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25 February 2021 - NW364

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King, Ms C to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

What is the (a) total number of students who wrote their final examination in the 2020 academic year and (b) ratio of those who wrote exams versus the enrolment rate of 2020?

Reply:

(a)  A total of 469 549 candidates participated in the November 2020 final examinations.

(b)  The table below provides a breakdown of enrolments and participation ratios per qualification as at 19 February 2021.

Qualification Category

Number Enrolled

Number Wrote

Participation Ratio

National Certificate (Vocational) Level 2 - 4

175 232

 

138 351

 

79.0%

National Technical Education Report 190/1 N1-N6

355 535

 

289 509

 

81.4%

General Education and Training Certificate: Adult Basic Education and Training   Level 4

74 063

 

41 689

 

56.3%

Total

604 830

469 549

77.6%

25 February 2021 - NW204

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

Whether there is a planned revision of curricula offered at technical and vocational education and training centres in light of the fact that many courses offered to equip students with trade skills are more theory-based than focused on practical application and skill, thus effecting graduating students’ employability; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

Since 2018, the Department has embarked on a plan to review and update programmes and qualifications offered at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in order to align them with the needs of industry and society. This plan has focused on the following aspects of the curriculum:

1.   Integrating digital skills knowledge into current programmes;

2.   Introducing new programmes in response to the fourth industrial revolution (4IR);

3.   Phasing out of outdated programmes;

4.   Reconstruction of Engineering programmes to make them more responsive to the changing industry environment; and

5.   Revision and updating of subject content.

 1. Integrating digital skills knowledge into current programmes

With the support of CISCO Systems, the Department has developed digital skills training, which has been integrated into the National Certificate (Vocational) [NCV] programme. Knowledge of the use of the internet, email, cyber security and databases are examples of digital skills training that have been integrated into the NCV programme.

2.   Introducing new programmes in response to the 4IR

The Department has developed a new stream focusing on Robotics in the NCV: Information Technology and Computer Science programme which previously focused on programming and systems development only. This stream will cover subjects such as Electronic and Digital concepts for Robotics, Robotics Fundamentals and Industrial Automation. The curriculum for this programme is currently being quality assured by Umalusi and is envisaged for implementation in 2022.

3.   Phasing out of outdated programmes

In November 2020, the Department published a government notice for public comment on the phasing-out of NATED Report 191 N1 – N3 programmes. These programmes have been identified to be outdated in their curriculum structure, purpose and articulation possibilities within the National Qualifications Framework. The Department has received public comments, which are currently being analysed before final recommendations can be made.

4.   Reconstruction of Engineering programmes to make them more responsive to the changing industry environment

The Department has collaborated with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) in reconstructing curricula of Engineering Studies programmes to align with industry needs and standards of professional bodies. The programmes that have been prioritised and are currently being reconstructed are in the following fields: Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering.

This reconstruction commenced in August 2020 and is anticipated to be completed by June 2021. The completion of this process will see a reduction in the offering of the current NATED programmes and a move to occupational programmes, which are more industry-aligned.

5.   Revision and updating of subject content

The Department has since 2018 updated curricula in 38 subjects of the NATED Report 191 programmes covering Engineering, Business and Services studies. The implementation of these revised/updated curricula started in January 2021.

25 February 2021 - NW203

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

On what date will all National Student Financial Aids Scheme students at technical and vocational education and training centres at (a) Esayidi Campuses and (b) Thekwini College in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, receive the laptops as he promised in 2020?

Reply:

The procurement of laptops by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is still underway. NSFAS has communicated to all Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges that laptops will be distributed to all qualifying students in the month of April 2021.

25 February 2021 - NW16

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Boshoff, Dr WJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

(1)Whether the investigation by the former Department of Science and Technology in 2016 into alleged maladministration by a certain person that was in the employ of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research at the time (name furnished), led to a report and/or any other indication of wrongdoing by the specified person; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in this regard; (2) whether he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply:

  1. There was no investigation instituted against the former CEO of the CSIR by the DSI.
  2. Based on the answer given above, the question is moot.

17 December 2020 - NW3002

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

With reference to the reply to question 2458 on 9 November 2020, what are the reasons that Esayidi Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) College received no funding for laptops considering that most of the attendant students hail from rural areas and impoverished circumstances and thus have limited to no access to resources to continue their academic work during the COVID-19 lockdown period; (2) whether he has been informed that Esayidi TVET students have not received laptops; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, on what date will Esayidi TVET receive funding for (a) data and (b) laptops?

Reply:

(1) The Department has not received any funding from the National Treasury to provide laptops to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students. NSFAS has advised that there are savings from previous years of unutilised bursary funding that will cover the cost of laptops for NSFAS recipients in TVET colleges. The procurement of laptops by NSFAS is still underway and it is expected that these laptops will be distributed in the 2021 academic year once the process of identifying qualifying students has been completed.

(2) Going forward a proposal has been made that there should be a baseline increase in NSFAS funding for TVET colleges to accommodate this cost. Furthermore, TVET colleges will have to incorporate some funding into their annual budgets to cater for gadgets for new students entering the system. Given the relatively shorter time that some students spend in TVET colleges, a loan system might be considered by colleges to make the availability of devices to students affordable and sustainable. All TVET colleges will therefore be required to develop an institutional policy for the provision and/or loan of devices to students. The above response covers the distribution of laptops to NSFAS recipients in all TVET colleges and the anticipated period for distribution of these laptops.

17 December 2020 - NW3051

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Ngcobo, Mr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

In view of his proposal of a university fee increase of no more than 4,7% for the 2021 academic year, following earlier announcements that fee structures for tuition and accommodation would largely remain even as learning was moved online for many students and that many students will not be occupying their accommodation for extended periods, (a) what rationale did he employ to arrive at such a bold proposal and (b) how does he intend to justify this proposal to students and parents, when his department has not increased its contribution to the university sector in preceding years and in view of the 2021-22 budget being reduced to fund the SA Airways business rescue plans?

Reply:

(a)  It should be noted that fee increases were implemented for the 2020 academic year. The costs of providing tuition did not reduce as a result of the introduction of emergency remote multi-modal teaching and learning. In fact, universities, in many areas incurred increased costs, including the provision of electronic devices and data, improvements to learning management systems, the cost of health and safety and other costs. Given that no additional funding was available for this, the Department worked with universities to re-prioritise existing funding from earmarked funds, which were approved as a COVID Responsiveness Grant to support institutions and limit the effects of in-year subsidy reductions. The national framework for fees gazetted in October 2020 aimed to guide institutions on tuition and accommodation fees remaining at the same level for the academic year despite the extended academic year. 

Public universities have three main sources of income: State subsidies, tuition fees and other (third stream) income. The bulk of funding is received through subsidies and tuition fees. Tuition fees are determined by university Councils. 

However, since the agreement on a 0% increase on fees for 2016, there has been a sector-wide agreement/compact in place to ensure that fee increases be kept at an affordable rate, while the development of a policy framework is underway. In 2017 and 2018, this was set at a maximum of 8% increase, and in 2019 and 2020, the increases were CPI-linked, with CPI for tuition and CPI+2 for accommodation. This is determined based on the realistic cost increases incurred by institutions for their operations. 

It should also be noted that in 2016 when fees were not increased, university expenditure nonetheless increased, and although fees were charged to users/students at the same level as 2015, the cost of the gap between the fee income and required budget was covered by substantial funding from government, which resulted in a baseline increase in the subsidy budget in following years. In addition, through the gap grant (fee adjustment grant) provided from 2017 onwards, students with family incomes up to R600 000 received support from the government to cover the gap between the 2016 and increased fee required. 

The proposal is a reasonable one, given that universities have CPI-linked increases in costs and therefore require fee increases, and this increase is designed to balance the income requirements of universities, with keeping fee increases at reasonable levels. The proposals are also discussed extensively within the university system before being finalised. 

(b)  Through the compact on tuition fees, the State, working with universities, has kept university fees at affordable levels since 2015, while increasing support to poor and working-class students and providing relief to missing middle families. Universities cannot operate without tuition fee income, and the compact is focused on keeping fees at affordable levels for fee-paying individuals and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) despite the fact that university subsidies have declined in 2020 due to COVID in particular.

09 December 2020 - NW2719

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Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What is the (a) latest staff headcount of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), (b) total amount of approved positions in 2020, (c) number of clients that NSFAS has and (d) staff-to-client ratio that is taken into consideration when increasing staff?

Reply:

(a) The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) headcount as at 31 October 2020 is 448 employees.

(b) In 2020, there are 448 approved positions in the NSFAS organogram. 89 Vacancies were approved for filling. These included critical technical and specialist vacancies, including appointments to vacant positions arising out of resignations and other staff exits.

(c) TVET Colleges: 270 048 students

University: 497 822 students

(d) The staff complement is adjusted with short-term seasonal contract workers during the application and registration cycle. Approximately 60 part-time individuals are hired for this. With regards to staff increases, technical and specialist skills are substituted for non-core and management resignations and vacancies where possible. NSFAS is required to stay within its allocated budget for administration and cost of employees.

09 December 2020 - NW2717

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Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)With reference to the 20 000 students who were affected by the hand of god during the 2019 application process for assistance by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, what is the total (a) number of students who have not been paid due to technical reasons in 2020, (b) amount that the errors amounted to and (c) number of students who dropped out of tertiary institutions because of the technical malfunction; (2) whether any measures have been put in place to assist the specified students; if not, why not, if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1) This matter relates to 28 552 records that were withdrawn by the errant code in question. These applications were linked to 11 572 applicants during the 2020 application cycle, as the system allowed the applicant to submit more than one application.

(a) Not applicable.

(b) Not applicable.

(c) Currently of these 11 572 applicants, 10 461 applicants have a funded status and 1 111 applicants have not been funded due to the application not having met requirements during filtering, validation or evaluation.

It should be noted that the errant piece of code had no impact on the disbursement processing of these records. Once the issue had been identified by NSFAS and corrective action had been taken, processing of these records commenced as per normal. Furthermore, it should be noted that the issue was detected as early as November 2019 and the correction of all records impacted by the issue had been corrected byMarch 2020.

(2)  Given that NSFAS identified the issue in November 2019 and corrected these records in a proactive manner, no further assistance was provided to these students.

03 December 2020 - NW2796

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De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)With reference to the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority and the online management system, (a) what are the reasons that a new system has not gone live to date and (b) on what date will registration commence; (2) what (a) information and data protection processes and mechanisms are in place that meets the Promotion of Access to Information Act, Act 2 of 2000, and (b) are the reasons that these are not operable; (3) (a) what are the reasons that some legacy learner registrations reflect as new registrations and vice versa and (b) on what date will this be fixed; (4) what (a) is the turn-around time for learner approvals and (b) are the reasons that (i) a high number of approvals is pending and (ii) learners need to be approved in the first instance; (5) what are the reasons that an applicant’s identity number is not used to ascertain their age?

Reply:

The following responses were received from the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA).

(1) (a)    The system was implemented in the following phases:

- Human Resource Management modules commenced on 1 August 2019

- Finance module commenced on 1 September 2019

- Skills Development modules commenced on 1 August 2020

- Supply Chain Management module commenced on 1 November 2020

(b)  CATHSSETA has successfully been registering learners on the system since the first quarter of 2020/21 as reported to the Department in its quarterly performance information report.

(2) (a)  CATHSSETA has a Records Management and ICT Security Policy that regulates how both physical and electronic information should be accessed and handled. These policies are in line with the POPI Act. Furthermore, CATHSSETA has a records management procedure and a user account management process, which guide on how access to information, records and systems should be conducted. CATHSSETA uses a unique password for each user who accesses CATHSSETA systems and uses an encryption mechanism to secure access to electronic information and systems.

(b) CATHSSETA’s current policies, processes and mechanisms are operational.

(3) (a) CATHSSETA migrated the legacy data from the old information management system, as well as information that was reported through spreadsheets when the system was under development into the new system.  One of the processes required to ensure that information transferred to the new system is credible was for providers and employers to confirm through an activation process the accuracy of the data.  The date of activation is the only aspect that reflects as a new activation and not a new registration.

Employers/providers who had conducted training during the system development phase were not expected to register their learners as new. They were given an opportunity to submit a spreadsheet of historic data, which was uploaded on the system. Their responsibility in this aspect was to then activate the records as a means of confirming the credibility of the data.

When CATHSSETA was conducting training on the new system, there was confusion amongst providers on processes to be followed. This has been addressed through a memorandum that went out to stakeholders advising them of the two separate processes, i.e. one for registering new learners and another for activating legacy learners.

(b)  Nothing needs to be fixed on the system; however, based on the need, training sessions are undertaken to capacitate stakeholders on the various system functionalities. Furthermore, inputs to enhance system functionality are being deployed based on the feedback received from stakeholders.

(4) (a)  In terms of the Workplace Based Learning Programmes Regulations (Regulation 10(i)), CATHSSETA has 30 days to register a learner on a learning programme provided all requirements for the registration have been met.

(b)  (i)  From the information at the SETA’s disposal, there is no high number of approvals pending.  Approvals are done in line with the provisions of the Regulations.

(ii)  Learners need to be approved/registered in terms of the Workplace-Based Learning Programmes Regulations (Regulation 10) which requires SETAs to make a decision on whether or not to register (approve) learners.

(5)  One of CATHSSETA’s requirements for learners’ registration are copies of a recently certified identity document. The SETA is therefore able to verify the authenticity of learners. Currently, the SETA is working with service providers to ensure that the system automatically calculates the learner’s age. It is one of the ongoing system enhancements that CATHSSETA and the service provider are engaged in. CATHSSETA remains committed to ensuring that it delivers an effective, efficient and user-friendly system.

03 December 2020 - NW2795

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De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)With reference to the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority and the online management system, (a) what are the reasons that a new system was implemented and (b) on what date did the new system commence; (2) (a) to whom was the tender awarded to operate and maintain the new system, (b) how were they selected, (c) what criteria were used to select them and (d) what are the terms and conditions set out in the tender; (3) (a) what are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that have to be met in each month, (b) what are the specified KPIs measured that are used to in each case and (c) how are the penalties that are imposed if KPIs are not met and (d) what criteria are used to terminate the tender?

Reply:

The following responses were received from the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA).

(1) (a) The aim was to deploy an integrated system that will assist in integrating and automating most of CATHSSETA’s processes to eliminate duplication of efforts, improve business efficiency, comply with legislation and government policies, and promote good governance. The integrated modules of the system are:

- Finance

- Supply Chain Management

- Human Resource Management

- Skills Development (Education and Training Quality Assurance and Learning Programmes)

(b) The system was implemented in the following phases:

- Human Resource Management modules commenced on 1 August 2019

- Finance module commenced on 1 September 2019

- Skills Development modules commenced on 1 August 2020.

- Supply Chain Management module commenced on 1 November 2020

(2) (a) The tender was awarded to Dajo Technologies.

(b)  A competitive bidding process was followed.

(c)  Functionality, price and black economic empowerment criteria as per the attached terms of reference.

(d)  The terms and conditions set out in the tender are as per the attached terms of reference, as well as the contract entered into between CATHSSETA and Dajo Technologies.

(3) (a) A project charter was developed and signed by both parties, which outlined project phases with specific deliverables per phase and expected delivery dates.

(b) The project phases with specific deliverables per phase and expected delivery dates are outlined in the project charter.

(c)  In terms of the agreement between CATHSSETA and Dajo Technologies, the penalty clause empowers CATHSSETA to enforce penalties against the service provider for service delays and defects, particularly if the service provider solely causes the delays or defects. The penalties are guided by the project charter, which provides a detailed implementation plan with specific deliverables. Schedule 1 of the contract provides the details.

(d) The agreement between CATHSSETA and Dajo Technologies provides for termination based on specific conditions set out in the signed contract.

03 December 2020 - NW2718

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Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What were the job requirements for the position of Governance Risk and Compliance executive at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme?

Reply:

The following are the job requirements for the Governance Risk and Compliance Executive at the National Student Finance Aid Scheme.

Minimum

  • An undergraduate qualification and a postgraduate qualification (NQF 8) in Commerce, Business Management or related fields.
  • A solid understanding of governance risk and compliance processes and technology with demonstrated expertise and experience including strong governance, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk management.
  • At least 10 years’ proven experience in governance, risk and compliance management at a senior level.
  • At least 5 years’ experience at an executive level.
  • Proven business and management skills.
  • Demonstrated strategic leadership and people management skills.
  • Broad computer literacy in organisation-wide ICT systems deployments.

Beneficial Skills

  • MBA or related Masters qualification.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the higher education policy environment.
  • Knowledge of the Public Finance Management Act and public entity standards.
  • Knowledge and appreciation of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.

Core Competencies

  • Technical/professional knowledge and skill.
  • Strategic and visionary leadership.
  • Resource management, including people and performance management.
  • Building interpersonal relationships.
  • Decision-making and problem solving.
  • Building strategic alliances and partnerships.
  • Emotional intelligence and political sensitivity.
  • Personal impact, stature and credibility.

25 November 2020 - NW2736

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Tarabella - Marchesi, Ms NI to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

What number of educators with qualifications in African mother tongue languages graduated for the foundation phase in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016, (e) 2017, (f) 2018, (g) 2019 and (h) 2020?

Reply:

Since 2011, the Department has had a dedicated focus on strengthening Foundation Phase teacher education in the public university system, particularly on developing capacity for the preparation of African mother tongue language teachers.

The Strengthening Foundation Phase Teacher Education Programme involved an investment of R141 million and was implemented between 2012 and 2016.

From 2017 onwards, the Department has been implementing the Primary Teacher Education Project. An investment of R32.984 million has been made focusing on strengthening the numeracy and literacy component of Foundation and Intermediate Phase teacher education programmes. This includes the use of African languages as the language of learning and teaching, and on the teaching of the African languages.

This has led to a significant expansion in the number universities that offer Foundation Phase Teacher Education programmes from 13in 2011 to 22 currently, as shown in the table below.

NO.

INSTITUTION

NAME OF QUALIFICATION

AFRICAN LANGUAGES OFFERED

1

Cape Peninsula University of Technology

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

2

Central University of Technology

B ED (FP) TEACHING

Sesotho / Setswana / isiXhosa / IsiZulu

3

Nelson Mandela University

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

4

North West University

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

5

Rhodes University

 

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

   

PGCE (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

6

Sol Plaatje University

B ED (FP) TEACHING

Setswana / isiXhosa H/L

7

Stellenbosch University

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

8

Tshwane University of Technology

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu / Sepedi / Setswana / Xitsonga / Tshivenda

9

University of Cape Town

PGCE (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

10

University of Fort Hare

 

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

   

PGCE (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

11

University of the Free State

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu / Sesotho H/L

12

University of Johannesburg

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu / Sesotho H/L

13

University of KwaZulu-Natal

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu H/L

14

University of Limpopo

B ED (FP) TEACHING

Sepedi / Xitsonga H/L

15

University of Mpumalanga

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isNdebele / isiSwati

16

University of Pretoria

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiNdebele / isiZulu / Sepedi / Setswana

 

 

PGCE (FP) TEACHING

isiNdebele / isiZulu / Sepedi / Setswana

17

University of South Africa

 

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiNdebele / isiZulu / Sepedi / isiXhosa / Sesotho / Setswana / siSwati / Tshivenda / Xitsonga

   

PGCE (FP) TEACHING

isiNdebele / isiZulu / Sepedi / isiXhosa / Sesotho / Setswana / siSwati / Tshivenda / Xitsonga

18

University of Venda

B ED (FP) TEACHING

Tshivenda / Siswati / isiNdebele / xiTsonga / Sepedi

19

University of Zululand

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu

20

University of the Western Cape

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

21

University of the Witwatersrand

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiZulu / Sesotho H/L

22

Walter Sisulu University

B ED (FP) TEACHING

isiXhosa H/L

Many of these programmes are new, recently accredited by the Council on Higher Education and it is anticipated that the number of graduates produced through them will increase over time.

The Department does not collect HEMIS data at the level requested. However, in order to track graduate output, the Department requests universities to annually submit information about their initial teacher education graduates on a standard template. The following data has been extracted and consolidated from individual reports that universities submitted from 2014 to 2018. Information for 2019 is currently being collected.

The Table shows the number of graduates from Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Education programmes that have specialised in Foundation Phase teaching and that have an African language as home language / mother tongue[1].

Year

isiNdebele

isiXhosa

isiZulu

Sesotho

Sepedi

Setswana

Tshivenḓa

Xitsonga

siSwati

Total

2014

11

192

514

142

30

46

75

25

0

1 035

2015

20

75

660

41

98

26

82

49

0

1 051

2016

4

122

263

64

29

55

101

40

0

6781

2017

45

155

859

111

41

99

111

71

90

1 5822

2018

32

214

421

355

42

241

123

62

73

1 563

Total

112

758

2 717

713

240

467

492

247

163

5 909

1 In 2016, UNISA data was not received. The institution contributes a large portion of the total Foundation Phase graduates in African languages.

2 In 2017 TUT indicated that there were 44 African Foundation Phase graduates, but a language breakdown was not provided, hence not included in the 2017 total.

It is assumed that graduates that have an African Language, as their mother tongue would have developed this as a teaching specialisation, in order to meet the language requirements of the Policy on Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications. The specialisation would be at home language level or at first additional language level.

16 November 2020 - NW2672

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Boshoff, Dr WJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)Whether he has been informed of the alleged financial mismanagement and/or irregularities connected to a certain company (name furnished) which was funded by the Department of Science and Technology; if not, why not; if so, (a) what action has he taken in this regard and (b) will he investigate the specified matter; (2) whether he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply:

1. The Department was alerted of alleged financial mismanagement related to the Aeroswift 3D printing project.

a) The Department allowed the CSIR Board, as prior recipient of the alleged financial mismanagement, to deal with the matter.

b) The Department will not investigate the matter.

The Department had allowed the CSIR board to investigate the allegations.

2. The Minister might make a statement on the matter, depending the feedback from the CSIR Board.

16 November 2020 - NW2552

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Ministerof Highe rEducation, Science and Technology

(1) What(a) total amount in funding does the Thekwini Further Education and T raining College,Kwa-Zulu Natal,receive from his department and (b) is Thekwini college’s annual total revenue from all other sources; (2) what(a )total amount in funding is allocated to its Thekwini College Springfield Campus and(b) is the budget allocation per line item for Thekwini College Springfield Campus; (3) what(a)are there as on s that the Springfield Campus only have one senior lecturer in engineering and (b)plans does the college have in place to hire more senior lecturers?

Reply:

(1)(a) R198 175 000

ProgrammeFunding Allocations forthe 2020/21 financialyear

Compensation

ofEmployees

(PERSAL Allocation)

Direct

Transfers

(Subsidy)

COVID 19

Allocation

TotalDirect

Transfers

Total

Bursary

Allocation

(20%)

Total Final

Budget

Allocation

R’000

R’000

R’000

R’000

R’000

R000

99 371

57 934

2 109

60 043

38 761

198 175

(1)(b) Interest received 1 514 860

(2)(a) Springfield campus 36 991 576

(2)(b) Thebudgetallocationis perlineitem

Details

R

Administration expenses

293 300

Cleaning and college maintenance

1 216 968

Technology expenses

5 000

Repairs and maintenance

790 258

Security expenses

1 902 000

Student welfare expenses

70 000

Teaching administration and teaching materials

1 451 000

Travelling expenses

9 000

Water and electricity

880 000

PERSAL salaries

24 111 734

Council paid salaries

6 262 316

TOTAL BUDGETED EXPENDITURE

36 991 576

(3)(a) ThekwiniTVETCollegehasbeenoverthe63%salarythresholdandwasnotabletomake appointments. TheCollegeisawarethattheCollegestructureofseniorlecturersandheadsof departmentsneed tobe addressedatall6campusesso thattherecan beimprovedmonitoring ofteachingandlearningactivities,not onlyat theSpringfield Campus.

(3)(b) We hadhopedthattheimplementationofthe Post Provisioning Norms (PPN)thatwasscheduledfor01April2020 wouldassisttheCollegeinaddressingtheproblem. However, the PPN has not been implemented yet.

09 November 2020 - NW2532

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Ngcobo, Mr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)What total number of graduates have been retained by their respective host institutions since the National Research Fund internship programme of the Department of Science and Innovation commenced; (2) whether he has the statistical data on the number of graduates who have been able to find employment once the internship ended; if not, what is the position in this regard, if so, what is the data of (a) how long it took for graduates to gain employment and (b) the terms of their (i) permanent and/or (ii) contract employment; (3) whether there are any obligations placed on the host institutions and mentors to facilitate formal skills training during the programme to enhance the chances of the graduates to gain employment once their internship is completed; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) with the 2020-21 cohort of graduates, what support mechanisms are in place to ensure that students obtain their qualifications within the two-year period?

Reply:

1. Interns that participated in the Programme have been absorbed for employment by various sectors, as depicted in Figure 1 below. Data on the retention of interns for employment by their respective hosts has not been collected. The Department has commissioned an impact study that will provide more information on the retention of interns by their hosts and their career progression. The study will be completed in March 2022.

Figure 1: Sectors employing Interns on completion of the internship

2. Two months after the end of each internship, high-level data on the employment is collected, through exit surveys. Table 1 below provides statistics on interns’ employment and further studies. According to the annual exit surveys, of the 5 505 interns enrolled in the Programme since inception more than 2 100 were employed (a) The number reported is a cumulative number of interns employed while in the Programme and two months after exiting, as per annual exit survey’s findings. It should be noted that this number may have changed significantly with interns who exited the programme more than two years ago (b) Longer-term tracking of interns is currently not in place, and the impact study that has been commissioned is expected to gather data on the nature of their first employment after the internship.

Table 1: Interns’ status at the end of each internship

Internship Year

No. Placed

Employed

Further Study

Total

2005/06

49

38

4

42

2006/07

169

135

21

156

2008/09

92

46

34

80

2009/10

160

70

34

104

2010/11

280

124

54

178

2011/12

276

96

83

179

2012/13

517

220

149

369

2013/14

568

232

128

360

2014/15

710

249

246

495

2015/16

728

253

260

513

2016/17

733

284

277

561

2017/18

622

172

308

480

*2018/19

601

200

146

346

Total

5505

2119

1744

3863

3. As part of the intern performance management, mentors are expected to develop a detailed work plan for their respective interns for the internship period. This includes an agreement between the mentor and the mentee to identify training needs and courses for the intern to enhance their skills and competencies such as basic project management, report writing and Curriculum Vitae drafting. Training undertaken is reported on in the intern quarterly reports.

4. Interns are encouraged to enrol for postgraduate studies whilst participating in the Programme. It is required that mentors support interns on their further study activities so as to ensure that interns obtain the qualifications. The Programme makes provisions for interns to take study leaves when preparing for examinations and undertaking research activities. Progress on studies is also reported as part of the intern quarterly reports.

09 November 2020 - NW2458

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science andTechnology

(1) What(a)amount in funding has his department allocated to Esayidi Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college in KwaZulu-Natal, (b) is the specified TVET’s annual total budget for the 2020-21 financial year and (c) is EsayidiTVET’s budget allocation to each of its campuses for the specified year and (d) is the budget breakdown for each line item and present expenditure per item for each campus for the specified year; (2) whetherthepromisedfundsforlaptopsforstudentstofacilitateonlinelearning during the Covid-19 lockdown at EsayidiTVET Umzimkulu Campus were allocated and received by the Umzimkulu Campus;if not,(a)on what date and what amount will be received for laptops and (b) on what dates will the students receive their promised laptops; if so, (i) what amount in funding was received,(ii) on what date and what amount of funds received and (iii) to whom were the funds released; (3) whether he has been informed that EsayidiTVET’s Umzimkulu Campus has no library, problems with running water in the residences, only four toilets on the campus for approximately 1000 students and that the Wi-Fi on the campus is not working; if not, what plans does his department have in place to address the specified issues;if so,what are the relevant details of his department’s plans to address the specified issues?

Reply:

1. (a) ProgrammeFunding

Compensation of Employees (PERSAL allocation) R151 729 000

Direct Transfer (Subsidy) R 88 550 000

COVID 19 allocation R 3 233 000

Total Bursary allocation (20%) R 59 068 000

Capital Infrastructure Efficiency Grant R 11 872 784

(b) ProgrammeFunding

Compensation of Employees (PERSAL allocation) R151 729 000

Direct Transfer (Subsidy) R 88 550 000

COVID 19 allocation R 3 233 000

Total Bursary allocation (20%) R 59 068 000

Capital Infrastructure Efficiency Grant R 11 872 784

(c) Duetothecurrentaccountingsystem andstaffcomplimentinplace,EsayidiTVETCollege operatesonacentralizedbudget.Alloperationalcostsarebudgetedandpaidforcentrally.Each campus requests specific items based on their student enrolment figures, maintenance and individual campus needs.

(d) The budget breakdown and expenditure for each line item per campus based on the COVID-19 amended 2020 budget is attached.

2. EsaydiTVET College has not received anyfunds for laptops for any of its campuses.

3. Umzimkulu as a town has severe water issues and water is only pumped for a few hours a day.Thecampus has implemented a waterbackup storagesystemtoensurethatthereisbackupwateravailablespecificallyfortheresidences.Thecollegeisinthe processofaddressingthelack of toilets.Quotationshavebeenobtained,but sincethequotesexceeded theprocurementlimits,itwillgooutonpublictenderwithinthenext 2 weeks. Thecollegeisintheprocessofupgrading its infrastructureonallcampusesandplanstohave Wi-Fi available in 2021.

27 October 2020 - NW2300

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Ngcobo, Mr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)In view of the series of student deaths that have occurred at the University of Fort Hare (details furnished), which seem to be reflective of broader trends in the higher education sector, what immediate steps has his department taken in response to the tragic state of affairs; (2) whether there are systems in place to monitor universities and colleges’ level of compliance with legal investigations following the death of a student; if not, what steps does his department intend to take to remedy the situation; if so, what are the relevant details of the monitoring systems?

Reply:

1. The University of Fort Hare (UFH) experiences a significant number of student deaths each year. The University keeps a record of all student deaths, although not all deaths occur on campus or while students are at the University. The causes of death include natural causes (illness), car accidents, suicides, and/or violent deaths as a result of stabbing or assault. In 2019, a student drowned in the University pool, which was reported to the Department. The University has provided the following summary of student deaths with causes, during 2019 and 2020:

Cause of Death

2019

2020

Natural causes (Illness)

3

7

Suicide

4

2

Car accident

3

2

Stabbing

1

4

Assault

 

1

Hit and run accident

 

1

Drowning

1

 

Injuries sustained in a fire

1

 

Total

13

17

The University and the Department are deeply concerned about the prevalence of preventable deaths, specifically suicide and assault (including stabbing). The Department engages with the institution regularly and receives reports from the University when a tragic event occurs, particularly if they are on campus. 

Last year, the University employed two part-time social workers to work with its psychologists. The Student Affairs Division has also partnered with the Social Work and Psychology Departments to provide support to students in distress, over and above the work done by the Student Counselling Unit. Residences have started the process of replacing Wardens with Residence Student Assistants. The Residence Student Assistants are mainly selected from among senior students from the Psychology and Social Work Departments. In 2019, the Student Affairs Division started a group called Champions Against Gender-Based Violence. These students are mainly selected from Social Work, Psychology and Criminology Departments and they create awareness on campus, support victims, and attend social gatherings. Just before the national lockdown, the Student Affairs Division was in conversation with the Eastern Cape Liquor Board to explore areas of collaboration to curb substance abuse amongst students. The Student Counselling and HIV/Aids Units holds regular information sessions with students in the evenings.

Higher Health has introduced innovative measures and solutions to support the mental health of students at universities, such as the 24-hour toll-free number mental health support service managed by a dedicated team of experienced psychologists, social workers, and counsellors. The service is available to all students within universities, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges. 

The Department also engages with Universities South Africa on matters relating to the mental health of students, and safety and security on campus on a regular basis. 

2. The University cooperates with government agencies tasked with conducting investigations when a death occurs. The University also provides reports to the Department where cases are subject to legal investigations. The Department monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the reports provided and lends further support if requested by the University. 

21 October 2020 - NW2268

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Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

(a) What measures has he taken to dissuade the National Student Financial Aid Scheme from defunding the 5000 students they publicly announced they will defund and (b) how are students expected to complete their studies if the defunding of the students continues?

Reply:

(a) Section 38 (g) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) on the duties of Accounting Officers dictates thaton discovery of any unauthorized, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure, must immediately report, in writing, particulars of the expenditure to the relevant treasury, and in the case of irregular expenditure involving the procurement of goods or services, also to the relevant tender board;”.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) unfunded students whom it discovered were funded above the approved policy thresholds of R350 000 annual family income (students registered for the first time from 2018 onwards) and R122 000 annual family income (pre-2018 continuing students). The declared income on applications were verified against income declared to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). If NSFAS continued to fund these students above the approved policy thresholds, such expenditure would be classified as irregular.  The Minister could therefore not dissuade NSFAS from taking this action, as continuing the funding would be in contravention of the PFMA.

The Minister ensured that students whose funding was withdrawn due to the SARS income verification process had an opportunity to provide further evidence and appeal the decision by NSFAS.

(b) Students who successfully appealed the decision will continue to be funded by NSFAS. Students who did not appeal, or whose appeal was unsuccessful, may look to other sources of funding to support their studies, as they do not qualify as NSFAS beneficiaries.

21 October 2020 - NW2166

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Marawu, Ms TL to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

Whether he is aware of the alleged flouting of Covid-19 regulations and the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Act, Act 16 of 2006, at the Motheo Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Bloemfontein, as per the whistleblowers’ report to the College Council Chairperson; if not, what steps will he take to thoroughly investigate the matter; if so, what steps have been taken to ensure that the specified persons are brought to book?

Reply:

According to Mrs D Phutsisi, Principal of Motheo TVET College, the college is not aware of a whistle blower who raised such allegations to the Council Chairperson. If these allegations were made, the Council as the highest decision-making governance structure would have followed the college policy on whistleblowing. The college’s Executive Management however brought an anonymous letter to the attention of Council that was circulating at the college raising similar allegations. Council dealt with these allegations accordingly.

11 September 2020 - NW2031

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What are the terms and conditions for the provision of laptops to students who are recipients of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) grants;

Reply:

  1. University Students: The acquisition of digital learning devices for the 2020 NSFAS funded students registered at public higher education institutions shall be funded by the students’ learning materials allowance made available by NSFAS on a loan-to-buy basis.

Where a NSFAS funded student has the 2020 learning materials allowance available at the date of applying for the digital learning device, that learning materials allowance will be used by the institution to purchase the device on behalf of the student. Where the 2020 learning materials allowances has been used by the NSFAS funded student, the 2021 learning materials allowance shall be used to purchase the digital learning device. Should the student not return as a NSFAS funded student in future academic years, the student is liable to repay the amount due to the institution. Where applicable, the institution shall utilise its existing policies and procedures/guidelines to recover funds for the purchasing of the digital learning device from the student.

TVET Students: The acquisition of digital learning devices for the 2020 NSFAS funded students registered at public TVET colleges shall be as a once-off arrangement for the duration of their studies and a once-off 3-month data allowance in line with the negotiated deals between the Department and mobile network operators, with the exception of Trimester 1 and Semester 1 students who are already exiting the system. The digital learning device is a once-off allowance for the current 2020 academic year. Since this is an allowance, ownership of the digital learning device will vest with the student. Institutions must therefore ensure that only NSFAS funded students who are currently enrolled and registered with the TVET college receive this allowance and digital learning devices. Since Trimester 1 and Semester 1 are already at the end of the cycle, these students are not eligible to receive digital learning devices and shall be excluded from this once-off scheme.

  1. University Students: The institution shall issue a purchase order together with the NSFAS student details and at a minimum, the institution will maintain proper records of all digital learning devices distributed to NFSAS funded students. Rules on the return of devices to the institutions must be provided for in the asset management policy of the institution. The institution shall coordinate the logistical arrangements with the service provider(s) to ensure that the appropriate checks and balances are implemented and agreed upon to guarantee that the correct NSFAS funded students receives and accepts responsibility for the safekeeping and care of the digital learning devices.

TVET Students: The TVET college will maintain proper records of all digital learning devices distributed to NFSAS funded students. The digital learning devices will be delivered directly to NSFAS funded students. The TVET college shall coordinate the logistical arrangements with the service provider(s) to ensure that the appropriate checks and balances are implemented and agreed upon to guarantee that the correct NSFAS funded students receives and accepts responsibility for the safekeeping and care of the digital learning devices.

07 September 2020 - NW1906

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) Which learning and other programmes currently funded by (i) sector education and training authorities and/or (ii) the National Skills Fund will be negatively affected by a loss in funding in the adjusted budget, (b) what number of (i) students and (ii) service providers are likely to be affected by the budget cuts and (c) what has he found to be the likelihood of the specified service providers going out of business due to the budget cuts?

Reply:

Reply is attached.

07 September 2020 - NW2029

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)(a) Who is the information, communications and technology (ICT) service provider to the Department of Science and Innovation, (b) why is the specified department’s homepage of such poor quality and (c) why is it more offline than online;

Reply:

1.a)  There is no one service provider contracted by the department for ICT services. Suppliers are contracted as an when required for goods and services through SITA and Supply Chain Management process.

b) The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) complies with the GCIS Policy Guidelines for South African Government websites. The guidelines require that all government websites look uniform and that webmasters follow best practices in terms of the website information architecture, that refers to composition of structure, functions and website navigation. The DSI website conforms, in that the home page can be differentiated from other pages in the website. It is organised, displays options and gives a clear overview of what information is available on the website.

The link to the guidelines are below: https://www.gcis.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/resourcecentre/guidelines/Government_%20website_guidelines_version1_final121015_layout.pdf

The user interface needed improvements and the Content Management System was out of date and vulnerable to hacks. As a result, the website was re-designed and the new DST website was presented to OPCO, thereafter it was presented at the EXCO meeting of 20th February 2017. Thereafter, EXCO has approved rollout of the new website.

c) The website has been down due to the following reasons:

  1. In the last five years, the website has been down only once (1) for two (2) days due to maintenance problems that needed specialist support in order to resolve.
  2. The only other time when the website was down is when there are problems on the SITA side since the website depends on the SITA infrastructure. In this case, the downtime has been shorter than a day, limited by the resolution by SITA.
  3. From the above, it is evident that the website has been up more often up than down.

2. Yes, a breakdown of the history (over the last three years – 2017/18 to 2019/20) of the department’s main ICT contractors and their service level agreements are as follows:

Other relevant details are as follows:

i) The DSI procures goods and services using the departmental SCM procurement processes and also complies with the SITA Act and Regulations for the procurement of IT goods and services.

ii) For the SITA mandated services, the SLA is entered into between the DSI and SITA.

iii) Service level agreements (SLAs) are entered into between the DSI and respective service providers.

SLAs are annually reviewed by the Auditor General to ensure compliance with the required prescripts.

31 August 2020 - NW1929

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Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) What are the reasons that the University of Fort Hare could not commence with lectures in 2020, (b) on what date will the lectures begin, (c) is there a catch-up plan with specific timelines to ensure the 2020 academic year is completed for all the courses and (d) what are the details of the plans to deal with delays in the commencement of the lectures in future?

Reply:

(a)    The University of Fort Hare (UFH) experienced a number of student protests at the start of 2020 academic year. Student protests, at times violent, centred on financial and academic exclusions and disrupted the teaching and learning programme from the beginning of the year. The impact of the protests were uneven as in some modules no teaching took place before the national lockdown, while in other modules two weeks of lectures or more were completed.

(b)    UFH, as with all universities, is implementing remote multi-modal teaching and learning during the lockdown period. Teaching and learning has continued to various degrees across the University, and UFH data shows that overwhelmingly students (95%) are accessing the online learning management system, i.e. Blackboard. However, there has been a moratorium on assessment to accommodate unevenness in access. In order to accommodate all students, the proposed revised calendar formally indicates semester 1 as running from 01 September 2020 to 08 December 2020.

(c)    The University has a catch-up plan. A revised calendar will serve before the University Senate on 27 August 2020. At the same meeting, Senate will consider for adoption, a set of new continuous assessment models for many of the 2020 first semester modules. This will reduce the examination period. If adopted, semester 1 will run from 01 September 2020 to 08 December 2020 and Semester 2 from 09 December 2020 to 30 March 2021.  This will ensure that the 2020 academic year is completed for all modules. The University has ordered laptops on a loan-to-own scheme for all students who selected this option, and the first batch is currently being delivered. The University has also provided data to all students. The first cohort of students have returned to the campus (28% of the student body by 06 August 2020), and the University will stagger the return of students who form part of the second cohort. The permits for the first group of the second cohort will be issued in the last week of August 2020.

(d)    The University of Fort Hare has been grappling with a culture of instability at both its Alice and East London campuses. The financial and academic exclusions implemented were critical to ensure the financial sustainability and academic integrity of the University. Ongoing engagement and dialogue with the Student Representative Council, clear communication with the University community, and strong action against any student or staff member who are in breach of the University code of conduct are the most appropriate mechanisms in place to shift this repertoire of disruption, which is deeply harmful to students, staff and the University community at large.

31 August 2020 - NW1907

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What are the details of the (a) budget of the (i) Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and (ii) National Research Foundation (NRF) for each of the past 10 financial years and (b) number of staff employed by the (i) CSIR and (ii) NRF in (aa) core operational and (bb) associated entities in each of the specified financial years?

Reply:

(a)

(b)

 

(i)

(ii)

(i)

R’000

(ii)

R’000

(aa)

(bb)

(aa)

(bb)

2020

2 795 970

3 944 027

2 104

N/A

1 258

N/A

2019

2 554 593

4 113 508

2 342

N/A

1 219

N/A

2018

2 542 617

4 726 544

2 618

N/A

1 485

N/A

2017

2 735 473

4 498 849

2 740

N/A

1 444

N/A

2016

2 736 550

4 162 597

2 740

N/A

1 404

N/A

2015

2 442 590

3 103 054

2 617

N/A

1 389

N/A

2014

2 202 595

3 160 651

2 550

N/A

1 301

N/A

2013

2 069 221

2 312 288

2 411

N/A

1 236

N/A

2012

1 919 381

2 132 683

2 375

N/A

1 248

N/A

2011

1 776 828

2 185 653

2 427

N/A

1 220

N/A

31 August 2020 - NW1825

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Nolutshungu, Ms N to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)Whether all universities have the means to conduct lessons via virtual platforms; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether he has found that all students have access to the necessary tools to receive any learning via virtual platforms; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(1)  All 26 universities are implementing remote multimodal teaching and learning plans, drawing on a range of strategies depending on the context. The implementation of these plans are being supported in part by a COVID-19 Responsiveness Grant allocated to each university by the Department of Higher Education and Training, which supplements the funds that universities themselves have allocated from Council-controlled funds to enable teaching and learning to proceed during this unprecedented time. All the plans have a component of digital learning through online and/or offline means. The universities have learning management systems in place that serve as virtual platforms for teaching, learning and assessment, and in addition to other platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Collaborate, WhatsApp, etc.  

(2) Three resources (tools) impact on students' ability to access virtual platforms, i.e. devices, data and connectivity. Part of the universities' multimodal plans involve supporting those students who do not have devices to acquire these and allocating data to students. Data has been allocated to most university students who required it, and submitted correct details. Information collected from universities indicated that by 6 August 2020, 90% of undergraduate students, including 92% of NSFAS-funded students were being allocated data. Good progress has been made in supporting students to acquire devices. The information submitted by universities indicates that 64% of undergraduate students who required devices have been supported to attain these, including 63% of NSFAS-funded students. The balance of NSFAS-funded students will acquire devices through the NSFAS-led central procurement process. For students who do not have laptops at present, or who live in areas with no connectivity, some universities are providing teaching and learning materials in paper-based form or electronically on USBs, as part of their multimodal approach.

14 August 2020 - NW1751

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Nodada, Mr BB to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)With reference to his reply to question 1285 on 1 July 2020, given that the former Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs M T Kubayi-Ngubane, commissioned a forensic investigation into allegations against Ms Bredenkamp, (a) what were the findings of the forensic investigation and (b) how do the findings compare to the KPMG findings; (2) (a) what are the relevant details of the involvement of a certain person (name and details furnished) in the project and (b) why was the income of the project written off on instructions of the specified person; (3) whether any action was taken against the person and a certain other person (name furnished) for making misrepresentations to First National Bank (FNB) regarding their shareholder status in a certain company (name and details furnished) on an FNB document dated 3 July 2015; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1. The former Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane did not commission another forensic investigation against Ms Bredenkamp, subsequent to the KPMG forensic investigation.

2.a) During the implementation of the project, Ms Busisiwe Ntuli was responsible for oversight at a strategic level. In April/May 2015, it was to Ms Ntuli that the main whistleblower reported allegations of financial misconduct, fraud and nepotism against Ms Bredenkamp. The whistleblower also informed Ms Ntuli that he first reported these allegations in February 2014 to Dr Elmary Buis, the Deputy Director responsible for the operations of the project and to whom Ms Bredenkamp reported. However, Dr Elmary Buis neglected to report these allegations to the department, as required by law. Subsequently, Ms Ntuli reported the matter to her supervisor and the Legal Services Unit of the department, which - following an internal scrutiny of evidence from the whistleblower - resulted in a forensic investigation.

b) At no stage of the project and during the forensic investigation did Ms Ntuli write-off any project income. There was a time during the project where Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya were involved in an attempt to recover funds from a company that had been supplied with mango pulp by Ms Bredenkamp, on behalf of the project. The attempt to recover the money proved very difficult because the company alleged that Ms Bredenkamp had supplied a poor-quality product and over a period had continued to supply even though the company had not been paying for initial supplies. Ms Ntuli’s and Ms Sibiya’s efforts did result in the recovery of some of the money for the pulp that the company could sell. Subsequently, the company closed down as it was cash-strapped.

3. Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya did not make misrepresentations at FNB, which held funds that were generated from project sales. It was following the whistleblower’s allegations and the process of instituting an investigation that Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya informed the bank of two matters: firstly, that the bank account belonged to a company that was opened on behalf of community members who were beneficiaries of the Nkowankowa Demonstration Centre (NDC) project, on the instruction of the department; and secondly, that one of the signatories, Ms Bredenkamp, was under investigation by the department over very serious allegations and requested that she be removed as a signatory. The bank was further informed that the department was in the process of removing Ms Bredenkamp as the care-taker shareholder. The bank informed Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya that they would capture the information provided on the system. This was done out of concern that Ms Bredenkamp would access funds in the bank account. Unfortunately, these fears materialized when Miss Bredenkamp went to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and fraudulently removed Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya as company directors and used the fraudulent document to claim that the company belonged to her, gained access to the bank account and appropriated funding meant for NDC beneficiaries. This, on top of project funds that Ms Bredenkamp, according to the forensic investigation, had stolen from the project through various means. A case of theft was opened against Ms Bredenkamp in relation to the FNB funds. The South African Police Services investigating officer stated that he had obtained evidence from the CIPC that showed that Ms Bredenkamp had in fact fraudulently removed Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya as company directors, which went against the authorization of the Director-General of the department.

Dr Elmary Buis, against whom there had been adverse findings in the forensic investigation report at the time, laid a complaint about the FNB account against Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya with the Human Resources Unit of the department in 2018. The complaint was investigated by an independent individual, who cleared both Ms Ntuli and Ms Sibiya. Subsequently, Dr Elmary Buis laid the same complaint with the Public Services Commission (PSC), which also cleared Ms Ntuli.

13 August 2020 - NW1752

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) How precisely will the R5 billion cut and/or reprioritization of funding in the National Student Financial Aid Scheme be broken down, (b) what will not be able to be funded, (c)(i) what number of devices will be obtained with the reallocated funding and (ii) at what cost per device, (d) what other Covid-19 related expenses will be covered by the reallocated funding, (e) how many fewer students will be funded as a result of the cuts and reprioritizations and (f) what amount in additional funding will be required for the extension of the academic year?

Reply:

a) The actual budget cut is R5.5 million on the Administration budget with no budget cut on the student-funding budget.

b) The budget reduction of R5.5 million will affect the Compensation of Employees budget line. This will result in delaying the filling of vacant positions.

c) (i) The maximum number of digital devices as per the advertised request for proposals in the public tender is 730 000, which is the projected number of NSFAS beneficiaries for 2020 academic year.

(ii) The cost per device cannot be disclosed as the tender process is currently still in progress.

d) All other COVID-19 related budget expenses have been contained in the reprioritized Administration budget baseline.

e) The number of funded students will not be affected by the budget cut or reprioritization. The R2.5 billion reduction in student bursary funding arising from the R2.5 billion suspension of student bursary funding for devices will be funded with R1.0 billion from recovered funds and R1.5 billion from accumulated TVET funds. 

f) The maximum total amount required for the extension of the academic year is R4.4 billion, i.e. R319 million for TVET colleges and R4.1 billion for universities. It should be noted that NSFAS has modelled the increased costs based on a full extension of allowances for the additional months of the academic year. This is therefore the maximum amount that could be required. Should the national framework be effectively applied for university-owned and leased accommodation, keeping the original costs of accommodation for the extended academic year, then it is likely that some of these costs will be contained.

13 August 2020 - NW1743

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Thembekwayo, Dr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What steps has he taken to assist the tertiary institutions that are not yet ready to implement online learning for preparation of 2021 opening?

Reply:

The Department is working with all 26 universities towards the successful completion of the 2020 academic year in a manner that does not compromise the safety of staff and students, and in a manner that provides a fair opportunity for all students to engage meaningfully with their study programmes. Universities have developed multimodal teaching and learning plans that implement a mix of strategies deemed suitable for the context of each university. Some universities are primarily delivering their teaching and learning programmes through online synchronous and asynchronous means whilst others are employing a mix of strategies that include online learning as well as the physical delivery of teaching and learning materials in digital form (memory sticks/USBs) or in print form.

A special COVID-19 Responsiveness Grant (CRG) has been created to assist universities to implement their multimodal plans, including the acquisition of laptops for students and staff, to ensure reasonable access to data, to strengthen their information and communication technology teaching and learning delivery platforms, and to develop staff and student capacity for online teaching and learning modalities.

Online learning is likely to remain part of every institution's teaching and learning strategy going forward. To this end, universities are being supported to enable all students to obtain a suitable device for online teaching and learning. Some universities have used Council-controlled funds, and/or CRG funds to procure laptops, and others are working with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to secure laptops for NSFAS-funded students through the national process led by NSFAS.

The Department has also negotiated with the major network service providers, and a data package at a significantly reduced cost has been put in place for students who are supported through NSFAS.

13 August 2020 - NW1790

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Tarabella - Marchesi, Ms NI to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What total number of final-year students are studying a B Ed degree at universities and colleges in the Republic?

Reply:

The Department does not collect data by year of study as each university determines its years of study differently. Furthermore, the Department will only receive the final audited data for the 2020 academic year in 2021 once the graduates have been identified and the data audited. 

In terms of the enrolment plan for 2014 to 2019, universities indicated that they would have 11 122 BEd graduates and 8 716 PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) graduates in the 2018 academic year. Table 1 below shows that universities have exceeded these projections, achieving 17 432 BEd graduates and 10 976 PGCE graduates in 2018.  

For 2019, universities have projected 11 483 BEd graduates and 9 218 PGCE graduates, and for 2020, 17 814 BEd graduates and 10 143 PGCE graduates.   

Table 1: Number of B Ed and PGCE graduates in 2018, by institution.

Institution

BEd

PGCE

Cape Peninsula University of Technology (23 final year students are tutored in partnership with College of Cape Town)

713

142

University of Cape Town

0

117

Central University of Technology, Free State

400

250

Durban Institute of Technology

222

0

University of Fort Hare

411

90

University of Free State

598

286

University of Johannesburg

585

176

University of KwaZulu-Natal

1 126

729

University of Limpopo

517

251

Nelson Mandela University

338

116

North West University

1 101

646

University of Pretoria

898

139

Rhodes University

99

103

University of South Africa

5 908

6 264

University of Stellenbosch

237

231

Tshwane University of Technology

700

0

University of Venda

662

168

Walter Sisulu University

1 026

546

University of Western Cape

203

205

University of Witwatersrand

486

171

University of Zululand

1 022

346

Sol Plaatje University, Northern Cape

82

0

University of Mpumalanga

98

0

Total

17 432

10 976

 

13 August 2020 - NW1754

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

Given that the Council on Higher Education (CHE) has for years been underfunded, (a) in what precise ways will the cut of R1,4 million affect CHE’s operations, (b) what will be cut and (c)(i) what necessary information and communications technology architecture mentioned in his department’s presentation to Parliament has been and/or will be purchased and (ii) at what cost?

Reply:

The CHE has indicated the following:

(a) The cut of R1.4 million does not have any negative impact on the CHE operations because the cut is linked to information declared by entities for funded vacancies that could not yet be filled. In addition, an additional amount of R25 million was allocated to the CHE baseline for 2020/21 to address critical service delivery areas in the entity.

(b) The budget allocated for travel costs was shifted for the use of 3G cards and data usage due to the national lockdown and travel restrictions.  Employees have continued to work remotely from home. All planned engagements, consultative processes, conferences, operational and governance committee meetings, site visits, training and development, recruitment and selection are conducted virtually.

(c) (i) The additional R25 million was mostly allocated to Information Communications and Technology (ICT) architecture. This includes the development of an ICT Business Continuity Plan to mitigate risks associated with any unforeseen disasters associated with working virtually, additional laptops for employees to work remotely from home, ICT licenses and the assessment of the current ICT infrastructure. 

(ii) The cost related to this is estimated to be around R2 million.

13 August 2020 - NW1753

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) How does the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) intend to utilise the R1,2 million which has been reallocated towards Covid-19 expenditure and (b) what exact effect will the specified reallocation of funding have on SAQA’s other expenses?

Reply:

(a)   The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is using the reallocated budget to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when employees are at the office.  Management has earmarked and reprioritised R1.2 million for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, sanitisers and disinfectants for 197 SAQA employees, and to procure cleaning equipment and consumables, as well as deep cleaning services, as and when necessary after risk assessments.

(b)  SAQA is facing dire financial challenges as a result of the pandemic lockdown measures in that no evaluation of foreign qualifications or verifications of qualifications for appointments are being requested, which normally provides significant revenue for SAQA annually. SAQA is unable to raise its originally budgeted income through these revenue generating streams during the lockdown.

The reallocation of funding added to the financial challenges that SAQA is already facing. SAQA, in consultation with the Department, considered the following cost-cutting measures:

  • vacant positions and non-critical positions will not be filled in the immediate future;
  • savings on travel/accommodation and subsistence items as a result of the lockdown; 
  • advertisements; 
  • consultancy fees; and 
  • conference costs.

SAQA’s revised budget is reflecting a deficit of approximately R37 million, even after effecting intensive cost-cutting measures in preparing its revised budgeted expenditure.

07 August 2020 - NW1677

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1) How precisely will the cut in the funding of technical and vocational education and training colleges, resulting from the reduction and reprioritisation of funds, affect the 2021 new student intake in each centre of specialisation; (2) whether fewer students will be admitted; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) by what number will the intake be reduced and (b) what other costs will be cut?

Reply:

(1)        In November 2019, an allocation of R170.293 million was made from the 2019/20 budget to the Centre of Specialisation students for the year 2020. 

             This comprised of:

  • 1 210 returning students from 2019 (1stcohort)           =-    R 84 million 
  • 840 new enrolments for 2020 (2ndcohort)                   =       R 86 million

The Centres of Specialisation were unable to realise the new enrolments for 2020 given the disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, largely due to uncertainty in employer commitments and as a result, no new enrolments will take place in 2020. This accounts for R86 million of the R170 million which colleges will carry forward into the new financial year. Three colleges started their second intake in 2020 and as such will not be allowed to start a third intake in 2021.

New allocations will be made in March 2021 and the second cohort will be able to start the programme, if employers are ready. The timing of the payment from November 2020 to March 2021 will therefore ensure minimum further disruption of the programme.

(2) (a) There will be no third intake in 2021.

(b) No other costs have been cut as student fees are paid to colleges for the different cohorts.

07 August 2020 - NW1676

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What will be the specific effect on normal university expenditure in each university resulting from (a) the cuts in the university block grant of R2,5 billion and (b) the reallocation of the university block grant of R2,1billion towards the Covid-19 expenditure, with special reference to activities and expenses that will no longer be able to take place?

Reply:

The COVID-19 pandemic has already had an impact on normal university expenditure, allowing for substantial savings due to the postponement of a range of activities, especially due to cancelled conferences, and limited travel and accommodation being undertaken. In addition, general savings on services (electricity and water) have also been experienced. Many institutions at the same time, recognising the context, have made decisions not to fill vacant posts unless they were essential positions, thus ensuring that they are better able to manage the highly uncertain fiscal climate.

Immediately after the Presidential announcement declaring a national disaster, the Department embarked on a consultative process and engaged with all universities regarding the system’s needs to ensure the successful completion of the academic year and the need to operate differently. This process involved the development of costed remote multi-modal teaching, learning and assessment plans.

Considering all of these aspects, including the funding required to assist the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students to acquire laptops, the total financial impact is R3.8506 billion. This is funded partially by institutions’ own internal reprioritisation (R749 million), through reprioritising unspent earmarked grants and interest on earmarked grants at institutions (R1.332 billion), as well as funds made available by NSFAS for advances on allowances to fund laptops (approximately R2.5 billion for both university and TVET college students).

In addition, institutions estimated that they would require R1.821 billion for ensuring that their campuses are compliant to health and safety protocols when they reintegrate staff and students in line with their return-to-campus plans. Some plans had unnecessary high cost items and the Department has indicated that it could not support those items. The Department has identified R608.249 million (made up of R398.249 million from 2020/21 ad-hoc earmarked funds, together with the R210 million returned from the R750 million suspension on the 2020/21 infrastructure and efficiency grant), subject to Ministerial approval, to support institutions to implement their return to campus plans. 

The suspension of R2.5 billion from the block grant, and the reallocation of R2.117 billion has resulted in a net cut of R382.596 million (1.07%) from the block grant. The transfers of the subsidy will continue as expected to institutions to fund their operations. Institutions will need to ensure that they create efficiencies to deal with the real shortfall of 1.07% on their block grants, ensure prudent expenditure and manage the additional costs related to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic within their available budgets. While no programmes funded though the earmarked grants have been stopped, the original plans have been slowed down, or redirected, to deal with the challenges brought to the fore by the pandemic. 

07 August 2020 - NW1678

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

Which (a) infrastructure and (b) other projects will be postponed and/or stopped in each university in the sector as a result of cuts and reprioritisations of funding?

Reply:

At this point in time, the Department has not received any confirmation from universities of projects that may be slowed down or postponed as a result of the cuts and reprioritisation of funding. A large amount of the reprioritised funds comes from interest accrued on earmarked grants that had not yet been specifically allocated to any projects. No currently approved projects have been stopped. 

All infrastructure projects that were approved during previous infrastructure cycles that are not yet finalised will continue to be supported. In the 2020/21 financial year, R750 million will not be transferred as originally planned to fund some approved projects at specific institutions. The transfers for these projects will be delayed into the 2021/22 financial year. This will have a knock-on effect in that there will be less funding available in the first year of the next infrastructure cycle for new projects and will result in the slowing down and stretching out of infrastructure development across universities. The 6th infrastructure and efficiency cycle commences in April 2021, and planning for the new cycle will start soon so that the new projects can be implemented early in April 2021.

03 August 2020 - NW1586

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)On what grounds are the examination of theses and other similar activities by academics at other institutions of higher education and training considered part of the collegial contribution of any academic while the examination of theses and other similar activities by academics not employed by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), particularly by the Business School, are considered to be private work; (2) what (a) amount does an external academic who examines (i) Masters and (ii) Doctoral theses usually receive in remuneration and (b) form does the specified type of remuneration take; (3) what (a) number of other institutions of higher education and training consider the external examination of theses and other similar collegial activities to be private work and (b) are the financial implications for external academics who examine theses and perform collegial activities; (4) whether he has found that the UKZN Business School’s determination that the external examination of theses is private work has discouraged academics from doing their collegial duty; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has provided the following response to the questions posed: 

(1)   In general, the examination of theses by academics is considered as a collegial activity and part of academic citizenship. Some colleagues have declared the external examination of theses as part of the private work declaration as an indication of transparency for additional funds received. It is thus not a requirement, but an optional declaration that promotes transparency.

(2) The amounts paid to external academics who examine (i) Masters and (ii) Doctoral theses vary markedly between institutions, and the remuneration generally takes the form of a cash payment into the academic’s bank account.

(3) (a) Most, if not all, institutions would regard it as academic citizenship, as is the norm at UKZN.

 (b) There are no financial implications for external academics who perform collegial activities. Both internal and external academics such as Honorary Research Fellows are paid for examining theses.

(4) The requirement to declare external thesis examination as private work in UKZN's Graduate School of Business and Leadership, has resulted in contestation by some academics, but has not directly led to academics being discouraged from examining theses, as per academic citizenry. However, the previous instances of excessive external examination have subsided due to the transparency of the process.

03 August 2020 - NW1599

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)What total amount in funding does eThekwini College in Durban, KwaZulu- Natal, receive from his department; (2) whether the specified college provides his department with a budget for funds received; if so, what is the proposed budget for each line item; (3) whether the college received Covid-19 relief funding from his department; if not, on what date will the college receive Covid-19 relief funding; if so, what (a) total amount of funding has been allocated to the college for Covid-19 relief funding and (b) is the breakdown of the specified funding?

Reply:

(1)    For the 2020/21 financial year, an amount of R198 734 325 was provided to eThekwini TVET College with regards to programme funding. This amount is the budget before the special budget adjustment announced by the National Treasury in June 2020. The new budget allocations will be issued to the TVET colleges as soon as it is approved.

(2)     The initial 2020/21 budget allocation of R198 734 325 consisted of the following economic categories:

            (a)       Compensation of Employees (PERSAL)        R 100 067 099

            (b)       Direct Transfers (subsidies)                             R 59 906 226

         (c) NSFAS Tuition Fees                                         R 38 761 000

(3)    Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges did not receive COVID-19 relief funding during the initial budget allocation (before the COVID-19 pandemic) and colleges were requested to reprioritise its budget to accommodate COVID-19 related expenditure. Based on the new special budget adjustment announced by the National Treasury in June 2020, an earmarked COVID-19 budget allocation has been made available to TVET colleges and will be issued to TVET colleges as soon as it is approved.

03 August 2020 - NW1587

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)What (a) number of African, indigenous and/or traditional medicines has each of the entities reporting to him develop to the point where it has undergone clinical testing, been shown scientifically to have beneficial effects and put into production, sale and prescription by qualified medical and traditional professionals (i) in each of the past five financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2020, (b)(i) is the name of each of these medicines and (ii) diseases does each of the specified medicines treat and (c)(i) number of these medicines are currently under investigation, (ii) are the details of the reasons why each is under investigation and (iii) is the current status of each investigation; (2) what were the details of the cost to develop each of these medicines according to each stage of development as at the latest specified date?

Reply:

1. (a) There are eighteen (18) African natural medicines that have been through various levels of the value chain of medicines development, to the point of being prescribed by traditional health practitioners (i) of which fourteen (14) were in progress since 2015, and (ii) four (4) were since 1 April 2020.

(b) The (i) names and (ii) treatment purposes for each of these African natural medicines are listed in Table 1.

(c) (i) There are twelve (12 African natural medicines currently under further development, and Table 2 provides (ii) the reasons and (iii) the status of each investigation.

2. Table 3 illustrates the list of completed and ongoing African Natural Medicines studies, funded between 2015 and 01 April 2020

Table 1: List of African Natural Medicines and Types of Health Conditions each Treats

African Natural Medicine

Treatment

   

Phela

Immune-Modulator (HIV, Covid-19)

Medical Cannabis

Cancers, Diabetes, Pain, Alzheimer’s

Nkabinde

Anti-Viral

Marula

Diabetes, Health Food

Liv Green

Tuberculosis

Manay-Immune

Immune-Modulators

Four New Herbs

Covid-19 Anti-Virals, Immune-Modulators

Lenong

Wound Healing, Arthritis

Machaba

Immune -Booster (Infectious Diseases)

Prijap

Diabetes, Immune-Modulator

Umphetha

Immune -Booster (Infectious Diseases)

Aloe Path

Wound Healing

Moshumasekgwa

Immune-Modulator

BP6

Anti-Viral

BP05

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (Swollen Prostate)

Table 2: List of African Natural Medicines, Reasons for Continuity and Progress

African Natural Medicine

Progress and Reason for Continuity

   

Phela

Positive Phase 1 clinical trial for immune-modulation

Medical Cannabis

Activity for cancers, diabetes, hypertension and pain

Nkabinde

Activity for Anti-HIV latency and ACE-2 inhibitors

Marula

Techno-economic for large-scale manufacturing

Liv Green

Good pre-clinical and anti-hepatotoxicity activity

Manay-Immune

Positive pre-clinical studies for immune-modulation

Prijap

Activity for diabetes and general immune-modulation

BP05

Activity against benign prostatic hyperplasia

Four New Herbs

Covid-19: Anti-virals and immune-modulation evidence

Lenong, Machaba, Umpetha, Aloe Path and Moshumasekgwa are complete and will be handed over to traditional health practitioners in September 2020 for upscaling and full commercialisation

Table 3: List of completed and ongoing studies, between 2015 and 01 April 2020

Completed Research Studies

 

Ongoing (New) Research Studies

Product

Investment

 

Product

Investment

Lenong

R1 000 000

 

Phela

R2 000 000

Machaba

R1 200 000

 

Medical Cannabis

R6 000 000

Prijap

R1400 000

 

Nkabinde

R10 000 000

Umphetha

R1 000 000

 

Marula

R2 000 000

Aloe Path

R1 100 000

 

Liv Green

R1 000 000

Moshumasekgwa

R1 000 000

 

Manay-Immune

R1 400 000

BP6

R1 200 000

 

Four New Herbs

R1 000 000

     

BP05

R9 996 908

Total

R7 900 000

 

Total

R33 396 908

29 July 2020 - NW1472

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Madlingozi, Mr BS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

In light of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal reinstating Afrikaans as a language of instruction at the University of South Africa, what are the details of engagements that he has had with universities to ensure that language does not continue to be used as a tool of exclusion for many university students?

Reply:

The Department is aware of the recent judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal reinstating Afrikaans as the medium of instruction at the University of South Africa, alongside the current medium of instruction, which is English. The Department has been closely following many other judgements, notably by the Constitutional Court, rightfully upholding decisions by university Councils at a number of universities, to move away from the use of Afrikaans as a barrier of access to non-Afrikaans language speakers. The Department has welcomed these decisions as they advance government’s transformation agenda and are part of the national effort to create inclusive institutional cultures at institutions of higher learning.

The Department’s approach to languages at universities is a systemic one and it does not convene a meeting with universities every time there is a court judgement in favour of, or setting aside, a particular university Council’s decision on their language plan or strategy. The Department has a generic language policy framework that serves to guide institutional language policies and plans.

The language policy framework has recently been revised and strengthens the previous higher education language policy framework of 2002. At the core of this policy is the affirmation of all official languages as spelled out in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Values of inclusivity, parity of esteem between all our languages and the promotion of multilingualism are central to this policy framework and it is encouraging that a number of universities are already moving in this direction. As indicated previously on a number of occasions, in the post 1994 South Africa, none of our higher education institutions, whether public or private, will exclude any South African on the basis of language as such practices belong to the past.

09 July 2020 - NW1363

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Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

With reference to the Services Sector Education and Training Authority Services (SETA) Programme on Plumbing and Bricklaying running in Aberdeen that undertook to pay a stipend of R2,500 per month until September 2019 and thereafter R3,500 per month, what action can be taken against the service provider who has failed to meet the services SETA payment obligations for the months of July 2019 to December 2019 and from March 2020 onwards and for underpaying in January 2020 and February 2020 to one specific learner (name and details furnished) who despite numerous attempts at resolution, continues not to perform in this regard?

Reply:

The explanation received from the Services SETA is that the payment of stipends is based on attendance registers submitted by the training provider and/or host employer.  Accordingly, Mr Lizo April was paid as follows:

Period: July 2019 – December 2019

The learner was paid a stipend for each month, except for the months of September 2019 and November 2019 where attendance could not be confirmed by way of the attendance register.

Period: January 2020 and February 2020 

The Services SETA sent a communique to all stakeholders in December 2019 directing them to ensure that learners should only return to classes on 1 February 2020 and that no stipends would be paid for the month of January 2020, as learners were not expected to attend classes or workplaces in January 2020. It should be noted that learners were paid their full stipends in December 2019 although classes ended by or before 15 December 2019.   

The Services SETA did not receive the learner’s attendance register for the month of February 2020 from the host employer/training provider.

Period: March 2020 onwards

Attendance registers for the month of March 2020 was used as a basis to pay learners during the period of the lockdown.

The Services SETA did not receive the learner’s attendance register for the month of March 2020 from the host employer/training provider.

Action taken against a provider who fails to meet the payment obligations

In instances where a training provider repeatedly fails to meet the obligations as provided for in the service level agreement between the parties, the SETA investigates the non-compliance and where necessary institutes a legal process through either litigation or termination of the agreement in part or in full. The course of action is determined by the nature of the obligation breach.

Stipend amount of R2 500

The Services SETA pays an amount of R2 500 as a stipend to learners undertaking an apprenticeship. Any additional amount paid to the learner would have been from the training provider or host employer.

02 July 2020 - NW1287

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)What is the estimated total cost to be incurred by (a) his department and (b) institutions of higher education and training to prepare for the reopening of their facilities after the easing of the hard lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19; (2) whether (a) his department and/or (b) institutions of higher education and training will be employing additional staff to ensure that (i) social distancing and (ii) other essential health protections have been put in place; if not, in each case, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

Reply:

1. (a) The Department has allocated R1.1 million and reprioritised R1.5 million for the management of COVID-19 within its offices, i.e. four buildings at head office and six regional offices. The budget is meant to cover the supply of masks to 3 800 employees, procurement of sanitisers, scanners, personal protective equipment for the cleaning staff, decontamination and deep cleaning of offices. In view of the capacity constraints in cleaning services, a service provider had to be procured for deep cleaning and augment the existing capacity for a three months period. In addition to the above, the Department is in the processes of procuring emergency and pyscho-social support services, stands for sanitisers with foot pedals, thermal cameras and digital scanners as the small hand-held scanners are proving to be unreliable. The additional needs will amount to R2.3 million. In total, the Department will incur expenses to the total value of R5.0 million

(b) Letters were sent to universities on 13 May 2020 requesting them to submit costed Teaching, Learning and Assessment Plans, as well as Campus Readiness Plans to the Department by 19 May 2020. Universities submitted costed Campus Readiness Plans, which varied considerably with respect to what institutions wanted to implement and with regards to the funding required and the equipment requested. Funding required varied from as little as R2.1 million to R 402.8 million. Some suggested items were large infrastructure changes that would not be possible. The total cost of the submitted plans was R1.85 billion. This was assessed as unrealistic as many items indicated were unnecessary.

The Department, in consultation with Higher Health who assessed these plans, decided that there are certain legitimate expenses that institutions will incur that they could not have been budgeted for prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Department should consider providing a second COVID-19 Responsiveness Grant (CRG-2) to assist institutions with these costs. The Minister has been requested to approve the re-prioritisation of R526.3 million from the 2020/21 earmarked grants not yet transferred to assist universities to pay for unbudgeted items for campus readiness and health and safety measures over the next period.   

TVET Colleges have been able to reprioritize approximately R780 million from their current 2020 operational budgets to assist with COVID 19 related expenditure.

Total cost to be incurred by Community Education and Training (CET) colleges is
R27 million to prepare for the reopening of their facilities after the easing of the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.

(2)  (a) The Department had planned to acquire additional capacity in the form of nurses within the Employee Health and Welfare unit but has since entered into a partnership with the Health and Welfare SETA for the provision of nursing services to do screening and contact tracing. The Department will be increasing its cleaning capacity by employing more cleaners at head office and in colleges, and in particular Community Learning Centres colleges that do not have dedicated cleaners as they are using the Department of Basic Education’s facilities.

(b) (i) Universities’ plans make provision for the employment of additional staff where required. All universities have made provision for physical distancing in their plans.

Social distancing has been prioritised in TVET colleges firstly through the staggered return of different student cohorts over a 7-week period, as well as through the splitting of classes and revision of timetables. These arrangements will not require additional lecturers.

The CET colleges are not employing additional staff; however, the following conditions have been applied in determining the resumption of classes. Only colleges that have satisfied the social distancing requirements have allowed staff and students to return effective from 23 June 2020. The return of different categories of CET college staff to their workstations and students to their learning sites is subject to readiness of the colleges and learning sites as well as appropriate social distancing measures put in place by colleges.

(ii) All universities have made provision for essential health and safety items. The Department has recommended to the Minister that funding through the proposed CRG -2 be approved for the following categories as advised by Higher Health: 

  • Requirements for environmental and regular cleaning in line with the health and safety protocols, including cleaning equipment and material and the appointment of additional cleaning staff.
  • Personal protective equipment appropriate for front-line staff, staff in university clinics and the general student and staff population.  
  • Internal isolation and quarantine facilities (levels 4 - 2 of the risk-adjusted strategy) and external facilities (only if this is necessary after level 1 has been announced and 100% of students have returned to the campus).
  • Clinical support in the form of locums at the university clinic, mental health support, etc.
  • Screening stations and equipment. This may include additional staff.

TVET colleges have been monitored over the last 6 weeks in terms of their readiness to receive staff and students. By mid-June 2020, all the protocols for COVID-19 compliance, as set out by the Department of Health and the Guidelines for PSET institutions for Management of COVID-19, were above 90% readiness. As at 26 June 2020, the state of readiness was at 98%. Higher Health trained staff across all colleges on implementing the protocols.

All CET colleges have assured the Department that personal protective equipment for staff and students were procured from the budget set aside to deal with COVID-19.

30 June 2020 - NW1269

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Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) What are the reasons that none of the 27 students who enrolled for a three year National Certificate Hairdressing programme, conducted by Delcom Training Institute in Aberdeen in the Eastern Cape that commenced in April 2019, have not been paid their stipend for November 2019, (b) what is the name of each learner who has not been paid any stipend from 1 April 2019 to date, (c) what enforcement mechanism will his department utilise to ensure that payments are effected where owing, (d) what are the time frames stipulated by his department between (i) completion of a level by a learner; (ii) moderation of the work by the service provider and (iii) commencement of the next level, (e) has the service provider been paid for the period of the lockdown and (f) where the programme has been stalled by the service provider, (i) will the duration of the programme be extended by the same time frame and (ii) will the students be paid stipends for the additional time?

Reply:

(a)     Based on the Services SETA records, the stipend for the month of November 2019 was paid to all learners whose attendance could be confirmed through attendance registers. Ten out of the forty learners were not paid due to non-attendance.

(b)    The names of ten learners who were not paid stipends for November 2019 and December 2019 due to non-attendance are:

- Jonathan Mahosi

- Winstar Mdlalose

- Zanele Kubheka

- Millecent Tsotetsi

- Veronica Maseko

- Nokuthula Muriel Ndaba

- Prisca Kunene

- Nomthandazo Mazibuko

- Germina Letsoalo

- Kwanda Ndebele

(c)     The enforcement mechanism that is utilised to ensure that payments are effected where owing is through a Training Agreement signed between the SETA and the training provider stipulating the conditions for the payment, which include amongst others, a confirmation report that training has occurred and proof of attendance of learners.

On receipt of the report from the training provider, the SETA verifies the information in accordance with the Training Agreement and allows the training provider to confirm the correctness of information and if some gaps are identified, the training provider is allowed to correct information in order to effect the payment.

(d)     The timeframes stipulated between:

(i)     Completion of a level by a learner is in accordance with the learnership agreement signed with the learner. A learner is expected to complete the level within twelve months.

(ii)   Moderation of the work by the provider is determined by the size of the moderation sample involved. Two summative assessment moderations take place, i.e. an internal moderation conducted by the training provider and an external moderation conducted by the SETA. The external moderation by the SETA is triggered by the submission of the summative assessment and internal moderation reports from the training provider. On average, it takes the Services SETA two weeks to conduct an external moderation, depending on the availability of resources.

(iii) Commencement of the next level is dependent on the outcome of the external moderation report. In the event that the external moderation upholds the assessment decision and there is no remediation required, the next level can commence. It usually takes a week for the external moderation to be quality assured and issued. Customarily, the next level can commence within one month.

(e)     According to the SETA records, the training provider did not submit attendance registers for all learners before the lockdown period. An attendance register was received for only 8 out of the 40 learners, and payment was effected for the 8 learners who are deemed compliant with the Training Agreement.

(f)     Where the programme has been stalled by the training provider:

 (i)    The duration of the programme will be extended by the same period subject to the training provider submitting an implementation plan to complete the project.

(ii)    According to the SETA, learners will not be paid additional stipends for the additional period where the training provider stalled the programme. Procedurally, stipends are paid to learners once the programme has resumed and on receipt of attendance registers confirming the training.

30 June 2020 - NW1286

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

With reference to the proposed establishment of a university for crime detection in Hammanskraal, (a) what are the relevant details of what is meant by a university for crime detection, (b) on what statutory and other grounds would an institution with such a narrow mandate qualify as a university, (c) what disciplines would be taught and assessed by such an institution, (d) what degrees and other qualifications would such an institution offer and (e) what are the details of the (i) timelines or time frames and (ii) budget for the establishment of such an institution?

Reply:

(a)    In the 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President announced that “to improve the quality of general and specialised SAPS investigations, we are establishing a Crime Detection University in Hammanskraal”. This was understood as a directive to work towards the establishment of a specialised public higher education institution that would offer qualifications on the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework in fields linked to crime detection. 

(b)    In terms of the Higher Education Act (Act 101 of 1997, as amended), the proposed institution for crime detection in Hammanskraal cannot be established immediately as a university. The Act allows for new institutions to be established as either Higher Education Colleges or University Colleges.  The decision on whether this institution will be established as a university college or a higher education college will be dependent on the outcome of a feasibility study that must be undertaken. 

A higher education college is an institution that is established by the Minister, as an independent institution, to offer a scope and range of qualifications that is defined as relatively narrow, possibly in a specific field, e.g. Crime Detection, or a small range of fields, e.g. Crime Detection, Safety and Security, and Military Studies. It is likely to have a relatively small student population, e.g. less than 5 000 students when it is fully operational. It will offer a range of qualifications and skills programmes. The qualifications would include higher certificates, advanced certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, undergraduate degrees and postgraduate diplomas accredited through the Council on Higher Education (CHE). The institution could also offer short skills programmes or occupational programmes accredited through the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). Once the college is fully established and it shows potential to grow further and expand, it could then be declared as a university college, under the governance structure of an established university.

A university college is an institution established by the Minister, under the governance of an existing university, with the intention to grow its student numbers and programmes to cover a scope and range of activities that would enable it over time to be recognised as a fully-fledged university. While the institution would initially start with a small number of programmes in a limited number of fields, e.g. Crime Detection and Safety and Security, it would be planned to grow over time to cover a wider range of related fields and programmes in higher education including undergraduate, honours, Masters and Doctoral degree programmes. It may also offer a limited number of programmes accredited by the QCTO. A university college may be declared to be established as a fully-fledged university when it meets the requirements to be established as such, i.e. when it has grown and developed to such an extent that it has the scope and range of operations that allows it to be defined as a university.

(c)    The disciplines taught at such an institution will be determined by a feasibility study and could include a range of disciplines within policing and security studies that will develop professional and occupational knowledge and skills required to bolster capacity in policing, crime detection and prevention capabilities, and will involve an investigative capacity, including the use of forensic methodical approaches and technology, data analytics, criminal and evidentiary law, and investigative practice. The feasibility study should provide guidance on how this public higher education institution would be differentiated based its mandate and mission. 

(d)    Through the feasibility study a determination will be made on the institutional type, i.e. whether it will be a higher education college or a university college to start with and what the Programme Qualification Mix of the public higher education institution should be.

(e)   (i) A project plan has been developed for Ministerial approval to set out the process and deliverables towards the production of a feasibility study for the two new higher education institution mentioned in the 2020 SONA. The feasibility study must aim to address a number of critical issues including, the size and shape of the new institution; its site(s) of establishment, land assembly and spatial framework; supply and sustainability of required engineering services; environmental sustainability; socio-economic impact analysis; and the digital technology requirements for a contemporary higher education institution.  A project management team will be set up to manage the process. The feasibility study will be undertaken in the current financial year and will determine the time lines for the establishment and development of the institution in line with a costed plan.

 (ii) Funding for the new public higher education institution, in line with the findings of the feasibility study and plan, must be secured from the Vote. In terms of the Higher Education Act, a new institution can only be established once funding is appropriated for that purpose, as this is required before the institution can be legally established.

24 June 2020 - NW1144

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Boshoff, Dr WJ to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)With reference to his reply to question 927 on 2 June 2020, what (a) is the name of each company from which the specified goods and/or services were purchased, (b) is the amount of each transaction and (c) was the service and/or product that each company rendered; (2) whether there was any deviation from the standard supply chain management procedures in the specified transactions; if so, (a) why and (b) what are the relevant details in each case; (3) what were the reasons that the goods and/or services were purchased from the specified companies; (4) whether he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Attached is the response in respect of PQ 1144.

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION:

1.

(a) the name of the company from which the specified goods and/or service were purchased

(b) the amount of each transaction

(c) the service and/or product that each company rendered

 

1

XL Nexus Travel

R42 500,00

Shuttle Services

 

2

Dischem

R949,50

Surgical Gloves

 

3

Dischem

R61,90

Sanitizer

 

4

Lynnwood Road Pharmacy

R398,00

Surgical Gloves

 

5

Lynnwood Road Pharmacy

R1 561,00

Face Masks

 

6

Serene Pharmacy

R699,90

Surgical Gloves

 

7

Serene Pharmacy

R629,80

Sanitizer

 

8

Pharma Value Pharmacy

R2 638,68

Face Masks

 

9

Barclay Square Pharmacy

R1 881,30

Sanitizer

 

10

Masana Hygiene

R20 412,50

25 Sanitizer Dispensers

 

11

Masana Hygiene

R20 829,38

Sanitizer refill for dispensers (3 Months)

 

12

Maanda Nes Investment

R67 212,60

Once-Off spray deep cleaning of offices

 

13

Us-pects Trading Enterprise

R40 500,00

Face Mask

 

14

Us-pects Trading Enterprise

R8 450,00

Surgical Gloves

 

15

Supra Healthcare

R4 312,50

Face Masks

 

16

Supra Healthcare

R5 637,30

Surgical Gloves

 

17

Maanda Nes Investment

R63 000,00

Once-Off Decontamination Spray

     

R281 674,36

 

2(a) There was one deviation from normal supply chain management process for the appointment of Masana Hygiene to provide sanitiser dispensers and sanitiser refills for a period of three months at an amount of R41 241,88.

The deviation was sought and approved in accordance with the provisions of National Treasury Instruction No. 05 of 2020/21, which permits emergency procurement in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Covid-19 has been classified as a global threat to human life. Thus, eminent steps had to be taken to proactively minimise its spread in the Departmental premises. The immediate procurement of sanitisers enabled the Department to ensure that the risk of infection is minimised.

2(b)

The name of the company

The amount of each transaction

The service and/or product that each company rendered

 

Masana Hygiene

R20 412,50

25 Sanitizer Dispensers

 

Masana Hygiene

R20 829,38

Sanitizer refill for dispensers (3 Months)

   

R41 241.88

 

3.

The name of the company from which the specified goods and/or service were purchased

reasons that the goods and/or services were purchased from the specified companies

 

1

XL Nexus Travel

The Department has a contract for travel and accommodation with the company. Moreover, the contract was established through an open tender process.

 

2

Dischem

Petty cash was used to procure from these companies. They are retailers and they were randomly selected for procurement based on the availability of stock.

 

3

Dischem

 
 

4

Lynnwood Road Pharmacy

 
 

5

Lynnwood Road Pharmacy

 
 

6

Serene Pharmacy

 
 

7

Serene Pharmacy

 
 

8

PharmaValue Pharmacy

 
 

9

Barclay Square Pharmacy

 
 

10

Masana Hygiene

The Department has a contract for cleaning and Hygiene services with the company. Thus, it was more cost-effective to utilise them.

 

11

Masana Hygiene

 
 

12

Maanda Nes Investment

An open and fair request for quotations process was followed to appoint these companies. These companies won the bids on the basis that they scored the highest number of points on the 80/20 preference point system and also complied with the bidding requirements.

 

13

Uspects Trading Enterprise

 
 

14

Uspects Trading Enterprise

 
 

17

Maanda Nes Investment

 
 

15

Supra Healthcare

An open and fair request for verbal quotations process was followed to appoint this company. The company won because it quoted the lowest price and complied with the bidding requirements.

 

16

Supra Healthcare

 

4. The Minister’s office will advise if the Minister has to make a statement in this regard.

24 June 2020 - NW1201

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)Whether the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has entered into an agreement with the SA Revenue Service to obtain data on the tax status of students and/or their families; if not, (2) whether NSFAS is planning on entering into such an agreement; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, at what stage are the plans; (3) on what legal provisions will NSFAS rely when seeking to obtain knowledge of the tax status of a third party

Reply:

(1) The National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the SA Revenue Service (SARS) concluded an agreement on 5 December 2019. The agreement did not seek to govern the provision of personal tax status information by SARS to NSFAS. The primary purpose of the agreement was to permit NSFAS to obtain additional information from SARS relating to the gross annual income of NSFAS applicants, or their parents and/or guardians by enhancing the scope of section 70(2)(b) of the Tax Administration Act, Act No. 28 of 2011 and section 24 of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Act No. 56 of 1999, which governs the provision of SARS information to NSFAS. Prior to the conclusion of the agreement, NSFAS could only request and SARS was only obliged to provide NSFAS with information, which related to the name and address of the employer of a person to whom a loan or bursary has been granted under that scheme.

(2) Not Applicable.

(3) Not Applicable.

24 June 2020 - NW1202

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(a) For how long did his department engage with a certain company (name furnished) regarding the introduction of a comprehensive innovation plan in the townships of the Republic, (b) on what grounds was this engagement pursued, (c) on what date did the engagement come to an end and (d) what were the specific reasons for ending the engagement, given that significant European Union and British potential investment was at stake?

Reply:

(a) South Africa has a bilateral science and innovation partnership with the United Kingdom as part of the Newton Fund initiative, which is operational in 17 other countries. The UK-South Africa Newton Fund is administered by the South Africa’s Department for Science and Technology and the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Newton Fund is part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. As such, the partnership is required to subscribe to development cooperation principles which include country ownership, a focus on results and accountability, inclusive partnerships, and transparency and mutual accountability.

Matter Innovation is a private sector consultancy domiciled in the United Kingdom. The company was selected, appointed, and contracted by the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. United Kingdom (UK) government to implement a specific Newton Fund initiative known as the Global Innovation Partners Programme in South Africa.

The DSI engaged with Matter Innovation within the framework of the Newton Fund cooperation in 2018 and 2019.

(b) The engagement was pursued at the request of the United Kingdom Government because Matter Innovation was appointed under the SA-UK Newton Fund bilateral partnership and the intended purpose of the initiative was in line with the mandate of the DSI to strengthen science, technology, and innovation in South Africa.

(c) The engagement ended in 2019 when the contract between Matter Innovation and the UK Government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills ended. At this stage there was no mandate or enabling institutional framework to continue the cooperation. Matter Innovation was funded by the UK government to engage in this cooperation.

(d) As highlighted above, the engagement between the DSI and Matter Innovation arose as a result of a Newton Fund supported contract between the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills and Matter Innovation. As such, there was no basis for the DSI to continue engagement with Matter Innovation independently. The DSI continues to implement multiple partnerships with the UK Government strengthening science and innovation capacities in South Africa, none of which has been impacted by the discontinuing of the engagement with Matter Innovation. There has never been any link from the Department’s perspective between the engagement with Matter Innovation and cooperation with the EU. The latter continues to flourish.

24 June 2020 - NW1203

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)(a) What number of times, (b) on what dates and (c) why was the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) sector education and training authority placed under administration in each year since its inception; (2) (a) what number of clean audits has CETA had since its inception and (b) by what amount has it underspent its income in each case; (3) what number of artisans has it trained to the point of qualification; (4) what number of instances of corruption have been uncovered?

Reply:

(1) (a) The Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) was placed twice under administration.

(b) 25 March 2011 and 3 February 2020.

(c) In 2011, CETA was placed under administration due to allegations of financial mismanagement and in 2020, due to allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

(2) (a) CETA received four clean audits in the 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.

(b) The total amounts of underspending are as follows:

Year

Amount

2015/16

R 315 136 800.80

2016/17

R 255 673 499.26

2017/18

R 236 761 241.45

Total

R 807 571 541.51

(3) Based on information obtained from CETA and the National Artisan Moderation Body, CETA has trained a total of 25 362 artisans to the point of qualification.

(4) No instances of corruption have been uncovered to date. The independent investigation commissioned is currently under way looking into the allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

19 June 2020 - NW1080

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Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)What is the total expected reduction in his departments’ budget by Treasury in light of Covid-19; (2) whether the reduction will be spread evenly throughout his department; if not, (a) why not and (b)(i) how will it be distributed between programmes and entities and (ii) on what principles?

Reply:

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

(1) The Department did not receive official communication from National Treasury on the budget reductions. The Department is waiting for the announcement to be made by Parliament.

(2) Not applicable

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

(1) R1 759 479 000. This amount is made up of R1 435 304 000 budget cuts and R324 175 000 for COVID-19 initiatives.

(2) The reduction will not be spread evenly throughout the department.

2 (a) Programmes have different budgets for implementing different initiatives.

2b (i)

Budget cuts per programme

Programme

Compensation of employees R’000

Goods and services R’000

Transfers and subsidies

R’000

Total

R’000

Administration

18 995

22 987

-

41 982

Technology Innovation

5 769

9 978

50 000

65 747

International Cooperation and Resources

5 946

14 422

14 925

35 293

Research Development and Support

4 339

6 055

926 144

936 538

Socio-economic Innovation Partnerships

4 951

-

55 375

60 326

Total

40 000

53 442

1 046 444

1 139 886

Budget cuts per entity (Parliamentary Grants)

 

R’000

Technology Innovation Agency

45 586

South African National Space Agency

18 209

National Research Foundation

96 610

Council for Science and Industrial Research

99 765

Academy of Science of South Africa

2 790

Human Science Research Council

32 459

Total

295 418

(ii) Principles

Programmes

  • There is an anticipated savings on compensation of employees’ budget as the filling of vacancies will delay due to the pandemic.
  • Savings to be realized from goods and services budget due to the lockdown, for example: Travel, events, etc.
  • Various factors were considered under transfers and subsidies budget:
    • Projects that would not be feasible to implement due to the pandemic, for example: infrastructure, science awareness, etc.
    • Projects that were allocated funds during the last quarter of the financial year and the prospect of spending the new money (2020/21) were slim.
  • There are however other areas where the cuts will have a negative impact, these include; the Human Capital Development. The department proposed these cuts in order to reach the 20% stipulated by National Treasury. These challenges were presented by the department to the National Treasury.

Entities

  • 10% cut was proposed on the entities’ parliamentary grants across the board.
  • A lesser percentage (as opposed to 20% requested by National Treasury) was proposed in order to minimize the impact of the cuts to entities.
  • Entities are also expected to make some savings on areas where there will be no or minimal activities during the lockdown.
  • Based on the above, the department is satisfied that the proposal is fair, however it was noted that entities which rely on external revenue might be negatively impacted as the revenue has declined substantially due to the prevailing conditions.
  • The department has discussed the entities that are affected by decline of external revenue with the National Treasury for possible amnesty.

18 June 2020 - NW1096

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

What (a)(i) assistance and/or (ii) funding will his department provide to technical and vocational education and training centres (TVETs) to ensure that they are able to implement Covid-19 national health protocols as they apply to tertiary institutions and (b) oversight will his department perform over TVETs to ensure that Covid-19 national health protocols as they apply to campuses are implemented across campuses?

Reply:

(a) Assistance is provided to TVET colleges through Higher Health, which conducts daily screening and provides health care volunteers on every campus. Capacity development webinars on the COVID-19 Post-School Education and Training (PSET) guidelines and protocols have been conducted for TVET management in all the regions. Higher Health facilitated these sessions and over 1 000 management staff at TVET colleges have been trained. Colleges have reprioritised their budgets to take the necessary measures in line with the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. Amongst others, college budgets have been redirected towards the procurement of personal protective equipment, sanitisers, facial masks, fumigation and the deep cleansing of campuses.

(b) The Department has been administering the TVET readiness assessment questionnaire on a weekly basis for the past four weeks. This was intended to assess the state of readiness of TVET colleges and report progress to the Department and Ministerial Task Team on COVID-19. Continuous monitoring, which includes on-site visits and the through the regional offices, the Department verifies the information provided by colleges. In addition, the Minister and Deputy Minister have recently visited several PSET institutions to assess and monitor the state of readiness for the phased return of students and staff to campuses under level 3.

18 June 2020 - NW1097

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Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)Whether his department has been informed that the Springfield Campus of Ethekwini College, although offering courses with practical components, has not been offering any practicals for students enrolled in engineering courses, despite these being advertised as part of the curriculum; if not, what is the position in this regard; (2) whether students are paying for the practical course from (a) their own funding and/or (b) the National Students Financial Aid Scheme; (3) whether his department has been informed that the Springfield Campus of Ethekwini College, is in a complete state of disrepair with collapsed perimeter fencing and/or walls, no access control and that entry to the campus is obscured by a dumpsite; if not, what steps will he take to investigate the matter; if so, how does his department plan to intervene?

Reply:

(1) The campus offers Engineering and Related Design (E&RD) NCV programmes where students are doing practical activities as part of the Internal Continuous Assessments (ICASS). For the students to qualify for entry into the examinations the ISAT (practical exam component) needs to be administered. The Campus yearly is conducting relevant practical tasks. We are not aware of any programme offered at Springfield Campus where practicals are supposed to be offered and they are not offered.

(2) ERD NCV programmes are paid for by NSFAS to all financial needy and qualifying students.

(3) Parts of the precast walls are missing due to thuggery from the neighboring informal settlements. Last year, in November 2019, missing precast walls were replaced, but the thuggery continued. Additional security is deployed to ensure the safety and security of the college property and its stakeholders. The dumpsite is a challenge as it is on an access road to the Campus. The municipality cleaning of the road is unsatisfactory and there is continuous engagement with the municipality to devise a permanent solution.

11 June 2020 - NW997

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Ngcobo, Mr S to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

(1)Given that Monday, 25 May 2020, is marked Africa day, and seeing that indigenous African languages are faced with the unique challenge of adapting to a fast-changing technological era, what steps has his department taken to promote the ideal of a multilingual society as espoused in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; (2) whether he has found that there are digitised efforts and carved-out spaces for indigenous languages within the digital space for them to not only survive, but also to thrive in the ever-changing technological era; if not, why not; if so, what are the full relevant details?

Reply:

(1) The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), through the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR), established the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR). SADiLaR has an enabling function, with a focus on all official languages of South Africa, supporting research and development in the domains of language technologies and language-related studies in the humanities and social sciences. The Centre supports the creation, management and distribution of digital language resources, as well as applicable software, which are freely available for research purposes through its online repository.

The resources include language datasets (for all official South African languages, including the indigenous languages) as well as high-level resources, such as natural language processing tools that are developed for use in applications, such as machine translation engines for local languages, automatic speech recognition systems, text-to-speech systems, speech-to speech translation systems, interactive communication systems, and a variety of text-related applications, such as grammar and spelling checkers, online electronic dictionaries, and so forth.

SADiLaR plays a strategic role in ensuring the constitutional imperative is achieved in the long term to ensure that the historically diminished use and status of the indigenous languages of the people of South African are redressed and positive measures are taken to elevate the status and advance the use of these languages.

The Recognition of Prior Learning is an initiative of the DSI, which through the implementation of the Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Act No 6 of 2019, aims to recognise the skills of indigenous practitioners in various IKS domains. The initiative focuses on the development of a competency-based qualification to be registered on the National Qualifications Framework. The Department is currently working with IK practitioners (Traditional Health Practice IK domain), to scope their

competencies of their various cultural settings, and has so far documented competencies in isiZulu, Setswana and TshiVenda languages. The workshops with IK practitioners are conducted in the vernacular languages of the IK practitioners. To this end, the IK occupations and accompanying competencies that are documented in the vernacular languages serve as a principle and as a means to promote and preserve the languages of the knowledge systems in its own context.

The National Recordal System (NRS) of the DSI supports the Protection, Promotion, Development and Management of Indigenous Knowledge Act No 6 of 2019 (herein after referred as the IK Act) through the registration of IK. The initiative promotes the recording of IK in vernacular languages using multimedia technology (recording of audio, video, images and transcriptions of each recorded IK story), as a means to preserve IK for future generations so that the context is not lost. Further hereto, the aim is to protect the IK from biopiracy and misappropriation, and to enable the sharing of benefits to the local and rural communities who have registered such IK in the system, should the knowledge be used by any 3rd party, following the various legal prescripts of the IK Act, No 6 of 2019. A key element of the NRS in the promotion of the vernacular languages is by having IK recorders from the participating communities to implement the documentation of IK. In this way, the youth are exposed to the value of their community IK, and through using their languages they are able to capture extensions of the very rich IK that are held by their own communities. The registered IK is held in a digital repository that stores, provide access to, transmit, manage and secure the registered indigenous knowledge via the digital platform.

(2) The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources provides a digital space for language resources and tools as part of its online repository available at https://repo.sadilar.org/. SADiLaR, through its nodes, focuses on ensuring African Languages are digitised, relevant text and speech processing technologies are developed, terminology development is supported through the creation of wordnets (which are large lexical databases containing nouns, verbs, etc. and their relationships) and language testing and training projects.

SADiLaR funds and supports a range of projects related to indigenous languages in collaboration with SADiLaR’s nodes (consisting of University of Pretoria (Department of African Languages); University of South Africa (Department of African Languages); CSIR (HLT Research Group); North-West University (Centre for Text Technology); and Inter-Institutional Centre for Language Development and Assessment (ICELDA). Projects relate to digitization, semantics and terminology, language development and teaching resources, speech resources, and text resources and technologies.

Collaboration between the North-West University, University of Pretoria and the CSIR in the area of Human Language Technologies predates the establishment of the SADiLaR. The development of a Human language technologies (HLT) speech-activated multilingual service delivery platform was funded from the European Union Government Budget Support programme, between 2014 and 2017. The platform is aimed at providing technology tools necessary for delivering information and services to South African citizens in their language of choice, in an affordable and sustainable manner. The focus was on the development of core technologies in automatic speech recognition (ASR) and text to speech (TTS) using mobile phones as the primary communication channel, furthermore, providing an HLT-enabled solution for website accessibility to print-disabled and low literate end-users.

The aim of the solution was to enable access to information and promote multilingualism. The solution involved the integration of TTS voices in South African English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa with the Non-Visual Desktop Access screen reader. Cape Access (CA) of the Western Cape Government was identified as a possible government partner following a need expressed to make their websites more accessible. CA identified 11 eCentres in which to pilot this technology. A demographics survey was conducted at these eCentres to determine who the typical visitors to these eCentres are and how they operate. After this, eCentre managers were trained on how to use the technology and the technology was subsequently installed and piloted at these eCentres.

The HLT-enabled solution which was also piloted at Kaleidoscope SA (Institute for the Blind). This pilot aimed at allowing blind students to use the Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) screen reader with local languages as a basis for receiving training. Kaleidoscope SA offers formal qualifications (N4 & N5) in a number of fields to blind students.

Furthermore, an activity aimed at assessing communication practices and needs of multilingual persons using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) was undertaken. The research was undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) at the University of Pretoria and entailed the integration of CSIR Text-to-Speech (TTS) voices with AAC software. Two sets of evaluations were held and the local voices evaluated were South African English, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans and Setswana.

The DSI is also currently funding the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Research (CAIR), which has a node at North West University. This particular node’s area of expertise is led by a Multilingual Speech Technologies (MuST) research group focused at the creation and use of speech technologies in the less-resourced languages.

SADiLaR, through its involvement with the UNESCO Year of Indigenous languages, reached more than 850 participants directly through language celebration events. These events created a space for academics, lecturers, students (undergraduates – postgraduates), broader public as well as profound contributors in the various languages to interact, and were held across South Africa at various universities in cooperation with the National Lexicography Units of South Africa. These events culminated in SADiLaR taking part in the Language Technologies for All conference with a focus on Enabling Linguistic Diversity and Multilingualism Worldwide, creating awareness of how the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap is directly contributing toward linguistic diversity and multilingualism through SADiLaR.

SADiLaR is also brainstorming its COVID-19 response, in particular to allow for “Rapid situational awareness in emerging situations like natural disasters or disease outbreaks”. This requires availability of Human Language Technology not only for the official languages of the country, but all languages spoken in South Africa.