

(b)   The EHW programmes are being utilised and programmes are in place within the EHW work plans.

Reply:

(1) In March 2021, the Department requested universities to complete a student debt survey template with the aim of providing the best possible data on the total student debt as at 30 December 2020. This work will feed into the review requested by Cabinet on government policy in relation to student financial aid, including the “missing middle” and the sustainability of institutional funding (block grants, earmarked and infrastructure funding). 

(2) The Minister will appoint a task team to review the sustainability of and options for the post-school education and training student financial aid system. The focus of the review will be on the sustainable modelling of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), as well as to explore a different public-private sector mechanism to enable better support for the “missing middle” income bracket. Once concluded this will be tabled for Cabinet’s consideration.

Reply:

(1) All higher education institutions will be included in the countrywide government phased plan to vaccinate all South African citizens. Higher Health, as the entity that supports the post-school sector in this area, will liaise with the Department of Health, and ensure regular communication with the sector on all matters relating to COVID-19 and vaccination. Higher Health, in collaboration with the Department of Health, Department of Higher Education and Training, and post-school institutions will ensure that all relevant plans and communication relating to vaccination are put in place effectively across the sector.

(2) Higher Health works with all post-school public institutions to support the training of institutional staff and peer mentors on many aspects of work, including COVID-19. This has included the distribution of information on the current phase of the vaccination programme and will include awareness raising at the appropriate times during the phased vaccination programme of government.

Reply:

Government has contributed R1.7 billion to NSFAS as a result of the due diligence exercise that was undertaken in 2018 towards the historic debt owed to universities by continuing or returning NSFAS qualifying students, registered in 2018.  This allocation specifically targets students who were subject to the R122 000 family income threshold and the NSFAS funding cap, and also covers students registered in 2019, 2020 and 2021.  In many cases, the amount of funding provided was insufficient to cover the actual fees and costs of the study, where the cost of the study was higher than the NSFAS cap. These students (referred to as capped students) therefore accrued debt with their institutions.

Students, including former qualifying NSFAS students, had to meet the academic progression criteria for the years being claimed for and had to sign an acknowledgment of debt with their institutions. Students (including former NSFAS students) who did not meet the NSFAS academic criteria do not qualify for continued funding.

This project is work in progress as it is subject to an audit process required by NSFAS and has not yet been finalised.

Reply:

1. It should be noted at the outset that student protests do occur on university campuses from time to time and relate to a broad range of issues. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and funding-related matters do sometimes feature in these protests, but are often institution-specific and appear to be NSFAS-related, but are not always.

In 2017, NSFAS introduced and implemented a new funding system for all universities, termed the “student-centred” model. The system was intended to provide an improved information technology platform for submitting and processing student applications, where students apply directly to NSFAS through an online application system and manage allocations to students.

While some changes to systems and processes at NSFAS resulted in students applying directly to NSFAS in 2017 with some of the preliminary funding decisions being concluded and communicated to students on time, the rest of the processes at NSFAS were subject to severe challenges and unacceptable delays.

NSFAS did not have the requisite capacity and technical knowledge required for the successful implementation of the new system. The information technology platform and systems built to manage the processes were not able to function effectively. There were huge delays in the exchange of registration data between NSFAS and universities, making funding decisions, and paying students on time. As a result of these challenges, there was much dissatisfaction across universities and the following universities experienced disruption of the academic activities during 2017:

The Vaal University of Technology, Witwatersrand, University of Limpopo, University of Venda, Sol Plaatje University, University of Cape Town, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, Walter Sisulu University, Rhodes University, Nelson  Mandela University, University of Fort Hare, Central University of Technology, University of the Free State, UNISA, University of Zululand, Durban University of Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Mangosuthu University of Technology.

In August 2018, an Administrator was appointed to, amongst others, deal with the operational challenges explained above, ensuring improved systems and policy controls, and addressing backlog issues from previous funding cycles. In the first period of administration, operations at NSFAS stabilised significantly, resulting in a comparatively smooth funding cycle for 2019, improved relationships between institutions and NSFAS, improved data exchange between NSFAS and institutions, and better controls being put in place to manage funding rules. There was also a significant improvement in payments to students, which, with the support of institutions, were paid on time to students for the first time ever. Reconciliations were also done monthly, which resulted in smoother administration of the funding scheme.

The Department developed guidelines on how the new DHET bursary would be implemented. Standards were set up early in January 2018 based on research that NSFAS had undertaken. These were communicated to the system but were not implemented by all universities in the same way.  In 2019, it was discovered that some universities did not implement the policy correctly for first-time entering students, and payments of allowances were made to students who did not qualify. NSFAS had no means to validate funded undergraduate courses in universities, and that a funded qualification management system was not in place. With a lack of controls at NSFAS, institutions were able to submit data that did not comply with the policy, such as allowance amounts not in line with the policy and qualifications that did not qualify for funding.

This led to some confusion and dissatisfaction and resulted in turmoil. Many demands made by students and protests were experienced on many campuses. It should also be noted that many universities had protests as a response to the call for a national shutdown by the South African Union of Students. The following universities experienced student protests:

The Mangosuthu University of Technology, University of Fort Hare, University of Zululand, the University of Venda, University of Mpumalanga, the Vaal University of Technology, University of Limpopo, Sol Plaatje University, University of Cape Town, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, Walter Sisulu University, Rhodes University, Nelson Mandela University, Central University of Technology, University of the Free State, UNISA, Durban University of Technology, and University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The government also made funds available to pay off the historic debt of NSFAS funded students incurred prior to the introduction of the DHET bursary.

The lack of policy controls at NSFAS had a significant effect. Closeout issues were still being addressed in 2020, and weaknesses in data controls persisted. There were delays in finalising appeals by NSFAS. Although there was a call for a national shut down by SAUS, the sector was relatively calm and only the following institutions had major disruptions:

Central University of Technology, North West University, University of Fort Hare, University of Venda, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of South Africa, Central University of Technology, Durban University of Technology, Sefako Makgatho University, Sol Plaatje University, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Limpopo, University of the Free State, University of the Western Cape, University of Zululand, Vaal University of Technology, Walter Sisulu University and Witwatersrand University.

There is a significant improvement in terms of controls at NSFAS and the payment of allowances. The protests that are currently experienced by universities relate to the broader funding of the sector and in particular, matters relating to student debt of missing middle students.  

The following table presents a summary of NSFAS matters that prompted recipients to demonstrate in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges:

2019	2020	2021
Outstanding allowances	Outstanding allowances	Outstanding allowances
Late or non-disbursement of allowances	Late or non-disbursement of allowances	Late or non-disbursement of allowances
Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system	Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system	Migration to NSFAS wallet payment system
		Issuing of laptops

The main goal of the Department and NSFAS is to ensure that financial aid reaches the right student timeously. To this end, the value chain process is dependent on the active participation of all stakeholders regarding, amongst others, the following:

• Development and distribution of the bursary policy by the Department;
• Capacity building training of college officials by the Department and NSFAS;
• Accurate completion and timeous submission of a complete application by a student; and
• Timeous submission of the student registration data to NSFAS by colleges.  

The Department, together with NSFAS, college management and Student Representative Councils collectively have a responsibility to address the issues reflected in the table above. The Department and NSFAS have put various mechanisms in place to address these issues such as developing standard operating procedures for the administration of college fees and allowances as well as the introduction of the NSFAS wallet payment system to expedite payment of allowances.

(2)    Yes.

Reply:

The Department of Higher Education and Training has no jurisdiction over the appointment of healthcare professionals or nurses. This is the responsibility of Provincial health Departments and this question should be re-directed to the National Department of Health.

Reply:

1. (a) A detailed template was sent to all institutions to gain an understanding of the current levels of student debt and the categories of students that carry debt, including NSFAS students. This information was due on 26 March 2021. It should be noted that eligible NSFAS qualifying continuing and returning students with debt are allowed to register and will receive their allowances in the first week of April 2021, dependent on academic results and registration data received from institutions.  No eligible NSFAS applicants and NSFAS returning students in TVET colleges are required to pay registration fees. The first payment of allowances for 2021 was made from 05 March 2021, upon receipt of registration data, for colleges that disburse allowances to students. However, in respect of the rest of the institutions, payments were made on 19 March 2021 upon receipt of their registration data.

(b)   This information will be available from NSFAS on 31 March 2021 as NSFAS is still awaiting academic results from some institutions to conclude 2021 funding decisions for returning and continuing qualifying NSFAS students. Funding for NSFAS returning students is dependent on academic progression. The Department has established that about 10% of TVET college student debt is recoverable and 90% is unrecoverable. However, in an effort to avert exclusion of students due to an inability to afford fees, TVET colleges writes off 90% of the student debt which is not recoverable.   

2. (a) The table below reflects the 2020 Ministerial approved enrolment planning targets for First Time Entering Undergraduates (FTEN) and total undergraduate enrolments.

 

TVET College	Continuing Student	New Applicant	Total
Boland	2 138	2 729	4 867
Buffalo City	1 602	2 076	3 678
Capricorn	4 441	4 514	8 955
Central Johannesburg	1 780	3 329	5 109
Coastal KZN	3 425	5 392	8 817
College of Cape Town	2 348	2 821	5 169
Eastcape Midlands	1 834	2 700	4 534
Ehlanzeni	2 180	3 694	5 874
Ekurhuleni East	2 061	4 966	7 027
Ekurhuleni West	4 209	5 320	9 529
Elangeni	3 261	3 311	6 572
Esayidi	3 163	3 306	6 469
False Bay	1 695	1 951	3 646
Flavius Mareka	1 184	2 937	4 121
Gert Sibande	3 474	4 271	7 745
Goldfields	872	1 843	2 715
Ikhala	1 750	2 096	3 846
Ingwe	2 375	2 558	4 933
King Hintsa	943	1 429	2 372
King Sabata Dalindyebo	2 363	3 043	5 406
Lephalale	1 077	1 287	2 364
Letaba	1 846	1 860	3 706
Lovedale	1 385	1 477	2 862
Majuba	5 397	5 773	11 170
Maluti	2 158	3 303	5 461
Mnambithi	1 335	1 805	3 140
Mopani South East	2 226	2 936	5 162
Motheo	1 770	5 175	6 945
Mthashana	1 706	1 783	3 489
Nkangala	3 401	3 362	6 763
Northern Cape Rural	688	2 119	2 807
Northern Cape Urban	1 405	2 288	3 693
Northlink	4 129	4 298	8 427
Orbit	2 222	2 307	4 529
Port Elizabeth	1 631	2 412	4 043
Sedibeng	3 480	4 759	8 239
Sekhukhune	1 523	2 197	3 720
South Cape	1 417	2 877	4 294
South West Gauteng	4 066	5 330	9 396
Taletso	1 094	2 300	3 394
Thekwini	1 845	2 592	4 437
Tshwane North	2 920	4 230	7 150
Tshwane South	2 131	3 177	5 308
Umfolozi	3 034	3 606	6 640
Umgungundlovu	1 883	2 226	4 109
Vhembe	5 150	6 167	11 317
Vuselela	1 524	2 586	4 110
Waterberg	1 598	1 836	3 434
West Coast	1 625	3 421	5 046
Western	2 702	3 447	6 149
Total	115 466	157 222	272 688

 

(b) It should be noted that the Department has only received preliminary data from universities on their 2020 enrolments and this is therefore subject to change. There may have been institutions that have over-enrolled slightly on their enrolment plans and the impact on NSFAS is not yet known.  More reliable data on enrolments will be received from universities at the end of April 2021. Once they have identified all their graduates, the Department will receive the final audited data at the end of July 2021. Preliminary data indicates that UNISA is the only institution that has exceeded its FTEN 2020 enrolment plan target. The approved enrolment target for FTEN students for UNISA was 57 703. According to UNISA’s first submission of HEMIS data, the University has enrolled 77 840 FTEN students. According to data received from NSFAS on 23 March 2021, the entity has funded 74 427 FTEN students in 2020. 

(3) The Commission completed its report and handed it to the former President on 31 August 2017. Government considered the report through an Inter-Ministerial Task Team and agreed with many of the recommendations, some of which are either currently being planned or implemented. Four recommendations made by the Commission were not accepted:

- Community Education and Training only concerns itself with adult basic education;

- A universal model of Income Contingent Deferred Loans underwritten by government;

- Funding (loans) should be extended to cover students studying at private higher education institutions; and

- University students should not pay application fees nor registration fees.

(4) Government’s policy remains the provision of fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working-class South Africans. Cabinet has requested an urgent review of government policy on student financial aid, which must be completed within the next three months. The focus will be on sustainable modelling of NSFAS as well as to explore a different public-private sector mechanism to enable better support for the “missing middle” income bracket.

Reply:

1. (a) The Ketlaphela SOC was established as a subsidiary of Pelchem SOC, a subsidiary of South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA). The establishment of Ketlaphela was part of the vision to manufacture Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for drugs against the most problematic diseases in South Africa, in particular HIV/AIDS. This was part in a process of many other activities and investigations into the sustainability of such an entity which included a number of studies, establishment of public private partnerships seeking expert and legal opinions. Much work in this regard was done between 2011 and 2014. In total, the process was done in three phases. The first phase entailed a partnership with Lonza, from which Lonza withdrew citing the new management team’s global “Focus and Deliver” strategy, which they said would not align with the partnership on Ketlaphela.

Following Lonza’s withdrawal, Cabinet approved a process to find a new technology partner. This was referred to as Phase 2 of Ketlaphela. The need for finding yet another partner was based on the fact that all APIs used in drug formulations in South Africa are imported and as such, a technology partner would facilitate technology and skills transfer. This phase was implemented through open calls for Expressions of Interest. Unfortunately, no bidder could meet the minimum qualifying criteria. The collapse of this phase ushered the process into the third phase.

The third phase entailed a more pragmatic approach, where Ketlaphela branded anti-retroviral tablets (ARVs) would be introduced into the national health care system through a collaboration with local ARV producers, whilst a small-scale manufacturing plant for APIs for selected niche products, including new ARV APIs would be established. The rationale for this phase was to tap into existing contracts between the Department of Health (DoH) and ARV suppliers to produce and supply Ketlaphela-branded ARV tablets to the DoH. In order to incentivise ARV suppliers to collaborate with Ketlaphela, there was a need for a letter of intent between DoH and Ketlaphela on long-term supply agreement. The Request for Proposal was therefore drafted for existing ARV suppliers who want to partner to allocate current supply of their volumes to Ketlaphela in exchange of a long -term contract. In this regard, the Department of Science and Technology (at the time) was to provide financial support for the development of new manufacturing approaches through research and development.

The third phase could not proceed as the letter of intent for long-term supply contract could not be secured. However, the research, development and innovation aspect under the Department of Science and Technology continued and the small-scale manufacturing plant for API manufacturing has been established. As from 2017, the Pelchem Board decided to take the process forward by finding an international technology partner to provide finished products under the Ketlaphela Brand. The Department of Science and Innovation is not part of this process as it does not follow the original aspect of local development and manufacturing of APIs.

(b) It is important to note that for the period 2011 to 2015, all activities for the three phases were funded by the then Department of Science and Technology to an amount of R13 747 152 to support the establishment of Ketlaphela. The funds were utilised as per the breakdown below:

Financial year	Amount	Institution	Reason
2011/12	R2 964 617	Pelchem SOC	KPMG Economic Impact Analyses of Ketlaphela Frost & Sullivan Commercial viability, Socio-economic benefits Study on the formulation, fill and finishing operations in the SA pharmaceutical sector
2012/13 – 2013/14	R1 500 000	Cliff Dekker Hofmeyr	At National Treasury’s request to obtain a legal opinion on validity of the process of engaging with Lonza by Pelchem and the IDC Assist with the development of draft contracts and evaluation of Expression on Interest
2013/14	R4 082 535	Pelchem SOC	Development of New Business plan to find new technology partner Development of all legal agreements needed to engage with new technology partner Issuing and evaluation of the Expression of Interest Some direct management and operational expenses Development of blue prints for the pilot plant at Pelindaba
2015/16 - 2016/17	R5 200 000	Pelchem SOC	Some direct management and operational expenses Development of Ketlaphela 3 business plan Initial synthesis of 2 drug molecules (Tenefovir and Dalutegravir) at the University of Pretoria and the University of Kwazulu-Natal

It is important to note that the services as procured in this regard during the three phases were rendered and as such, funds were utilised for specific deliverables. At the end of the contract between Pelchem and the Department of Science and Technology in March 2017, the unspent amount of R4 836 272.29 was refunded. Ketlaphela was therefore left existing just in name, without assets and no funding was inherited from the establishment process. The process currently being pursued by Pelchem and the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources to take the process forward in a different format seem to have stalled. With the Department of Science and Innovation not being part of that, the Department is therefore not in a position to provide an update on the latest developments.

Reply:

a)  Since the introduction of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System in

2010 and the subsequent Medium-Term Strategic Framework, the Department has been engaging with universities through enrolment planning on their targets for scarce skills areas. In the new enrolment planning cycle, the targets for first time entering students into the scarce skills areas of engineering, life and physical science, human health, animal health and veterinary sciences, and teacher education are indicated in the table below:

Scarce Skills Areas	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	16 152	16 647	17 085	17 639	18 100	18 317
Life and Physical Science	16 948	17 161	17 584	17 391	17 459	17 614
Human Health	9 796	10 155	10 418	10 838	11 155	11 516
Animal and Veterinary Science	1 116	1 154	1 194	1 209	1 229	1 257
Initial Teacher Education	22 752	22 746	22 788	22 855	22 951	23 380

The targets for all undergraduate enrolments for the scarce skills are in the table below:

Scarce Skills Areas	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Engineering	77 062	77 003	77 158	78 916	80 796	83 019
Life and Physical Science	58 267	59 240	60 613	61 218	62 092	62 890
Human Health	47 411	47 488	47 597	49 120	50 406	51 926
Animal and Veterinary Science	5 001	5 208	5 343	5 469	5 592	5 729
Initial Teacher Education	136 272	139 733	142 893	144 791	147 471	150 117

770 Apprentices are being trained at 26 Centres of Specialisation at different Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in 13 priority trades with 130

participating employers. A further 1 000 young people are expected to start in 2021 as apprentices. TVET colleges are being supported to be Trade Test Centres for occupational trades.

In response to the President’s State of the Nation Address, Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) have set targets to respond to the National Skills Development Plan and contribute to the post-school education and training system. Amongst others, four SETAs that are involved with artisanal and engineering interventions have set targets for the Medium-Term Strategic Framework.

Interventions	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Artisans	9 170	7 768	9 683	9 234	9 919
Engineering Learnerships	10 588	7 551	9 840	10 560	8 055
Recognition of Prior Learning	3 259	2 561	2 855	2 978	1 543
Work Integrated Learning	1 849	1 654	2 243	2 166	2 188
Bursary	4 112	1 474	1 876	1 880	1 886
Candidacy	703	386	812	885	896

b) All NSFAS qualifying students in approved undergraduate qualifications are provided with financial support for their studies, as long as they continue to meet the financial and academic eligibility criteria.

SETAs have made commitments to fund employers that partner with TVET colleges to take more apprentices as part of the skills strategy to support the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. Funding of eligible learners will be done through discretionary grants given to employers and institutions of higher learning. SETAs will fund programmes or projects aimed at developing high-level skills such as managers, associate professionals and artisans amongst others.

Reply:

(1) The Report of the Ministerial Committee on the Review of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme has been completed and submitted to the Minister. The Report will be published for public comment after a briefing and presentation to Cabinet. 

(2) The Minister will make a statement after the briefing and presentation to Cabinet.

Reply:

(1) No irregularities were noted in the cancelled tender. The tender was cancelled in accordance with regulation 13 (1) (c) of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, as no acceptable bids were received. All 150 bid proposals were disqualified for not achieving the mandatory requirements of the tender.

(2) None of the proposals met the mandatory requirements as outlined in the bid document.

(3) No.

Reply:

The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has committed an amount of ~R95 million for COVID-19 biomedical research and innovation activities covering in the following fields of research:

Research field	Amount disbursed
a) Prevention and vaccines	R7 684 831
b) Repurposing of Drugs for Treatment	R8 483 130
c) Convalescent sera	R4 571 244
d) Understanding the disease	R2 877 495
e) Diagnostics	R16 491 509
f) Genomic Surveillance	R36 338 830
g) Wastewater Surveillance	R345 989
h) Surveillance /Epidemiology	R2 128 665
i) 501Y.V2 variant	R7 636 395
Total amount committed /disbursed	R86 558 088
Amount still to be allocated	R8 441 912

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

Whether (a) his department makes use of private security firm	Whether (b) any entity reporting to him makes use of private security firm	If not, what is the position in this regard	If so, in each case, what is the:
			(i) name of each firm	(ii) purpose	(iii) value	(iv) duration of each specified contract?
The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) makes use of private security firm.	N/A	N/A	G4s Security Solutions (Pty) Ltd.	To provide 24 hour guarding security services.	The costs payable increase annually as per the Sectorial Determination. Total amounts paid from date of contract to September 2021 will be as follows: R1,344 million in 2018/19, R1,451 million in 2019/20 and R1,569 million in 2020/21.	Apr 2018 – Dec 2022
N/A	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) makes use of private security firm.	N/A	G4S Security Solutions (Pty) Ltd.	Provide security services to all CSIR sites to protect people, knowledge, assets and property in cost effective and sustainable manner.	R67,2 million (excluding Value Added Tax).	Five years.
N/A	The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) makes use of private security firm.	N/A	ELDNA Security Services.	Security services.	R3,134 million.	Three years.
N/A	The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) makes use of private security firms at two of its sites.	N/A	Site 1: Securi-Team.	Provide 24 hours guarding and monitoring services	R1,857 million.	Five years.
			Site 2: Eulesaki	Provide security for the site, being a National Key Point.	R104 000 per month	Two years.
N/A	The National Research Foundation (NRF) makes use of private security firms at seven of its Business Units.	N/A	NRF Pretoria Head Office: Phuthadichaba Trading Enterprise.	Security and guarding Services at the NRF Pretoria Campus.	R3,159 million.	Five years.
			South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) Business Unit: Hi-Tec Security.	After hours alarm monitoring of buildings.	R45 312.	Three years.
			South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) and South African Environment Observation Network (SAEON) Business Units: Red Alert.	Guarding Services at two separate sites.	R6,349 million.	Three years.
			SAEON Business Unit: Palsecurity Services (Pty) Ltd and Top Security Systems (Pty) Ltd.	Alarm system monitoring.	R15 057.	Two years and six months.
				Office security services in Kimberley.	R5 916.	One year.
			South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) Business Unit: Virtual Security.	Protection of grounds, access control, perimeter guarding and off-site monitoring.	R820 335.	Three years.
			South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) Business Unit: Khulaluntu Security Hlokomela and Transport 2006	Guarding of premises.	R442 801.	One year.
N/A	The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) makes use of private security firm.	N/A	Khensani Security Services.	24-hour security services at the HSRC Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town Offices.	R3,869 million.	Three years.
N/A	The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) does not make use of private security firm.	ASSAf’s Office is located in Persequor Park, Pretoria. Security is provided by Eris, the property managers.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

(a)

Departm ent	(a) Whether your Department makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) Name of firm	(ii) Purpose	(iii)Value	(iv) Duration
	Yes	Static Protection Services (National Skills Fund - NSF)	To render a 24/7 security guarding services, which includes access control, monitoring and patrol services	R464 000.00	4 months – 01 January 2021- 30 April 2021
	Yes	Ebukhosini TP Security (INDLELA)	To render a 24/7 security guarding services, which includes access control, monitoring and patrol services	R253 863, 72	4 months – 01 January 2021- 30 April 2021

(b)

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
CHIETA	No. Security is provided by the landlord.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MICT SETA	No. Security services is	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
	included in the lease agreement with the landlord.
CHE	Yes	Titanium Security Services	Provision of security services: Guarding and armed response, with one security personnel during the day and one at night, the service is for 24 hours and 7 days a week.	R 1 055 092.44	1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022
FOODBEV	Yes	Selkirk Security Services Ltd	Access control services, such as: Preventing unauthorized entries to the office premises. Monitoring and recording all activity around a protected facility 24 hours a day.	R 347 912.35 (annualised value) R 317 552.35 (to date: 28 February 2021)	1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
SAQA	Yes	Dikgaetsedi Security Services (Pty) Ltd Letiqa Twins Trading (Pty) Ltd	To protect SAQA’s building, movable assets, employees and clients. The risk is linked to the insurance premium.	R 4 066 214.04 R 5 055 553.26	1 March 2018- 28 February 2021 1 March 2021 – 29 February 2024
INSETA	Yes	Gilija Tactical	To provide security services to INSETA that	R 358 800.00	01 April 2020 to

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
		Response	includes: Guarding INSETA premises and assets. Patrol services Screening staff and visitors for Covid-19 Doing other security screening to visitors		31 March 2021
		National security	To provide armed response and CCTV services	R 367 768.91	July 2020 to June 2025
PSETA	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
EWSETA	Yes	Imvula Quality Protection Services	Safeguarding Cape House building in Marshalltown Johannesburg which is currently vacant	R 946 129.09	01 August 2020 to 31 August 2021
FASSET	Yes	ADT	Alarm system with response to the office building.	R 37 900.04	12 months
CATHSSETA	Yes	Jubzin Security Services	Provision of security services at its Head Office in Killarney (Johannesburg) and two (2) regional offices in the Kwa-Zulu Natal and Western Cape	R 848 240.00	8 months

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
			provinces
Services SETA	Yes	Good Work Security (Pty) Ltd	To provide physical security, armed response and maintenance and repairs of the alarm and electrical fence at Services SETA Head Office.	R 2 916 000.00 per annum
		Exodec 365 cc	To provide physical security, armed response, maintenance, and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA North West (Klerksdorp) provincial office	R 342 240.00 per annum
		Rise Security Services (Pty) Ltd Bohlale Risk Protection	To provide physical security, armed response, maintenance, and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA Mpumalanga (Nelspruit) provincial office	R 340 313.82 per annum
			To provide physical security, armed response, maintenance, and repairs of the alarm	R 338 934.86 per annual

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
			at Services SETA free state (Bloemfontein) provincial office
		Red Alert TSS (Pty) Ltd	To provide physical security, armed response, maintenance, and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA (Western Cape) provincial office.	R 308 221.90 per annum
		Nguwo Security Services	To provide physical security, armed response and maintenance and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth) provincial office	R 291 000.00 per annum
		Fuyatha General Trading	To provide physical security, armed response and maintenance and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA KZN (Durban) provincial office.	R 326 530.56 per annum
		TJ Protection Services	To provide physical armed response, maintenance, and	R 288 475.00 per annum

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
			repairs of the alarm at Services SETA Northern Cape office (Kimberly) provincial Office.
		Nguwo Security Services	To provide physical security, armed response and maintenance and repairs of the alarm at Services SETA Eastern Cape (East London) provincial office.	R 291 000.00 per annum
FP&M SETA	Yes	Masutha Training and Security Services (PO/2020/7042)	Office Security - Covid-19 Management Covid-19 Management of IE Safety of Employees Managing Attendance of Staff and visitors Record keeping of who enters our offices, staff and visitors Sanitizing everyone Temperature	R 289 104.05	6 months

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
			monitoring  Administration
		Masutha Training and Security Services (PO/2020/7372)	Office Security Covid-19 Management Covid-19 Management of IE Safety of Employees Managing Attendance of Staff and visitors Record keeping of who enters our offices, staff and visitors Sanitizing everyone Temperature monitoring Administration	R 278 754,05	6 months
		Mzansi Fire and Security (PO/2020/6950)	Arlam System and Arm Respond Services - Durban Office	R 13 456.56	24 Moths
		Cortac (Pty) Ltd	Alarm System and Arm Respond Services – Head office	R 10 532.88	Month to Month

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
		National Security and Fire	Alarm System and Arm Respond Services – Cape Town office	R 11 711.88	Month to Month
SASSETA	Yes	Sinqobile Equestrian Security Services	Provision of security services	R 2 319 669.27	13 August 2018 - 31 October 2020
		Mphosha Security Services	Provision of security services including CCTV monitoring and armed response	R 5 724 590.47	28 October 2021 - 31 March 2023
AgriSETA	Yes	Eldna Security Services CC	To render Security Services at AgriSETA premises	R 1 196 436.57	1 April 2020 – 31 March 2023
HWSETA	Yes	ADT	Security and monitoring - Nelspruit	R 2 298.00	01 April 2020 – 31 July 2020
		Adams Analytical Detection and security	Security and monitoring - Nelspruit	R 4 073.91	01 October 2020 – 31 March 2021
		National Security	Security and monitoring - Mafikeng	R 1 476.00	01 April 2020 – 31 June 2020
		National Security	Security and monitoring - Mafikeng	R 4 740.00	01 October 2020 – 31 March 2021
		ADT	Security and monitoring - Bloemfontein	R 2 637.00	01 April 2020 – 31 July 2020
		National security	Security and monitoring -Bloemfontein	R 5 320.00	01 October 2020 – 31 March 2021
		ADT	Security and monitoring – East London	R 1 045.00	01 April 2020 – 31 June 2020

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
		Hartwig and Henderson	Security and monitoring - East London	R 3 805.00	01 August 2020 – 31 March 2021
		ADT	Security and monitoring - Kimberley	R 2 259.00	01 April 2020 – 31 June 2020
		Top Security	Security and monitoring - Kimberly	R 3 428.67	01 August 2020 – 31 March 2021
		Mzansi Fire and Security	Security and monitoring - Durban	R 1 546.00	01 April 2020 – 31 May 2020
		Mzansi Fire and Security	Security and monitoring - Durban	R 3 059.94	01 June 2020 – 31 March 2021
		Axon Security	Security and monitoring - Midrand	R 2 414.00	01 April 2020 – 31 July 2020
		ADT	Security and monitoring - Midrand	R 3 778.00	01 October 2020 – 31 March 2021
		Chubb Security	Security and monitoring - Polokwane	R 2 108.00	01 April 2020 – 31 June 2020
W&RSETA (Head Office)	No. 24 Hour security is provided by the landlord for the Office Park.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
(Eastern Cape)	1. Yes, for the old premises. The lease agreement expired on 30 September 2020	Red Alert	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 582.52 Monthly	The contract ended on 30 September 2020
	2. Yes, in the new premises	Hartwig & Henderson Alarms (provided by the Landlord through	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 2 127.50 monthly	01 October 2020 - 30 September 2025

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
(Free State)		the lease agreement)
	1. Yes, for the old premises. The lease agreement expired on 30 September 2020	Imvula Security Bloemsec (provided by the Landlord through the lease agreement)	Guarding, Monitoring and Armed Response	R 1 011.15 monthly for Guarding R 309.01 monthly for armed response	The contract ended on 30 September 2020
	2. Yes, in the new premises	Nkanga Security, Cleaning & Training	Provision of guarding services. This includes armed guarding	R 449 779.00 per annum	O1 February 2021 - 28 February 2022
(Kwa-Zulu Natal) (Gauteng North – Pretoria) (Limpopo)	1. Yes, for the old premises. The lease agreement expired on 30 September 2020	National Security	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 850 Monthly	The contract ended on 30 September 2020
	2. Yes, in the new premises	Fidelity ADT	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 6 607.90 Monthly	12 Months ending 30 September 2021.
	1. Yes, for the old premises. The lease agreement expired on 30 September 2020	Ubuntu Security Services	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 526.00 Monthly	The contract ended on 30 September 2020
	Yes	National Security	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 340.00 Monthly	On a month-tomonth contract until moving to new premises which is planned for June 2021

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
(Western Cape)	Yes, at the new premises.	Mastiff Security Services (provided by the Landlord through the lease agreement)	Monitoring and Armed Response	R 3 140.00 monthly	01 October 2020 - 30 September 2025
LGSETA	Yes	Broubart Alarms National Security and Fire	For alarm system	R 3 372 annually R5 622 annually	3 years
ETDP SETA	Yes	Hlanganani Ezweni Trading and Projects, registration number: 2009/206402/2	General security services at North West Provincial Office	R 322 179.12	1 August 2018 to 31 December 2020
		Vuyani and Socks Security Reg no. 2006/162205/23	General security services at North West Provincial Office	R 96 000.00	1 January 2021 - 30 June 2021
		National Security and Fire Reg no. 1950/036293/07	Armed response security services at the Limpopo Provincial Office	R 11 508.96	Month to month until 30 June 2021 while the organisation is finalising process of appointing a new service provider
MQA	Yes. Our offices make use of a private security company, however the security contract is managed and paid by the	Anerley Road Body Corporate Security company	Guarding of premises	R 540 192.00 for 2020/21. This is the MQA portion of	1 year on an annual renewal basis

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
	Body Corporate. We then pay our portion via our monthly management fee	name: 24/7		the annual expense
QCTO	Yes	i. Bidvest Protea Coin ii. PABC Security Solution	For the Alarm system One (1) physical security at the entrance of the building	R 852 per month R 12 800 per month	Month by month 5 years, (linked to the contract duration of the lease)
TETA	Yes	Eldna Security Services CC	Provision of Security to TETA Randburg offices	R 1 409 160.00	01 April 2019 – 31 March 2021
CETA	Yes	Bredasdorp Armed Response	Provision of Security Services including Armed response for Bredasdorp office	R 334 926.15	23 September 2020 - 23 September 2021
		CKN Security Services CC	Provision of Security Services for CETA Head Office	R 373 328.09 R 50 830.00	30 October 2020 - 28 February 2021 25 February 2020 - 15 March 2021
		HM Security and Armed Response	Provision of Security Services including armed response for Bethal (CETA -Gert Sibande Skills Development Centre)	R 475 629.00	5 November 2020 - 5 December 2021

Entity	(b) Whether your entity makes use of private security firms in the 2020/21 financial year, if not, what is the position in this regard?	(i) What is the name of each firm?	(ii) Purpose	(iii) Value	(iv) Duration of each specific contract?
NSF	Yes	Cannabe Security and Projects Static Protection Services (Pty) Ltd	Physical Security	R3 196 800.00 R 464 400.00	1 June 2017 - 31 May 2020 The contract was extended from 1 June 2020 to 31 December 2020 at an amount R799 200.00 01 January 2021 – 30 April 2021
BANKSETA	Yes	Fidelity ADT Security (Pty) Ltd	Monitoring and response of alarm system for East London office	R 17 604.50
		4B Protection Services (Pty) Ltd	Monitoring and response of alarm system for Head Office - Vorna Velley	R 154 985.78

Reply:

(a) All continuing NSFAS qualifying students who meet the academic and financial criteria will be funded for the 2021 academic year.

(b) Funding decisions for first-time entering students are still in the process following the announcement of the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation on 11 March 2021.

(c) The Department has not yet received enrolment data for 2021 from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Preliminary unaudited data will only be received at the end of April 2021.

Enrolments and registrations are still underway at many universities. The Department has not yet received enrolment data for 2021. Preliminary unaudited 2021 enrolment data will only be received at the end of April 2022 and final audited data at the end of July 2022.

Below are the approved Ministerial enrolment planning targets for 2020 and 2021.

Institution	Projected Targets
	2020	2021
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	35 498	37 027
University of Cape Town	28 037	28 174
Central University of Technology	18 255	19 098
Durban University of Technology	30 219	30 439
University of Fort Hare	17 310	17 673
University of Free State	40 271	40 519
University of Johannesburg	49 727	49 969
University of KwaZulu-Natal	47 726	46 829
University of Limpopo	21 995	22 561
Mangosuthu University of Technology	12 980	13 391
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	29 792	30 461
North-West University	63 065	61 054
University of Pretoria	51 978	52 134
Rhodes University	8 714	8 866
University of South Africa	376 000	376 468
University of Stellenbosch	31 690	32 380
Tshwane University of Technology	61 814	62 439
Vaal University of Technology	20 992	22 154
University of Venda	16 992	17 332
Walter Sisulu University	30 269	29 544
University of the Western Cape	24 800	25 060
University of the Witwatersrand	40 935	41 003
University of Zululand	17 920	18 636
University of Mpumalanga	4 218	5 217
Sol Plaatje University	2 512	3 278
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University	6 640	6 820
Total	1 090 350	1 098 526

(d) Institutions have different financial clearance concessions in place to deal with outstanding debt before students are able to be registered and to continue with their studies. The registration at various institutions is currently underway as are consultations with students. This information can only be provided upon the conclusion of these consultations and finalisation of the registration processes at each institution.

Reply:

(a) Institutions are currently finalising the 2020 academic year whilst others are busy with registrations for the 2021 academic year. At this stage, institutions are unable to provide data/information for 2021 until the above processes have been concluded.

(b) With regard to NSFAS students, the information will be available once registrations and funding decisions have been made including funding decisions appeals and the outcomes thereof.

Reply:

a) Universities have each put in place different measures to support students during the COVID-19 lockdown period that affected the 2020 academic year.  The information provided below is not specific to any one institution, but rather provides a system overview. Specific information would have to be obtained from individual institutions. 

According to the February COVID-19 lockdown monitoring report received by the Department, there were few students who remained disengaged from their studies. Universities adopted emergency remote multi-modal teaching and learning methodologies in line with their own resources and circumstances. In some institutions, this meant online learning and teaching support and in others the delivery of print-based teaching and learning materials. Many universities also assisted students with the acquisition of laptops and in the provision of data.  

Universities also utilised different strategies for assessments and put in place a number of different strategies to engage students. These include:

• Designating the first two to three months of 2021 to be an adjustment period (a catch-up period) including the identification of students with one or two modules outstanding for the completion of their degrees with the focus to provide additional support to students who were left behind in 2020. 
• Students received tuition and assistance and were also allowed the opportunity to resubmit assignments where applicable as well as sit for deferred activities or reassessments.
• Students who had not been in regular contact with lecturers were contacted through telephone calls, emails, and SMS. 
• Student leaders in some institutions also assisted to contact students who had been out of regular contact with universities. 
• Students who had struggled to engage with their studies during lockdown were able to return to campus when it was possible to return. 
• Some institutions scheduled supplementary examinations for February - March 2021. 
• Some institutions provided additional assessment opportunities for students who could not complete their assessments. 
• Extensions for the submission of continuous assessment tasks for students who were delayed by the late arrival of laptops.

b) During the 2020 academic year, the Department monitored teaching and learning at universities through a monitoring report, which will be redesigned for the 2021 academic year. This will allow the Department to report at a high level on some of the indicators, including access to data and devices. 

Three main types of programmes are offered at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges, i.e. NATED Report 191 Engineering Studies which are offered in Trimesters, NATED Report 191 Business and Services Studies which are offered in Semesters, and the National Certificate (Vocational) [NCV] which are offered as year programmes. In 2020, the Department took a decision to reduce the number of Trimesters offered from 3 to 2 and Semesters from 2 to 1 in order to cater for the loss of teaching and learning time during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown periods. The academic calendar for the NCV was extended.

For Report 191 programmes, those students who would not have managed to write their examinations in any of the trimesters and semester in 2020 would be accommodated in the normal academic trimesters and/or semesters in 2021. The NCV students who could not write their examinations in 2020 will have an opportunity to write their examinations during the supplementary period which runs from 08 March 2021 to 01 April 2021.

Reply:

In 2020 the PCHEST received a complaint from NEHAWU and some NSFAS employees about alleged maladministration at NSFAS. The issues related in the main to the following broad categories:

1.      Changes in Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan
2.      Failures in Corporate Governance and PFMA Principles
3.       Supply Chain Management Processes:

• Appointment of consultants
• Procurement of laptops for students

      4. Human Resources Processes:

(i)   Appointment of Advisors and their benefits

(ii)  Appointment of other employees

(iii) Purged employees and disciplinary action against employees

The PCHEST was on the verge of instituting an enquiry into NSFAS as the result of these allegations. The envisaged enquiry coincided with the appointment of the new Board.  The new Board, therefore, requested PCHEST to afford it the opportunity to conduct its own review into these matters, PCHEST acceded to the Board’s request. The Board opted to appoint independent experts to conduct this review, the experts included an accounting firm and a legal firm, to ensure objectivity of the process. Part of the review included the reviewing of underlying records and also included deposing affidavits of either those that were named in the allegations or those that made the allegations to ensure that the process was fair and transparent.

Reply:

a) The Ministers of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and Communications and Digital Technologies met on 30 March 2020 and agreed on the importance of data for students and established a Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on zero-rating to advise the Ministers on the implementation of affordable access to data for education and training purposes over the short, medium and long term.

The two Ministers also met with all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on the urgent implementation of zero-rating and data bundles. 

b) The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies also published the government's call for telecommunication companies to provide free access to educational websites to support online teaching and learning. According to Section 9.1 of the Electronic Communications, Postal and Broadcasting Directions issued under Regulation 10(8) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (Government Notice No 417 of 26 March 2020), “electronic communications service licensees must provide zero-rated access to local educational content websites”.

The Department of Higher Education and Training has adopted a hybrid approach combining zero-rating and “educational data bundles”.  The Departments of Higher Education and Training, and Communications and Digital Technologies, concluded the negotiation on the standardisation of data pricing and conditions with MNOs early in April 2020. Students across the board made use of these offers through their institutions. 

The November 2020 report received from universities shows that data bundle provision to students remains high across the system. The average across the system for all undergraduate students is 94%. Some of the reasons for lower than 100% deployment at some institutions include students not submitting their cell phone numbers; incorrect cell phone numbers submitted; no device to connect with; no connectivity; and service provider glitches; including some SIM-cards being blocked for various reasons.

Nationally only 10% of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges have access to data. Data for NSFAS funded TVET students will only become effective when devices are made available to students in 2021.

The zero-rating of Departmental and public institutions’ websites is 97% completed. This is following directions issued under Regulation 10(8) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (Government Notice No 417 of 26 March 2020). Service providers providing zero-rating include Electronic Communications Service Licensees (Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers).

As of 1 June 2020, private higher education institutions and colleges, and private publishers’ websites were also implemented. The full list of websites that have been zero-rated has been published on the individual institutional and Departmental websites.

Reply:

(a) The university funding guidelines could not be finalized given the uncertainties about the demand for funding and the available budget, which was addressed by Minister Nzimande in his media statement on 8 March 2021. The Bursary Rules and Guidelines policy document, which governs the administration and management of bursaries in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, were distributed to colleges in November 2020.

(b) The funding guidelines for universities for 2021 will be finalised as soon as Cabinet has made a determination in this regard. The Department, in collaboration with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, conducted regional capacity-building workshops for college officials on the revised policy document from November 2020 to December 2020.

(c) The 2021 Guidelines have been kept as close as possible to the 2020 Guidelines.

Reply:

(a)  NSFAS is expecting the first batch of laptops to arrive on 18 April 2021. 

(b)  Distribution to students who have opted to participate in the digital learning device scheme will commence once institutions have confirmed registration data of students with NSFAS.

(c)  All universities have developed multimodal teaching and learning plans and are putting in place several measures to support students.

Reply:

(a) The cleaning services allocation of R45.7 million is for the 2021/22 financial year, which is effective from 1 April 2021. The appointment of service providers will be done by each Community Education and Training (CET) college following their supply chain management policies and processes for procurement. The cleaning services are for Community Learning Centres and Satellite Centres that fall under each CET college.

(b) (i) Each CET college will appoint a service provider in the 2021/22 financial. The first tranche of funds, i.e. 25%, will be transferred to CET colleges in April 2021.

(b) (ii) The colleges will contract the services for a period of 12 months, i.e. April 2021 to March 2022, as the funds are for the 2021/22 financial year. There are preliminary funding allocated for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years amounting to R54.5 million and R51.2 million, respectively.

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

1(a) Yes employees on salary levels 4 to 12 performed approved remunerated overtime and standby duty.

1(b) The information is available in the employee’s personal files and it is reported in the annual report.

(i) 51 staff members.

(ii) 11 Deputy Directors.

14 Assistant Directors.

1 Senior Administrative Officer.

1 Supply Chain Management Practitioner.

2 Senior Administration Clerk.

14 Security Officers.

2 Maintenance Officers.

1 Auxiliary Services Practitioner.

3 Human Resources Practitioners.

2 Senior Secretaries.

2(a) The departmental overtime policy provides for 15 hours per week of pre-authorized overtime work. Standby duty is regulated by Public Service Co-ordination Bargaining Chamber (PSCBC) Resolution 3 of 1999 and is also pre-authorized.

2(b) The authority is delegated to the Chief Director: Human Resources.

2(c) No contraventions of both the policy and PSCBC regulations were identified by the Auditor-General and reported to National Treasury.

2(d) No transgressions were identified.

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

(1) (a) Yes, there are employees who have performed remunerative work outside the public service.

(b)   It is through the mandatory disclosure of financial interests, where officials disclose all their financial interests, and information obtained from other governmental structures such as the Public Service Commission, National Treasury database, Department of Public Service and Administration, and Auditor-General.

2015/16 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, eight officials requested approval, seven were approved and one was withdrawn. Five officials did not apply for permission to perform remunerative work outside the public service.

2016/17 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, six officials requested approval and all were approved. Eight officials did not apply for permission to perform remunerative work outside the public service

2017/18 financial cycle: According to departmental records, five officials requested approval, four were approved and one was withdrawn. 

2018/19 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, eight applications were received and all were approved.

2019/20 financial cycle:  According to departmental records, fifteen officials requested approval and all were approved.

2020/21 financial cycle:  There are twenty applications that are being processed.

(i) A total number of 62 applications were received for remunerative work outside public service.

(ii) According to the analysis, most of the applications are related to lecturing in private institutions, invigilation, counselling and some working for their own private businesses.

(2) According to information at the Department's disposal, the majority of employees who perform remunerative work outside the public service do apply for and obtain approval in line with the DPSA determination. However, those who do not apply are subjected to consequence management.
(a) The Department applies the Public Service Act, 1994, the Public Service Regulations, 2016 and its applicable determinations.  Employees can perform other remunerative work provided that they have obtained written permission to do so from the Executive Authority/Accounting Officer, in terms of Section 30 of the Act. If any employee did not obtain written permission to perform other remunerative work, disciplinary action against such an employee will be instituted as consequence management.

(b) According to the Public Service Regulations, the delegated powers are vested with the Director-General of the Department.

(c) No contraventions were brought to the attention of the National Treasury as it is not required; however, all contraventions are reported to the Minister for the Public Service and Administration.

(d) The Department has invoked appropriate disciplinary steps in line with the misconduct provisions of Section 16A (2) of the Public Service Act of 1994.

Reply:

No.	University	Number of students who did not receive degree certificates due to outstanding fees    (period 2010 – 2020)	Fee amount outstanding for these students	System(s) is in place for students to access their results if they are owing resources to the university.
1	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	The current situation is that both the Certificates and Academic Records are released to students even if they owe fees to the University. Management is considering the matter with a view to make representation to Council to review same.	R1 130 000 000.00
2	Central University of Technology	12 985	R1 782 552 433.72	No information provided.
3	Durban University of Technology	5 155	R99 134 074.40	Graduation certificates are withheld for those in arrears. Assistance is provided to those seeking employment and/or access to studies at other institutions by sending an academic transcript (student record) to these institutions directly. Graduates also receive a letter indicating completion of studies.
4	Mangosuthu University of Technology	3 870	R74 678 403.16	No information provided.
5	Mpumalanga University	No response
6	Nelson Mandela University	820	R62 857 952.00	To assist our students in gaining employment, the University has a standard process in place as a concession by providing proof of completion of qualifications directly to potential employers. The students owing the University fees approach the University and provide the University with the contact details of the potential employers.
7	North-West University	766	R18 750 358.17	NWU does not withhold any transcripts and that any person who had studied at the NWU has access to his/her full academic record.
8	Rhodes University	378	R15 246 000.00	Options for payment plans. Students receive a letter of invitation to graduation so that they participate in graduation.  Where prospective employers request, and with the student’s permission, results are sent to the prospective employers. Parchments are released to students owing less than R1 000.
9	Sefako Makgatho University	No response
10	Sol Plaatje University			Since 2016 to 2020, SPU did not withhold any degree certificates and academic transcripts.
11	Stellenbosch University	568	R18 831 981.40	Students with outstanding debt at graduation are allowed to attend the ceremony, but do not receive their degree certificate.  They receive a communique to contact the student fees office to enter into a monthly payment arrangement. Where students are unable to afford a monthly payment arrangement, they are required to sign an acknowledgement of debt form. Once either the monthly payment arrangement or acknowledgement of debt is in place, the official academic transcripts are sent directly to potential employers/other tertiary institutions upon the graduate’s request.
12	Tshwane University of Technology	11 255	R4 401 096 000.00	No Information provided.
13	University of Cape Town	325	R14 077 628.79	Outstanding fees are regulated by Council policy and the Council approved UCT policy is explicit: qualifier students with outstanding balances on their fee account will not receive an academic transcript and will not be permitted to graduate.  At UCT, in cases where a transcript is withheld, and where students so request, UCT issues written confirmation to a prospective employer that the student concerned has met qualification requirements. This provision assists the student in applying for and being considered for a job.
14	University of Fort Hare	5 922	R285 977 088.00	No information provided.
15	University of Johannesburg	7 722	R537 674 000.00	No information provided.
16	University of KwaZulu-Natal	17 840	R868 000 000.00	Every graduate is entitled to an official academic record/transcript on application and an official letter confirming ‘Degree Complete’, again on application and payment of the a fee. On settlement of fees outstanding and the requisite ‘fee clearance’, a graduate can formally request to be issued with their withheld degree/diploma certificate(s).
17	University of Limpopo	10 345	R342 579 200.45	All students are allowed to attend their graduation ceremonies. They are also provided with a transcript of academic record for free, and the University does confirm with a potential employer that the affected student has complied with the requirements for a particular qualification. Each student is expected to make a payment plan with the University. The certificate is released upon full settlement of the debt.
18	University of Pretoria	1 092	R34 872 944.53	It should also be noted that the University has and will make available official transcripts, at the request of a student, to a potential employer so as not to prevent gainful employment of University graduates. PS: It should be noted that 1 597 students who owe the University a total amount of R29 898 160.68 received their official transcripts and qualification documents as they have entered into payment plans with the University.
19	University of South Africa	No response
20	University of the Free State	4 023	R64 968 521.11	Students who owe fees may request their academic records from the Deputy Registrar: Student Academic Services. There is a process in place to assist these students by sending the relevant documents directly to their potential employer or educational institution.
21	University of the Western Cape	No response
22	University of the Witwatersrand	3 426	R224 320 052.50	It should be noted that students who have fees outstanding can request their official academic transcript reflecting their results and degree completion. The transcript does indicate that there is an outstanding amount owed to the University. We do however assist students with a letter to confirm that their conduct was satisfactory if they have a debt outstanding should they require this for work purposes. Students who have not graduated are also assisted with letters confirming the completion of their degree for work purposes. Students who can bring the total amount of their debt down to an amount of R15 000 can sign an Acknowledgement of Debt, which enables them to graduate.
23	University of Venda	1 405	R42 592 027.82	Students can view their results on the students’ portal but certificates are withheld.
24	University of Zululand	5 450	R83 227 792.00	Students are furnished with a letter confirming that they have graduated but due to outstanding fees, their certificates have not been issued, which they may furnish to external parties.
25	Vaal University of Technology	3 402	R118 873 105.00	No information provided.
26	Walter Sisulu University	20 088	R526 000 000.00	No information provided.
Total	106 494	R10 403 730 362.60

 

The submission is based on responses received from 21 universities as at 8 March 2021.

Reply:

1. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) funds the Photonics Prototyping Facility (PPF) through its Industry Innovation Partnership Programme. The PPF was established in 2016 and is a national facility that supports the commercialisation of photonics prototypes and facilitates photonic product development that results in market-ready products. It is hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) National Laser Centre. The facility supports small technology businesses in the main. The PPF publishes call for proposals, inviting technology business to submit proposals for technologies requiring prototyping support. The PPF established a PPF Investment Committee, which includes industry experts and the DSI, and which evaluates and recommends proposals to be supported to the CSIR. Proposals are evaluated against the following criteria:

a) Relevance and Impact (commercial relevance; feasibility; and significance of impact to the Photonics industry);

b) Technical merit (clarity of objectives/motivation to use the PPF; novelty of technology; maturity of technology);

c) Budget (alignment to tasks; and feasibility with existing infrastructure); and

d) Management Plan (feasibility and efficiency of plan; and track record and team)

PPF published an open call for participation inviting proposals from SMMEs, established companies and technology entrepreneurs requiring prototype product development support, using photonics as a core building block. Additiv Solutions (Pty) Ltd submitted a proposal for the “Development of a low-cost metal additive manufacturing machine to target the use of metal 3D printing in various industries” on 30 September 2019, in response to this call. The proposal was evaluated by the PPF Investment Committee, and approved for funding on 9 December 2019. A contract between the CSIR and Additiv Solutions was concluded on 12 June 2020, and the planned contract completion date is 31 March 2021. The value of the contract is R1 245 890, with no direct funding transfer to Additiv Solutions. The funding is utilized at the CSIR to support CSIR labour and equipment acquisition to support the project. No additional contracts or funding allocations are currently planned to Additiv Solutions.

2. This question relates to particular project at the CSIR. The Minister does not usually make statements on particular projects, and is not planning to do so in relation to the CSIR’s support to Additiv Solutions.

Reply:

The Department of Science and Innovation has not received any funding from the (a) World Health Organization, (b) International Monetary Fund and (c) World Bank for research in the development of vaccines in the Republic.

Reply:

(1) (a) The table below reflects the Ministerial approved enrolment planning targets for the 2020 and 2021 academic years.

Institution	Projected Targets
	2020	2021
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	35 498	37 027
University of Cape Town	28 037	28 174
Central University of Technology	18 255	19 098
Durban University of Technology	30 219	30 439
University of Fort Hare	17 310	17 673
University of Free State	40 271	40 519
University of Johannesburg	49 727	49 969
University of KwaZulu-Natal	47 726	46 829
University of Limpopo	21 995	22 561
Mangosuthu University of Technology	12 980	13 391
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	29 792	30 461
North-West University	63 065	61 054
University of Pretoria	51 978	52 134
Rhodes University	8 714	8 866
University of South Africa	376 000	376 468
University of Stellenbosch	31 690	32 380
Tshwane University of Technology	61 814	62 439
Vaal University of Technology	20 992	22 154
University of Venda	16 992	17 332
Walter Sisulu University	30 269	29 544
University of the Western Cape	24 800	25 060
University of the Witwatersrand	40 935	41 003
University of Zululand	17 920	18 636
University of Mpumalanga	4 218	5 217
Sol Plaatje University	2 512	3 278
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University	6 640	6 820
Total	1 090 350	1 098 526

(b) The Department has only received preliminary data from universities on their 2020 enrolments and this is therefore subject to change.  More reliable data on enrolments will be received from universities at the end of April 2021. Once they have identified all their graduates, the Department will receive the final audited data at the end of July 2021. 

(2) As at 31 December 2020, NSFAS had confirmed funding for 487 411 university students on the DHET Bursary Scheme. It is estimated that this number would increase taking into consideration that NSFAS is concluding outstanding funding decisions. The table below provides a breakdown of the numbers per institution.

Institution	NSFAS Funded Students
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	15 521
Central University of Technology	8 868
Durban University of Technology	19 994
Mangosuthu University of Technology	10 430
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	14 164
North-West University	22 356
Rhodes University	3 128
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University	3 229
Sol Plaatje University	1 434
Tshwane University of Technology	36 447
University of Cape Town	5 109
University of Fort Hare	9 339
University of Free State	21 503
University of Johannesburg	23 328
University of KwaZulu-Natal	23 916
University of Limpopo	15 749
University of Mpumalanga	3 090
University of Pretoria	10 706
University of South Africa	157 395
University of Stellenbosch	3 952
University of the Western Cape	10 471
University of the Witwatersrand	9 327
University of Venda	10 890
University of Zululand	13 092
Vaal University of Technology	12 540
Walter Sisulu University	21 433
Total	487 411