Higher Education

2014-03-03

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Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 3012

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 28 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether, with regard to the implementation of the Use of Official Language Policy Act, Act 12 of 2012 and since the reply of the Minister of Arts and Culture to question 990 on 6 June 2013, his department implemented the Act; if not, when will the Act be implemented; if so, which languages have been adopted as official languages of his department?

NW3656E

REPLY:

The Director-General has issued a memorandum in this regard, dated 13 December 2013, to all Sector Education and Training Authorities, and relevant statutory bodies to comply and implement the prescripts of the Act.

The Department has adopted three languages, i.e. English, isiZulu and Sepedi, due to its geographical footprint across the nine provinces. As the Department establishes regional offices, the predominant languages in that particular region will be used in each these offices. The development of a language policy is currently underway for implementation in the 2015/16 financial year, as well as the establishment of a language unit by April 2015 to regulate and monitor the use of official languages within the Department and relevant statutory bodies.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2978

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 28 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether he intends to pay bonuses to staff in his department; if so, (a) what criteria has been used to award bonuses, (b) how many staff members will be receiving bonuses, (c) what total amount will be spent on staff bonuses and (d) was this amount budgeted for?

NW3622E

REPLY:

Chapter 4, clause 15.3 of the SMS Handbook guides the awarding of bonuses to SMS members while the DPSA Employee Performance Management and Development System Framework (for levels 12 and below) guides the awarding of bonuses to levels 12 and below. In terms of clause 9.5 of this framework, departments must not spend more than 1.5% of their remuneration budget for bonuses.

The information requested will be available in the Department's Annual Report once these are tabled in Parliament.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2871

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 28 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How does the (a) content and (b) objectives of his department's Adult Education and Training (AET) programme differ from those of the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign run by the Department of Basic Education;

2) what level of qualification does the AET certificate constitute;

3) what further educational route(s) are open to persons who acquire an AET certificate?

NW3514E

REPLY:

1) (a) The content of the Adult Education and Training (AET) and Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy

Campaign programmes differs in that the AET programme goes beyond functional literacy and is considered as a post-literacy programme, which leads to a qualification. The AET programme is underpinned by unit standards that enable formal knowledge and skills to be acquired, focussing on skills programmes such as Tourism, Information and Communications Technology, Wholesale and Retail, Agriculture and Early Childhood Development.

(b) The Kha Ri Gude programme's objectives are to provide literacy and numeracy skills to those individuals who would like to learn to read and write, whereas the AET programme provides individuals with an opportunity to obtain an externally recognized qualification.

2) The AET certificate constitutes a National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 1 qualification.

3) Learners who acquire the AET's General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) may enter a vocational oriented path such as the National Certificate (Vocational) programme offered at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges or follow an academic path towards obtaining a Senior Certificate at NQF level 4.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2869

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 28 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) (a) What is the exact location, including full physical address, of each of the 16 sites on which new campuses for TVET colleges are being planned or built and (b)(i) to which existing colleges will each campus be affiliated and (ii) what distance will each campus be from its respective college Head Office;

2) what are the reasons for two campuses being planned for the Nkandla district;

3) (a) what is the timeline for the construction of each campus, (b) in each case, when will construction begin and (c) what is the budget allocated for each campus;

4) what are the names of the companies appointed to construct the campuses in the case of the three sites where tenders have been awarded?

NW3511E

REPLY:

1. The geographical details of the 16 TVET college campuses are tabulated below:

TVET College	Campus	Local and District Municipality	Physical Address	Distance from the Head Office
Eastern Cape Province
Eastcape Midlands	Graaff-Reinet	Camdeboo Local Cacadu District	Erven 9012, 4140 and 4150, Graaff-Reinet	225 km
Ingwe	Ngqungqushe	Ngquza Hill Local OR Tambo District	Erven 2786, Lusikisiki	197 km
Ikhala	Sterkspruit	Senqu Local Joe Gqabi District	Portion 11 of Farm 82, Herschell Road, Sterkspruit	250 km
Ikhala	Aliwal North	Maletswai Local Joe Gqabi District	Erven 3094, 3095, 3099 and 3100, Aliwal North	158 km
KwaZulu-Natal Province
Esayidi	Umzimkhulu	uMzimkhulu Local Sisonke District	Erven152 being Erven 1918, 1952 – 1960, 1920 – 1949 and 1951, Umzimkhulu	220 km
Umfolozi	Bhambanana	Jozini Local uMkhanyekude	Topi Farm No. 14582, situated in Bhambanana	190 km
	Nkandla A and B	Nkandla Local uThungulu District	Portion of Erven 5000, situated in Nkandla Town	180 km
	Nkandla A and B	Nkandla Local uThungulu District	Portion of the Farm Reserve No.19, No.15839, Nkungumathe	190 km
Umgungundlovu	Greytown	uMvoti Local uMzinyathi District	Erven A/1455, situated in Greytown	85 km
Umgungundlovu	Msinga	Msinga Local uMzinyathi District	Portion 24 of the Farm Klip River Location No.4665 – GT, situated in Msinga	150 km
Mthashana	KwaGqikazi	Nongoma Local Zululand District	Portion of 13 of the Farm Reserve No. 12, No. 15832, situated in Nongoma	170 km
Mthashana	Nongoma	Nongoma Local Zululand District	Portion of 13 of the Farm Reserve No. 12, No.15832, situated in Nongoma	170 km
Mthashana	Vryheid	Abaqulusi Local Zululand District	Erven 15832/13, Erven 653 situated at 22 A Nongoma Main Road, Nongoma	9 km
Limpopo Province
Letaba	Giyani	Greater Giyani Local Mopani District	Erven 1502, Giyani	110 km
Waterberg	Thabazimbi	Thabazimbi Local Waterberg District	Erven 1912, Regorogile Ext 5. Erven 2755, Erven 4145, 4168:L, 3810 – 3822, Regorogile Ext 8. Erven 4209 Ext 8, Thabazimbi	300 km
Mpumalanga Province
Gert Sibande	Balfour	Dipaleseng Local Gert Sibande District Ger	Portion 0 of the farm Balfour 557 IR, Balfour	95 km

2. There is only one Nkandla campus. This campus spans across two delivery sites, namely Nkandla A and Nkandla B, serving the Nkandla local municipality.

3. Of the 16 sites, three sites were awarded and handed over to service providers for construction, i.e. Thabazimbi, Bhambanana and Nkandla A campuses. Construction work has commenced on the Thabazimbi and Bhambanana campuses. Construction on the Nkandla A campus will commence once the technical aspects of the site has been dealt with. The table below provides the timeframes pertaining to the three sites, including the budget allocated for construction.

Site	a) Timeline for Construction	b) Assumption of Construction work	Completion Date	c) Budget Allocated
Thabazimbi	11 months	15 September 2014	12 August 2015	R190 093 606
Bhambanana	12 months	30 October 2014	30 October 2015	R167 427 900
Nkandla A	12 months	19 November 2014	19 November 2015	R194 019 880
Total				R551 541 386

The remaining 13 sites were advertised for tender in August 2014. The tender evaluation and adjudication process is underway and contractors will be appointed once the process is concluded. The construction period for these campuses will be twelve months from the commencement date. The table below indicates the allocated construction budget for the remaining 13 sites.

Site	Budget Allocated
Graaff-Reinet	R146 296 273
Ngqungqushe	R186 894 462
Sterkspruit	R200 396 488
Aliwal North	R220 286 732
Giyani	R150 784 008
Balfour	R219 693 164
Msinga	R222 737 149
Umzimkhulu	R141 218 341
Nkandla B	R223 031 337
Greytown	R221 006 629
KwaGqikazi	R133 347 257
Nongoma	R176 963 439
Vryheid	R208 900 864
Total	R2 451 556 143

4. Companies appointed for the construction:

a) Thabazimbi campus: Clear Choice Builders CC;

b) Bhambanana campus: Mamli Projects CC JV Phumi Trading; and

c) Nkandla A campus: Rambros Construction CC.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2779

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 27 OF 2014)

Ms L V James (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether he received an invitation to the wedding of Vega Gupta and Aakash Jahajgarhia; if so,

2) whether he attended any of the wedding festivities between 30 April and 3 May 2013; if so,

3) whether he stayed overnight at the venue; if so, (a) what accommodation did he use, (b) who paid for the said accommodation, (c) what mode of transport did he use to attend the wedding festivities and (d) who paid for the travel costs?

NW3431E

REPLY:

1) Yes. Members of Parliament and the Executive interact and engage with various individuals and stakeholders in the execution of their daily duties and personal lives, and are often invited to events in their official or private capacity. Weddings are private and personal engagements, and should therefore be treated and respected as such.

2) No.

3) Not applicable.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2738

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 27 OF 2014)

Mrs D Robinson (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Did (a) his department and/or (b) any entities reporting to it owe money to any Gauteng municipalities at the end of the 2013-14 financial year; if so, in respect of each specified municipality (i) what is the name of the municipality, (ii) what was the total amount owed, (iii) what was the nature of the debt, (iv) for how long has the debt been outstanding and (v) what plans are in place to recover the debt owed to the municipality by (aa) his department and/or (bb) any entities reporting to it?

NW3387E

REPLY:

a) The Department did not owe money to any Gauteng Municipality at the end of the 2013/14 financial year.

b) According to the information received by the Department, the following entities owed money:

Entity	Municipality	Amount Owed	Nature of the Debt	Duration of Debt	Plans in place
Services SETA	City of Johannesburg	R165 525.35	Water, Rates and Electricity	One month	Payment was made during April 2014
SAQA	City of Tshwane	R151 257.00	Rates and Electricity	One month	Payment was made during April 2014

Reply received: December 2014

QUESTION 2663

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 27 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What projects did the National Skills Fund support during the 2013-14 financial year;

2) what was the (a) budget and (b) amount spent in each case;

3) in each case (a) how was the decision made to support the project, (b) was the availability of funding made known to the relevant constituency of potential applicants, (c) was there an application made, (d) were the applications reviewed by independent reviewers, (e) what predetermined set of objectives were the applications judged against, (f) were the budgets of each specified project scrutinised, (g) what targets were (i) set and (ii) met for each specified project, (h) was (i) expenditure monitored and (ii) surpluses returned and (i) how was overspending dealt with;

4) were the specified projects audited; if so, in each case, what (a) were the findings of the audits, (b) were the recommendations and (c) actions has he taken in this regard?

NW3308E

REPLY:

1) The National Skills Fund (NSF) supported 164 projects during the 2013/14 financial year under the mandated key priorities as indicated below.

NSF Funded Projects	No. of Projects
Human Resource Development Strategy of South Africa	1
National Skills Authority Ministerial	14
Government Priorities	116
Director-General Priorities	27
Skills Infrastructure	6
TOTAL	164

2) The detailed project budget and expenditure list can be made available on request.

3) (a) Each project should contribute towards the achievement of the strategic objectives and targets in the NSF Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan.

(b) A letter is furnished to the applicant indicating the approval of funds allocated.

(d) All NSF project funding proposals are evaluated by the NSF Project Grants Committee.

(e) Two categories of criteria are applicable to determine eligibility of applicants as per the NSF Strategic Framework for Allocation of Funds (2011 to 2016). The first category relates to those projects for which funding can be allocated and the second category relates to the applicant seeking funding from the NSF.

(f) The budget requested for each project is scrutinised as part of the funding proposal evaluation process.

(g) (i) and (ii) The targets for each approved project contributes towards the achievement of the strategic objectives and targets contained in the NSF Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan.

(h) (i) Each request for payment is verified by NSF staff during project site visits and expenditure is monitored against the project implementation plan, cash-flow and approved funding allocation.

(ii) Surplus funds must be returned to the NSF once the project has been completed and this forms part of the project close-out process.

(i) Overspending on projects are prevented through strict budget control mechanisms which includes the evaluation of every project payment against the project's available budget prior to payment and as a result, no project exceeded its allocated budget during the 2013/14 financial year.

4) (a) NSF funded projects are audited by the Internal Audit unit of the Department and Auditor-General of South Africa.

The audit findings of the Auditor-General with regard to project grant disbursements were mainly as follows:

• Monitoring reporting templates are not adequate for sufficient reporting on the monitoring of projects.

• Inadequate performance information system for the collection, collation and reporting of performance information

• The accrual accounting financial system for the recording and reporting of grants disbursements and commitments were not entirely operational resulting in significant audit adjustments. The NSF had initially used the departmental cash-based reporting system to account for transactions and started to implement the accrual accounting system during the 2013/14 financial year for finalisation during 2014/15 financial year.

• Lack of accrual accounting policies, procedures and monthly accrual accounting financial disciplines.

• Lack of sufficiently skilled financial capacity within the NSF.

• Payments were not made within 30 days from date of receipt of a claim. The delays were mainly as a result of service providers not completing the quarterly reports accurately, resulting in resubmissions being required.

• Claims or draw-down requests were not received within 15 days from the end of the relevant quarter, as per the signed agreements.

(b) The audit recommendations of the Auditor-General were mainly as follows:

• Management should prioritise the operation of the information system for recording and reporting financial and performance information.

• Standard operating procedures relating to the collation, recording and validation of performance information should be updated and implemented.

• The staff responsible for preparing supporting schedules and reports should have appropriate skill.

• Management should also maintain strong relationships with their training providers to understand their challenges and respond thereto by adjusting their system to accommodate the means and resources of service providers.

• In the absence of an automated system, project managers should implement a process to track all claims received for payment to ensure that these claims are submitted to the finance unit on a timely basis for payment.

• Management should revise the NSF's monitoring tool to include the verification of learners. The operations manual for grant disbursements should also be revised to include the details of how project monitoring will be conducted and how often.

• The commitment schedule should be kept up to date throughout the year and the accrual accounting system must be prioritised.

• Additional high level financial capacity should be built within the Fund to prevent overreliance on the CFO.

(c) The audit findings and recommendations are taken up in the NSF Audit Action Plan and where applicable corrective actions are taken with progress being monitored on a quarterly basis.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2601

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 14/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 27 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

NW3239E

REPLY:

The amounts spent on promotional magazines are tabulated below:

Financial year	Amount
(a) 2011-12	R0.00
(b) 2012-13 Leadership Magazine	R161 000.00
(c) 2013-14 New Agenda Magazine	R57 000.00

N.B: Any other journal or magazine features were complimentary offers.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2457

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Mr T J Brauteseth (DA) to ask the Minister Higher Education and Training:

How many work days has his department lost to (a) sick leave and (b) strike action in the (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14 financial years?

NW3050E

REPLY:

The table below indicates the number of working days lost as reflected in the annual reports for the respective financial years:

Item no.	Category	Financial years
Item no.	Category	(i) 2011/12	(ii) 2012/13	(iii) 2013/14
(a)	Sick Leave	5 248 days	4 953 days	7 058 days
(b)	Strike Action	0	0	0

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2424

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) What was the total remuneration of (i) board members, (ii) nonexecutive directors and (iii) executive directors of each entity reporting to him in the (aa) 2011-12, (bb) 2012-13 and (cc) 2013-14 financial years and (b) how many times did each board meet in the specified financial years?

NW3016E

REPLY:

The information requested for the years in question are available in the Annual Reports of the entities and are thus publicly available.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2381

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) With reference to the King Sabata Dalindyebo Further Education and Training College (KSD FET) Satellite Campus at Libode (a) why is the (i) specified campus acquiring prefabricated classrooms and (ii) other half of the campus not used, (b) to whom is it leased, (c) to whom is the rental paid, (d) who authorised the lease, (e) for how long has it been leased, (f) what amount is it leased for per month and (g) what amount in rental has been received per month for the duration of the lease;

2) has the specified lease been duly authorised; if not, what steps is his department taking to (a) rectify the situation if the lease was not duly authorised and (b) ensure that the entire campus is used for technical and vocational education and training purposes?

NW2973E

REPLY:

1) (a) (i) King Sabatha Dalindyebo (KSD) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College operated at the Libode campus since 2004 and ceased its operations in 2008. Due to increased student enrolments, a decision was taken by KSD to resume lectures at the Libode campus. In 2012, KSD re-opened the Libode campus offering the National Certificate Vocational and Report 191 Engineering programmes.

(ii) In 2007, the Candle Light Nursing College, a private nursing college, illegally occupied the other half of the campus.

(b) The property is not being leased.

(d) Not applicable

(e) Not applicable

(f) Not applicable

(g) Not applicable

2) KSD has held several meetings with the Nyandeni Municipality and Council of the local Chief to try and resolve the illegal occupation of the campus. Candle Light Nursing College management was also invited to meetings, but failed to honour the meeting requests.

KSD is currently defending an application by Mr A Gibisa who is claiming ownership of the land on which the campus has been built. The college is awaiting judgement on the matter.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2380

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether the forensic investigations into the finances of the (a) East Cape Midlands Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College, (b) Maluti TVET College, (c) Port Elizabeth TVET College and (d) Vhembe TVET College have been completed; if not, why not; if so, what (i) were the findings of each of the investigations, (ii) were the recommendations in each case and (iii) actions has he taken in each case?

NW2972E

REPLY:

All forensic investigations initiated by the Department of Higher Education and Training in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges have been placed on hold pending the outcome of a court application set to commence on 29 January 2015. The court application will determine whether the Department has the authority to initiate forensic investigations in terms of the Public Finance Management Act and should section 46 of the Continuing Education and Training Act (previously the Further Education and Training Act) rather not have been applied.

The currently suspended Principal of Eastcape Midlands TVET college lodged an application at the High Court of Port Elizabeth on 10 November 2014 and was granted temporary relief in that the Department was restricted from continuing with the forensic investigation at Eastcape Midlands TVET college and/or utilise the content of the reports produced during the investigation from being used in any process or disciplinary proceedings pending the outcome of the court application set to commence on 29 January 2015.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2379

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) Whether he will provide the minutes of all meetings of the Ministerial Transformation Committee and (b) what are the planned activities for the specified committee for the 2014-15 financial year?

NW2971E

REPLY:

a) Minutes of the Ministerial Transformation Committee meetings can be made available as and when requested.

b) The detailed planned activities of the Committee for the said period are currently under review by the Department due to budgetary constraints.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2319

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 07/11/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 25 OF 2014)

Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How will he discharge his constitutional obligation of promoting mother tongue education at each university ;

2) how is he going to guarantee that Afrikaans as medium of instruction will not decline if the Potchefstroom campus of the University of North West is transformed by enrolling more English-speaking students, as has happened with the transformation of the former Rand Afrikaans University into the University of Johannesburg;

3) whether he is seeing to it that his obligations are discharged in respect of minorities and their right to be educated in their mother tongue, as contained in section 27 of the International Agreement on Citizen and Political Rights, to which South Africa is legally bound;

4) whether he is planning to (a) keep at least one Afrikaans university or (b) alternatively create such a university; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2902E

REPLY:

1) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa declares "the official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu". The Constitution also states that "the state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these [the indigenous] languages" and that all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and be treated equitably", (Section 6 (1), (2) and (4) of the Founding Provisions). The Constitution enjoins the Pan South African Language Board to promote and create conditions for the development and use of these and other languages. This fact is stated so that there is a clear understanding of the obligations for the Minister of Higher Education and Training.

With regard to the provision of languages at institutions of higher learning, Section 29 (2) of the Constitution states that:

"everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure the effective access to, and implementation of this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account -

a) Equity;

b) Practicability; and

c) The need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices."

All of this informs the work of the Department of Higher Education and Training. It should be noted that nowhere in the Constitution is reference made to the 'promotion of mother tongue education', nevertheless, this is understood to mean the promotion of all official languages especially indigenous languages that were underdeveloped under the past racially discriminatory laws and practices. In this regard, the Language Policy for Higher Education published in November 2002 is the framework that guides these practices at higher education institutions.

In addition to this policy, there are other mechanisms through which the Department steers institutions towards the development of African languages, such as the allocation of infrastructure and efficiency funds to support the development of facilities for teaching African languages.

In the 2012/13 to 2014/15 infrastructure cycle, R311.654 million was allocated to the category of African Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences. Within this category, approximately R120 million was allocated to various universities for infrastructure projects related to the development of African Languages. In addition, the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications policy published in the Government Gazette Number 34467 of 15 July 2011 requires all new teachers to be at least conversationally proficient in an African language. Currently, there are twenty-one (21) universities offering initial teacher education that are developing the capability of teachers in African languages and contributing towards the revitalisation of African Languages departments at universities, as well as the teaching of African languages in schools.

My Ministry is mindful of the fact that effective and sustainable teaching of African Languages at universities is dependent on the competency in these languages being developed at the level of schooling, and therefore that all languages should form an integral part of the basic education curriculum. The Department is working in close collaboration with the Department of Basic Education to ensure that there is synergy on this important matter, especially concerning the training of teachers.

2) The Department's role is to implement policies that seek to steer the sector towards transformation and therefore redress the imbalances created by the apartheid system. In line with the Higher Education Act, a university's language policy is and remains the responsibility of the University Council and not of the Minister of Higher Education and Training. University leadership must be mindful that universities in South Africa are national assets that have to be accessible to every South African irrespective of their ethnicity, creed or mother tongue. The Department fully supports Afrikaans as a medium of tuition, however it could be used in addition to another language like English so that access is not denied to non-speakers of Afrikaans. For example, institutions like University of Stellenbosch have progressively introduced English as an additional medium of tuition without compromising Afrikaans as medium of academic expression.

3) The Department holds the view that the development of African languages is tied to social justice, which is an indispensable element of nation building and the promotion of social cohesion in our country. Therefore, the development of all official languages is a necessity for human rights and dignity, access and success at post-school education institutions, preservation of our heritage, communication and culture. I am duty-bound to develop all our languages especially the African indigenous languages given their history of marginalisation. The status quo makes it practically impossible for all South African citizens to be educated in their mother tongue due to the under-development of all indigenous languages. Indigenous languages have not attained a level where the vocabulary is advanced enough to be used as a medium of tuition. It would not be feasible now for the Department to insist that every citizen be taught in their mother tongue. This will be possible once the Pan South African Language Board has created conditions for the development and use of these languages in education. In the meantime, the Department is encouraging higher education institutions to develop and expand the current vocabulary of indigenous languages to high academic standards for delivery of teaching and learning. Once developed, the implementation of these languages as mediums of tuition would have to commence with the basic education system, from the lowest grade, building up to grade 12 and eventually to post-school education and training system. This task will require dedication, skilled personnel, time and substantial financial resources.

4) In responding to this question, the honourable Advocate Alberts is pointed to the following paragraph 15.4. of the Higher Education Language Policy for Higher Education, which deserves citing in its entirety:

"The Ministry acknowledges that Afrikaans as a language of scholarship and science is a national resource. Therefore, it fully supports the retention of Afrikaans as a medium of academic expression and communication in higher education and is committed to ensuring that the capacity of Afrikaans to function as such a medium is not eroded. In this regard, the Ministry endorses the views of the then President, Mr Nelson Mandela, as expressed in his speech to the University of Stellenbosch in 1996, on the occasion of the acceptance of an honorary doctorate that:

"The real issue is not the extermination or preservation of Afrikaans as an academic medium. Rather, the question is this: Amongst ourselves, how are we to negotiate a dispensation for the South African university system that meets the following three criteria? Firstly, that a milieu should be created and maintained for Afrikaans to continue growing as a language of scholarship and science. At the same time, non-speakers of Afrikaans should not be unjustly deprived of access within the system. And moreover, that the use and development of no single language medium should - either intentionally or unintentionally - be made the basis for the furtherance of racial, ethnic or narrowly cultural separation". 25 October 1996"

I share the conviction expressed in the Language Policy for Higher Education that the sustainability of Afrikaans in higher education does not necessarily require the designation of a university as a 'custodian' of the academic use of the Afrikaans language. Therefore, I neither plan to designate one of the existing universities as an 'Afrikaans language institution', nor intend to create a university for any other specific language as that would be unconstitutional as explained above.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2199

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 31/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 23 OF 2014)

Mr H H C Krüger (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

What is the total of (a) training providers and (b) skills development facilitators that are registered by each sector education and training authority?

NW2743E

REPLY:

Sector Education and Training Authority	(a) No. of Training Providers	(b) No. of Skills Development Facilitators
1) FOODBEV	208	255
2) FP&M SETA	1 151	969
3) AGRISETA	481	700
4) W&RSETA	144	1 203
5) MQA	166	1 817
6) MERSETA	739	6 198
7) CHIETA	89	1 413
8) CETA	849	1 004
9) PSETA	163	177
10) HWSETA	228	3 615
11) LGSETA	567	280
12) SASSETA	1 990	1 188
13) BANKSETA	51	843
14) INSETA	81	1 050
15) SSETA	1 131	3 497
16) TETA	914	1 431
17) CATHSSETA	139	922
18) FASSET	1 880	6 579
19) MICT SETA	353	5 037
20) ETDPSETA	1 357	1 080
21) EWSETA	385	453

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2176

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 31/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 23 OF 2014)

Mr M H Redelinghuys (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) How many times has his department received a request from the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in line with section 184(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to provide a report on measures taken by his department towards the realisation of the rights in the Bill of Rights concerning housing, health care, food, water, social security, education and the environment in the (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14 financial years, (b) how many times did his department submit such a report to the SAHRC and (c) was each specified report (i) made readily available to the public or (ii) tabled in Parliament?

NW2719E

REPLY:

(a) No requests in relation to section 184(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 were received in the 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 financial years.

(b) Not applicable.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2127

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 21 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) In respect of the Vukani Aviation Cadet Pilot Scheme Programme, how may learners have (a) been recruited, (b) passed and (c) failed during the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

2) what average amount was spent on each (a) recruited and (b) successful learner;

3) whether any (a) fixed wing and/or (b) rotary wing aircraft have been acquired as a result of the programme; if not, why not; if so, in respect of each specified aircraft, what was the (i) total expenditure and (ii) breakdown of such expenditure in each case;

4) what was the total budget for the programme (i) in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11, (cc) 2011-12, (dd) 2012-13 and (ee) 2013-14 financial years and (ii) for the 2014-15 financial year;

5) what was the (a) total expenditure for the programme and (b) breakdown of such expenditure (i) in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11, (cc) 2011-12, (dd) 2012-13 and (ee) 2013-14 financial years and (ii) during the period 1 April 2014 up to the latest specified date for which information is available?

NW2598E

REPLY:

1) (a) In terms of the cadet programme, 500 potential students were targeted through the awareness, recruitment and selection campaign. Each phase of this campaign required students to meet and comply with specific criteria before progressing to the next phase. Of the 500 potential students, 250 students went through to the simulation process phase, with 190 students passing the psychometric test in the following phase and 160 students passing their medical assessment in the subsequent phase. Eventually 59 students were recruited for the cadet programme.

43 Cadets were recruited for the following two programs, i.e. Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and advanced training, whilst 16 cadets who were already in possession of a Commercial Pilot License, were recruited for advanced training only. These cadets were recruited in three groups in February 2013 (CPL) and April 2013 (CPL) to undertake training over a period of ±18 months and advance training in January 2014 for a period of one year. As a result, the groups will complete training at different intervals. The first two groups will be subjected to advanced training after successfully completing the CPL programme.

The profiles of the 54 learners are as follows:

· 4 from the Eastern Cape (2 African males and 2 African females);

· 18 from Gauteng (7 African males, 8 African females, 1 Coloured male, 1 Coloured female, and 1 Indian female);

· 16 from KwaZulu-Natal (10 African males, 5 African females and 1 Indian male);

· 4 from Limpopo (1 African male and 3 African females);

· 6 from Mpumalanga (5 African males and 1 African female);

· 4 from the North West (3 African males and 1 African female); and

· 2 from the Western Cape (1 Coloured male and 1 Coloured female).

(b) and (c) The first group was scheduled to complete their training at the end of September 2014, the second group will be at the end of December 2014 and last group during 2015. The National Skills Fund (NSF) is expecting the results of the first group during the third quarter of this financial year.

2) (a) Total average cost for the 59 students participating in the programme is R1 267 303.

(b) The NSF is expecting the results of the first group during the third quarter of this financial year.

3) No aircraft was acquired utilizing funds from the NSF. The NSF does not fund purchase of assets for private entities.

4) The total expenditure incurred to date amounts to R66 643 975.97 with the following breakdown:

2012/13 – R 19 985 000.00

2013/14 – R 30 877 215.48

2014/15 – R 15 771 760.49

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2103

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 21 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether he has been made aware of the security situation at the Stilfontein campus of the Vuselelela FET College; if not, what is the position in this regard;

3) what (a) short and (b) long-term steps is he taking to remedy the situation?

NW2571E

REPLY:

1) The Director-General has established a technical team to assist Vuselela Technical and Vocational Education and Training College. The technical team is currently analysing the security situation and will be making recommendations in this regard. The security situation at the campus started to deteriorate when the surrounding mines closed their operations, creating high levels of unemployment in the area. The campus has been characterised with high levels of theft and vandalism, which is placing students and staff at risk.

2) Costs to date for insurable losses due to theft and break-ins amounts to R402 531. Monthly security costs R93 000 per month
Monthly cable replacement (due to consistent theft) R17 000 per month

Estimated additional costs to keep the campus open in the short term (6/8 months):

Operational budget required (month-to-month) R110 000 per month
Repair of perimeter fencing R3 500 000

Repair of municipal electrical connection to the campus R6 000 000

Repair of municipal water connection to the campus R500 000
Address immediate capital requirements R10 000 000

3) A possible solution would be to build additional infrastructure at the Jouberton campus and reallocate students, staff and machinery to this campus. The additional infrastructure required would include 15 classes, 6 workshops, a hall and 4 offices for administration. Preliminary costing estimates amounts to R25 million.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2102

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 21 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What was the purpose of his recent visit to China;

2) (a) who accompanied him, (b) what position did each person who accompanied him hold and (c) what was the reason why each person accompanied him;

3) what was the (a) total cost of the trip and (b) breakdown of the costs;

4) what (a) was the (i) class and (ii) cost of each person's flight, (b) were the (i) details and (ii) costs of the accommodation and (c) amount was provided (i) in total and (ii) for each day for daily allowances and stipends;

5) what was his full itinerary for the trip, including in each case, (a) with whom he had the meeting, (b) where was the meeting, (c) what was the reason for the meeting and (d) what was the outcome?

NW2570E

REPLY

(1) The purpose of my visit to China was to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF), which took place in Tianjin, China from 9 - 12 September 2014. I was requested by the WEF organizers to chair a working session titled "Skilling STEM's" (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) on Thursday, 11 September 2014. I also requested to meet my Chinese counterpart on 15 September 2014.

(2) The following officials accompanied me:

(a) Name of official	(b) Position	(c) Reason/Responsibility
Dr John Pampallis	Special Advisor	Support and give advice
Mr Ghaleeb Jeppie	Chief Director: International Relations	Logistics, protocol assistance and compilation of reports
Mr Khaye Nkwanyana	Media Liaison Officer	Media related support
Ms Mmathapelo Sako	Personal Assistant	Secretarial and personal assistance

(3) (a) The estimated total cost of the visit was R295 652.92. Accommodation and ground transport is based on a quotation received from the South African mission of Tianjin and not the actual expenditure. These invoices still need to be processed.

(b) The breakdown cost is as follows:

· flights were R161 485.00;

· accommodation was R49 490.95;

· ground transport was R34 892.97;

· daily allowance was R49 684.00 in total for the delegation; and

· an estimated amount of R500.00 of tips for drivers and porters.

(4) (a) Mr Pampallis and I travelled in business class at a cost of R39 377.00 per return

ticket while the rest of the delegation travelled in economy class at a cost of

R27 577.00 per ticket.

(b) I utilised an executive suite of R2 492.35 for 7 days and the rest of the delegation

utilised standard rooms of R1 068.15 for 7 days whilst Mr Jeppie stayed for 9 days as he left two days in advance to arrange the necessary protocols and logistics. Accommodation costs amounted to R49 490.95

(5) My full itinerary for the trip is tabulated in the link below:

http://www.pmg.org.za/rnw2102-141111date

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 2067

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 21 OF 2014)

Mr T R Majola (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) How many copies of his department's annual report for the (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14 financial years were produced and (b)(i) at what cost were these reports produced and (ii) to whom were these reports circulated?

NW2534E

REPLY:

a) (i) 2012/13 – 250 copies

(ii) 2013/14 – 250 copies

b) (i) 2012/13 – R279 137.20

2013/14 – R176 220.46

(ii) In 2012/13, 60 hard copies and a CD containing an electronic version of the annual report were sent to Parliament. 190 Hard copies and 4 CDs were kept at the Department's Pretoria office of which copies were circulated to the National Treasury, Office of the Auditor-General, senior officials within the Department, interested entities and members of the public.

In 2013/14, 60 hard copies and a CD containing an electronic version of the annual report were sent to Parliament. 190 Hard copies and 4 CDs were kept at the Department's Pretoria office of which copies were circulated to the National Treasury, Office of the Auditor-General, senior officials within the Department, interested entities and members of the public.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 1876

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 19 OF 2014)

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether, with reference to the assessment of a certain person (name and details furnished), he will make a statement on the quality of higher education and its impact on national security?

NW2113E

REPLY:

Yes, I will make a statement in this regard. The report being quoted in the article is the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2014, which ranked South Africa overall 56^th out of the 144 countries surveyed. While the report does rank South Africa low on some aspects of education and training, it ranks higher education and training overall in 86^th position with higher education staff training in 18^th position, quality of management schools in 24^th position, and availability of research and training services in 44^th position, amongst others.

I would at the outset state that the article was based on Dr Zoleka Ndayi's opinion whose rationale is devoid of any balanced analyses. What is most puzzling to me is how Dr Ndayi can take two independent indicators from over a hundred indicators, namely education and security, and deduce a relationship between the two, which the report itself does not contend. The report does however indicate "South Africa's main social problems remain its extremely high income inequality and youth unemployment". These are scourges, together with poverty that our government has consistently argued for eradication through its deeds, actions programmes and projects.

Government's policy interventions have thus far been aimed at transforming the country's education system to overcome the legacies of apartheid and colonialism, a legacy which imposed racial, gender, class and other forms of inequalities. Education has long been recognised as a route out of poverty and a way of promoting equal opportunities. The achievement of greater social justice is closely dependent on equitable access by all sections of the population to quality education. Just as importantly, widespread and good quality education and training could allow more rapid economic, social and cultural development for society as a whole. This is why education and, in the case of South Africa, educational transformation remains a top priority for this government.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 1867

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/10/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 19 OF 2014)

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether, with reference to the assessment of a certain person (name and details furnished), he will make a statement on the quality of higher education and its impact on national security?

NW2113E

REPLY:

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1783

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 26/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 18 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) What is the estimated annual budget of the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences for the next five years;

(2) what proportion of that budget is expected to be allocated annually to (a) actual research grants and (b) internal costs such as (i) staff and (ii) running costs;

(3) what is the (a) envisaged final staff organogram of the institute and (b) salary level (i) budgeted for and (ii) to be offered to appointees in each position;

(4) (a) what (i) size, (ii) duration and (iii) types of grants does the Institute plan to provide annually, (b) when will the first grants be disbursed, (c) how will funding be distributed between the different programmes planned and (d) who are the envisaged recipients;

(5) will applications be adjudicated through a formal system of peer review; if not, why not; if so, in what ways will the envisaged system differ from that operating in the National Research Foundation?

NW2154E

REPLY:

(1) The estimated annual budget of the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) for the next five years is as follows:

2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
R75 797 179	R105 446 207	R132 668 554	R162 724 572

(2) The proportion of the budget expected to be allocated annually is tabulated below:

(a) Annual proportion for research grants
2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
67%	75%	77%	78%
(b) Annual proportion for internal costs
33%	25%	23%	22%

(3) (a) The final envisaged staff complement by 2020 will be 47.

(b) Salary level budgeted for each position:

POSITION	SALARY LEVEL
Executive Director / CEO	SMS Level 16
Chief Financial Officer	SMS Level 15
Director (Academic)	SMS Level 14
Director (Administrative)	SMS Level 14
Senior Administration Officer	Salary Level 10
Executive Assistant	Salary Level 7
Assistant Finance Officer	Salary Level 10
Legal Compliance Officer (5/8^th time)	Salary Level 11
Information Officer (5/8^th time)	Salary Level 10
Webmaster (5/8t^h time)	Salary Level 9
Human Resource Officer (5/8^th time)	Salary Level 11
Administration Officer x 5	Salary Level 7
Office Assistant	Salary Level 5
Academic Coordinators x 2	Salary Level 11
Ad hoc Coordinator	Salary Level 10
Coordinator (Doctoral Schools) x 3	Salary Level 10
Emeriti Professors (3/8^th time) x 24	SMS Level 13

(4) (a) Doctoral School Scholarships: R120 000 per year (+ inflation) over a period of

3 to 4 years for South African permanent resident PhD students registered full-time at a public higher education institution in South Africa. The expected annual intake is 150 Humanities and Social Sciences students across various disciplines.

African Pathways Programme Scholarships: R120 000 per year (+ inflation) over a period of 3 to 4 years for Southern African Development Community (SADC) PhD students registered at a South African higher education institution. The envisaged annual intake is 37 students.

Catalytic Projects: Biannual research grants of up to R1 million each, awarded for 18 - 24 months for 11 research projects.

Heritage Hubs: R15 million awarded annually to heritage sites to turn them into knowledge hubs.

BRICS: R1 million annually for BRICS related research.

(b) 2015 for all grants except the Doctoral School Scholarship where the first

annual disbursement was in July 2014.

in (a). The vast majority of the funding will be allocated to Doctoral School Scholarships, followed by African Pathways Scholarships, and lastly Research Projects and Hubs.

(d) Doctoral School Scholarships are aimed at supporting full-time PhD students

registered at a South African public higher education institution. Only South African permanent residents are eligible. Applications and selection of students is being facilitated by the South African Humanities Deans Association with demographic representativeness being a focus area.

African Pathways Scholarships are open to SADC students registered at a South African public higher education institution. This programme is expected to maintain or create cross border linkages, in the form of co-supervision and/or comparative research.

Research Grants are awarded on the basis of peer reviewed proposals submitted in response to an open call. They are open to academics based at South African public higher education institutions or research institutions, with the requirement that all projects create/sustain some form of cross-institutional collaborative research.

(5) Yes, research grants will go through a peer review process. The Institute is not envisaged as a replacement or duplication of the National Research Fund but a complementary body that focuses its efforts on the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) which are areas of scholarship that have suffered as a result of the predominant focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines. Furthermore, the vision of the Institute is to support the development of cross-institutional linkages in the HSS and address some of the disparities that exist in the higher education landscape of South Africa.

The call for research projects will be made annually by the NIHSS and be open to South Africa's higher education sector or international partnerships where the South African tertiary education-based scholars are research leaders or joint and equal partners. A peer review process will be co-ordinated by the Institute and successful projects will be fully supported.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1752

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 26/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 18 OF 2014)

Prof N M Khubisa (NFP) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Are there any colleges of education that will be opened in the 2014-15 financial year; if so, (a) how many and (b) where (i) are they located or (ii) will they be located?

NW2122E

REPLY:

No former college of education sites will be re-opened in the 2014/15 financial year. However new campuses for teacher education will be established depending on the need and in line with the strategies described in the "Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, 2011-2025" published jointly by the Departments of Higher Education and Training and Basic Education in 2011.

There are three provinces where there is a need for further expansion, i.e. Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. In addition to a number of other initiatives, discussions are underway with relevant universities in the Eastern Cape about the potential re-use of the former Cape College of Education as a site for teacher education. The re-use of the former Giyani College of Education site in Limpopo for post-school education and training is also being investigated with relevant universities. In KwaZulu-Natal, teacher education on the Durban University of Technology's Indumisio Campus will be expanded as part of the establishment of the Imbali Education Precinct under development in Pietermaritzburg. While feasibility studies and planning for the possible expansion to these sites will be undertaken, it is too early to confirm whether these sites will be developed over the next three years, as a major determining factor will be whether funding can be secured.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1737

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 26/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 18 OF 2014)

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether, in view of the extraordinarily large number of young persons who have been unable to find decent employment over a protracted period particularly on account of their not having marketable skills, his department, together with other partners, is willing to develop some kind of Marshall Plan to ensure that young persons have the required proficiency in (a) verbal and written communication, (b) numeracy, (c) information technology, (d) own learning performance and (e) problem solving; if not, why not; if so, will he make a statement on the matter?

REPLY:

The Department of Higher Education and Training does have a "Marshall Plan" to ensure that young people are being equipped with the required proficiencies to find employment. This plan, the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (PSET) was launched on 16 January 2014 and provides the framework for building an expanded, effective and integrated post-school education and training system.

Elements of the White Paper are already being implemented which aims to improve the proficiencies in the above-mentioned subjects, as follows:

· Students enrolled in Technical and Vocational (TVET) colleges are compelled to undertake subjects such as English First Additional Language, Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy and Life Skills/Life Orientation, which includes Information Technology.

· The Department is in the process of implementing Foundational Learning programmes in TVET colleges and universities to address numeracy, literacy and problem-solving skills amongst the youth entering TVET colleges and universities.

· The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) is in the process of developing a Foundation Learning Certificate (FLC) to support those learners who require additional support in literacy and numeracy. The FLC has been drafted by the QCTO and will shortly undergo a public consultative process.

· The Department has made available teaching development grants to all universities to promote students' proficiency in verbal and written communication, numeracy, information technology, examination preparation, as well as problem solving. Some of the major projects in relation to these grants are the establishment and/or consolidation of the "First Year Experience" initiatives, which seek to develop and provide a holistic learning environment for students during the often-difficult transition from school to higher education. Considerable expansion and development of Writing Centres, tutorial systems and mentoring support for students will also impact on the quality of their learning experience and thus of outcomes.

· In addition to the Teaching Development Grants, the Quality Enhancement Project of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) aims to address the quality aspects that needs to be embedded within each academic programme that will enable students to be better prepared for employment as well as improving their academic performance.

· The country's Adult Education and Training Centres provides a second chance for young people to complete their schooling. The General Education and Training qualification, which is equivalent to Grade 9, offers Numeracy and Language Literacy, and Communication as fundamental subjects, and offers the subject, Information and Communication Technology as an elective.

· The newly developed National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA), which is equivalent to Grade 12, addresses the plight of young people, 18 years and older, who have left school without attaining their Matric. The NASCA also compels students to take Mathematics and language subjects.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1688

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 17 OF 2014)

Mr T R Majola (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

What preventative measures has his department put in place to prevent the collapse of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme?

NW2049E

REPLY:

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) remains the most significant instrument available to government for opening access into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and universities to poor and working class communities. Although the fund faces significant challenges, any assertion that the fund is close to collapse is incorrect.

In 1999, NSFAS was responsible for disbursing R441 million in financial aid to students and today the entity is responsible for disbursing over R9 billion in financial support to students, with most of the funding provided by government. The budget from the Department of Higher Education and Training for 2014/15 amounts to R6.022 billion and comprises of R3.914 billion for university bursaries and study loans and R2.108 billion for TVET bursaries. Other notable donor allocations include funds from the Department of Basic Education, Department of Social Development and National Skills Fund (NSF). In 2014, NSFAS will spend R9.2 billion to assist 450 000 students at 25 public universities and 50 TVET colleges on 320 campuses across the nine provinces in South Africa.

The scheme has been very successful in supporting poor and working class students to gain access to, and succeed in TVET colleges and universities. Many high profile successful South Africans are NSFAS beneficiaries and the scheme has been a major contributor to the development of the growing black middle class in South Africa.

In March 2010, the report of the Ministerial Committee on the Review of NSFAS was released. The report concluded that one of the major shortcomings of NSFAS is that funding falls far short of demand. Although NSFAS has received a steadily increasing budget, it is unable to adequately support all financially needy students who meet the criteria for funding. The report also highlighted the success and challenges facing NSFAS, and made a number of recommendations including increasing the funds available for student financial aid and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme.

The NSFAS allocation and other student financial aid provided by NSF and funding from the Department of Basic Education through Funza Lushaka bursary scheme have increased substantially over the last few years. For example, between 2010/11 and 2011/12, the NSFAS allocation increased from R1.879 billion to R3.879 (a percentage increase of 69.3%), one of the biggest increases in the baseline budget of any government entity. Despite massive increases in the NSFAS budget, the amount available still falls far short of the ever-increasing demand for student financial aid.

Following an extra-ordinary process, the Department sourced additional funding from the Sector Education and Training Authorities and NSF in 2013 to assist with the shortfall of R2.6 billion as reported and submitted by institutions to NSFAS for the 2013 and 2014 academic year. These students will also be assisted in the 2014 academic year.

As part of the Department's mandate, we have not only augmented the funds that are available for student financial aid but have also introduced new funding categories such as the final year programme and postgraduate funding. There is no doubt that this additional funding has not only benefitted students but also institutions.

Furthermore, as part of NSFAS's mandate to raise funds, NSFAS is engaging with other government departments, state owned and public entities such as the Public Investment Corporation and private sector.

Following the March 2010 NSFAS report, NSFAS presented its plans to introduce a student centred model to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on 4 September 2012 in Parliament. NSFAS has implemented the new loans and bursaries management system, which became operational on 7 October 2013 and is being piloted at 6 universities and 5 TVET colleges. The new loan and bursaries management system aims to address the challenges of the old system, which was found to be inadequate and outdated. The main objective of the new system is to provide efficient and effective financial aid to students where NSFAS will establish a direct relationship with students. The new model is underpinned by s-Bux, a system that allows students to transact through a cell phone voucher with registered merchants.

An important aspect of the new system is that it aims to combat fraud, as NSFAS will be able to establish the validity of information provided by applicants through linkages with the Department of Home Affairs, South African Revenue Services and South African Social Security Agency.

There is no doubt that the funding of poor students remains one of the priorities of government and it is important that government, and in particular the Department of Higher Education and Training, universities, TVET colleges and other key stakeholders work together to ensure that academically deserving students from poor households are adequately supported. The Department will continue to make a case for additional funding while keeping all stakeholders informed through structured forums of all developments.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1681

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 19/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 17 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What was he referring to in his statement on 21 August 2014 when he said that institutional autonomy is not inherently progressive;

2) how does he define and measure the term progressive;

3) whether he intends to make universities less autonomous in order for them to become more progressive; if so, what steps will he take in this regard;

4) does he intend to propose changes to the (a) Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 or (b) Higher Education Act, Act 101 of 1997, in order to make universities less autonomous?

NW2042E

REPLY:

1) When I indicated that autonomy is not inherently progressive, I was referring to the meaning of the word "autonomy" in the context of "institutional autonomy". The very fact that an institution is "autonomous" does not necessarily mean that it would behave in a particular manner, since autonomy may be used to justify an unacceptable practice, such as a decision to exclude a particular group of people from entering an institution based on their sexual orientation or to support a barbaric initiation practice and justify it as "traditional". This is why the autonomy of our public institutions is not unfettered. It is subject to the laws of our country and constitution, and must be balanced by public accountability. The White Paper 3: A Programme for Higher Education Transformation (1997), clearly states that institutional autonomy cannot be utilised as an excuse for inhibiting transformation:

"The principle of institutional autonomy refers to a high degree of self-regulation and administrative independence with respect to student admissions, curriculum, methods of teaching and assessment, research, establishment of academic regulations and the internal management of resources generated from private and public sources. Such autonomy is a condition of effective self-government. However, there is no moral basis for using the principle of institutional autonomy as a pretext for resisting democratic change or in defence of mismanagement. Institutional autonomy is therefore inextricably linked to the demands of public accountability."

and,

"The principle of public accountability implies that institutions are answerable for their actions and decisions not only to their own governing bodies and the institutional community but also to the broader society. Firstly, it requires that institutions receiving public funds should be able to report how, and how well, money has been spent. Secondly, it requires that institutions should demonstrate the results they achieve with the resources at their disposal. Thirdly, it requires that institutions should demonstrate how they have met national policy goals and priorities."

2) The word "progressive" is well understood to mean: advocating progress or reform, especially in political, municipal or social matters (the Shorter Oxford dictionary); favouring rapid political or social reform; advancing in social conditions, efficiency, etc. (Pocket Oxford Dictionary).

3) The White Paper on Post-School Education and Training (2013) confirms that institutional autonomy together with public accountability remains key principles underpinning the higher education sector and there is no intention to change these principles.

4) No, I do not intend to propose changes to the Constitution nor the Higher Education Act to make universities less autonomous.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1558

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 16 OF 2014)

Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) With reference to his reply to questions 2256 on 10 September 2012 and 947 on 5 June 2013, (a) who prompted the independent review process and (b) by whom was the independent review process conducted;

2) how did the independent review process differ from the investigation undertaken by OMA Chartered Accountant Incorporated;

3) what were the findings and recommendations of the independent review process;

4) has the disciplinary process been concluded; if not, why not; if so, what has been the outcome of the disciplinary process;

5) what are the total direct costs associated with the (a) forensic study by OMA, (b) independent review process and (c) the remuneration received by the chief executive officer during the period of suspension?

NW1928E

REPLY:

1) (a) The independent review process was instituted by the Board of Transport Education

and Training Authority (TETA) in November 2012.

(b) Mr David Douglas and Ms Zarina Walele were appointed as chairpersons of the

independent panel review the process. This process commenced in February 2013.

2) The investigation conducted by OMA Chartered Accountants Incorporated was an internal audit investigation prompted by a number of allegations that had been made against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) whereas the independent panel was a fact-finding review process.

3) The independent panel concluded that the findings of the OMA investigation were valid, and the Board was requested to consider acting on all the recommendations within the OMA investigation report. In addition, the independent panel recommended that the Board proceed with disciplinary action against the CEO. Disciplinary action was instituted against the CEO on 21 September 2012.

4) Yes, the Task Team concluded that while there had been some deviations from the Supply Chain Management policy and procedures, the CEO was able to explain her involvement in them satisfactorily and none of these were significant enough to warrant further disciplinary action. The Task Team recommended to the Board that the disciplinary action against the CEO be withdrawn. The Board unanimously accepted this recommendation.

5) (a)The forensic audit investigation by OMA cost R351 440.34

(b) The independent review process cost R98 000.00

per the TETA approved policy.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1508

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 16 OF 2014)

Mr T R Majola (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether (a) his department and/or (b) any entities reporting to him sponsored political party (i) advertisements, (ii) events and/or (iii) paraphernalia in the (aa) 2011-12, (bb) 2012-13 and (cc) 2013-14 financial years; if so, (aaa) for which political party and (bbb) what was the monetary value of the sponsorship in each case?

NW1877E

REPLY:

Neither the Department of Higher Education and Training nor the public entities reporting to me sponsored any political party in the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 financial years.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1478

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 16 OF 2014)

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

What is the quantum of funds spent by his department on all advertising for each financial year between 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available?

NW1844E

REPLY:

Funds spent on promotional items were mainly in respect of the Career Guidance project that was held on various dates since 2010/11. Posters, banners, calendars, backpacks were designed and printed in this regard for various functions. Funds spent on the item marketing includes advertisements placed for the nomination of Council members for Technical, Vocational Education and Training Colleges, the nomination of the Chairperson for the Council on Higher Education and Training, the nomination of members of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Board, to publish a joint statement on the establishment of a stakeholder forum to assist with the enforcement of the legislation for the registration of Private Education Institution, the placement of a notice in the Government Gazette for Further Education and Training Colleges Bill 2011, the Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill 2011, the Skills Development Amendment Bill 2011 for public comment, advertising for a campaign of the post matric opportunities by the Minister, to call for public submissions to the Ministerial Committee responsible for the Review of the funding of Universities, a call for public comment on the Draft Qualifications and Assessment policy for the General Education and Training Certificate, a notice for a public hearing on the new Sector Education and Training Authorities Landscape, the Council on Higher Education and Training campaign, the Izimbizo programmes and invitations to public comment. Funds spent on advertising from 1 April 2010 to 31 August 2014 were as follows:

Item Description	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Promotional Items	R45 957.56	R668 086.00	R123 407.10	R23 940.00	R93 446.94
Marketing	R321 145.82	R888 202.56	R842 612.25	R471 549.76	R158 423.48
Recruitment	R1 304 469.17	R2 686 308.16	R3 550 785.52	R1 707 032.42	R173 166.00
Tenders	R77 526.20	R26 585.14	R2 842 .92	R64 762.91	R15 646.25
Total	R1 749 098.75	R4 269 181.86	R4 519 647.79	R2 267 285.09	R440 682.67

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1424

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 16OF 2014)

Mr H C C Krüger (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Did any learners graduate from the New Venture Creation learnership in the (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014 calendar years; if so, how many (i) learners in each sector and (ii) learners for each National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level?

NW1789E

REPLY:

a) Yes

b) Yes

c) Yes

The response to questions(i) and (ii) are tabulated below:

Name of SETA	2012		2013		2014		TOTAL
Name of SETA	NQF level	No. of learners	NQF level	No. of learners	NQF level	No. of learners	TOTAL
Whole and Retail	4	47	2	26	-	-	73
Fibre Processing and Manufacturing	2 and 4	134	2 and 4	154	-	-	288
Agriculture	-	-	2 and 4	50	-	-	50
Manufacturing and Related	2 and 4	7	2	34	2	1	42
Energy and Water	-	-	2	109	-	-	109
Services	-	-	2 and 4	110	-	-	110
Media Information Communication and Technology	4	12	-	-	4	81	93
Transport	2	31	2	15	2	25	71
Total	231		498		107		836

Note: The New Venture Creation Learnership is registered and certificated solely by the Services SETA.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1416

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 16 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How much dedicated funding was provided to each university for infrastructure in each year since 1994;

2) (a) what proportion of that funding was specifically dedicated to research infrastructure in each specified year and in each university since 1994, (b) how was this proportion decided on and (c) was it decided in consultation with the National Research Foundation?

NW1781

REPLY:

1) Records on infrastructure funding allocated to universities post 1994 by the former Department of Education, is only available from the 1996/97 financial year onwards. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the infrastructure allocations per university for the financial years from 1996/97 to 2003/04. During 1996/97, R178.292 million was allocated to institutions for infrastructure which included an amount of R150 million for new capital projects. From the 1997/98 to 2003/04 financial years, no infrastructure funding was provided for new buildings, however limited funding was made available for contractual commitments.

Over the 2004/05 and 2005/06 financial years, the public higher education institutional landscape changed dramatically with the mergers of various universities and technikons to form 23 universities, i.e. traditional, comprehensive and universities of technology. Over these two years, no additional funding was made available for infrastructure projects.

In the 2006/07 financial year, an infrastructure and efficiency fund was established and since then, three infrastructure cycles have been implemented with Table 2 providing the details of the funding disbursed over these three cycles.

Over the 2006/07 to 2009/10 infrastructure cycle, an amount of R3.628 billion was allocated to universities for infrastructure. This cycle was linked to the enrolment planning process with universities being invited to indicate what additional resources they would require if they were to meet the input and output targets included in their proposed student enrolment planning targets. The funding allocations for this cycle was linked to the proposed student enrolment planning targets, amounts that were available from the merger and restructuring funds, and infrastructure funding allocated by National Treasury. The amount of R3.628 billion was allocated as follows:

· Engineering: R439 million;

· Other Sciences, Engineering and Technology (SET) categories: R773 million; and

· Improving overall infrastructure capacity, efficiency and quality of teaching services: R2.416 billion.

Over the 2010/11 to 2011/12 infrastructure cycle, an amount of R3.265 billion was earmarked for a number of priority areas:

· Architecture and Built Environment: R95 million;

· Engineering: R854 million;

· Teacher training: R474 million;

· Life and Physical Sciences: R682 million (includes R34.1 million for research);

· Health Sciences: R474 million; and

· Student housing: R686 million.

Over the 2012/13 to 2014/15 infrastructure cycle, all universities were invited to submit applications for infrastructure projects in line with approved priority categories. An amount of R6 billion was earmarked for:

· Infrastructure backlogs - upgrading and new: Historically Disadvantaged Universities/Campuses: R1.114 billion;

· Student housing - Historically Disadvantaged Universities: R1.413 billion;

· Student housing - Historically Advantaged Universities: R239.1 million;

· Engineering - meeting scarce skills needs: R513.8 million;

· Teacher Education - meeting scarce skills needs: R662.5 million;

· Life and Physical Sciences - meeting scarce skills needs: R555.7 million;

· Health Sciences - meeting scarce skills needs: R442.5 million;

· Cooperative projects – partnerships with Historically Disadvantaged Universities: R154.5 million;

· Development of African Languages, Humanities and the Social Sciences: R311.7 million;

· Disability units – upgrading and new: R123.8 million;

· Research infrastructure - well founded laboratories: R74.1 million;

· Project management support: R50 million;

· Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University: R210 million (excluded in Table 2);

· ICT at all universities: R130.5 million (excluded in Table 2); and

· Project oversight: R5 million (excluded in Table 2).

For the establishment of the two new universities, i.e. Sol Plaatje University and University of Mpumalanga, the following additional funding for operational and capital expenditure was provided:

· 2011/12 – R50 million

· 2012/13 – R100 million

· 2013/14 – R300 million

· 2014/15 – R659 million

· 2015/16 – R1.166 billion

2) The infrastructure and efficiency allocations up to 2014/15 has covered a wide range of teaching and learning facilities meant for undergraduate and postgraduate students, including laboratories with research specific infrastructure and equipment mainly being funded through the National Research Foundation (NRF). The infrastructure allocation for the 2010/11 to 2011/12 cycle included R34.1 million in the category of life and physical sciences specifically to support research.

Over the 2012/13 to 2014/15 infrastructure cycle, the Department allocated R74.053 million to universities to equip their laboratories with the basic equipment required by students to conduct research in the sciences. This initiative was part of an agreement with the NRF where the Department would assist institutions to develop and maintain 'well-founded laboratories' whilst the NRF would provide more specialised and expensive research equipment. The Department of Science and Technology has developed a Research Infrastructure Road Map and recently established a Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of these projects. A representative from the Department serves on this committee. Table 3 below provides a breakdown of funding per institution for developing well-founded laboratories based on institutions identifying their specific needs through a bidding process. The NRF assisted the Department in assessing these bids and allocating resources.

see the link for al tables: www.pmg.org.za/files/rnw1416table_1.pdf

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1257

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 05/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 14 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) Whether the recently gazetted Notice 681 of 2014 draft social inclusion policy has been costed; if not, why not; if so, (a) what is the cost of its implementation, (b) over how many years, (c) at what cost for each year will it be implemented and (d) where will the funding be sourced from, including what amount (i) each university will be required to contribute and (ii) his department will contribute;

(2) whether a conditional grant will be provided to universities with regard to the funding to be contributed by his department;

(3) with regard to the funding to be contributed by his department, from which part of his department's medium-term budget will the funding be reallocated?

NW1547E

REPLY:

(1) No, the draft social inclusion policy has not yet been costed as it requires institutions to report on their obligations to uphold constitutional and relevant laws of the Republic of South Africa. However, I will after considering public responses and advice from the Council for Higher Education determine if the policy requires funding, and if so the cost implications and availability of funds to implement it.

(a) – (d) Not applicable

(2) Not applicable

(3) Not applicable

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1256

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 05/09/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 14 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

What are the (a) names, (b) occupations and (c) contact details of the Ministerial appointees to each university council?

NW1546E

See the link for REPLY: http://www.pmg.org.za/rnw1256-140925reply

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1182

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 29/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 12 OF 2014)

Mr Y Cassim (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether (a) he and (b) the Deputy Minister has each employed a ministerial special advisor; if so,

2) (a) what is the name of the special advisor, (b) when was the advisor appointed, (c) what are the duties of the advisor, (d) at what post level was the appointment made, (e) what is the salary level of the advisor, (f) what is the duration of the employment contract entered into with the advisor and (g) why was it necessary to appoint the advisor?

NW1420E

REPLY:

1) (a) Yes, I have appointed a Special Adviser.

(b) No, the Deputy Minister has not appointed a Special Adviser.

2) (a) Dr John Pampallis

(b) Dr Pampallis was appointed on 1 July 2014.

· advise me on the exercise or performance of the powers and duties bestowed on me as the Minister;

· advise me on the development of policy that will promote the Department's objectives; and

· perform such other tasks that may be appropriate in respect of the exercise or performance of the powers and duties bestowed on me as the Minister.

(d) Compensation level III for Special Advisers.

(e) Salary Level 15.

(f) From 1 July 2014 linked to my term of office as the Minister of Higher Education and Training.

(g) To advise and perform such other tasks in respect of the exercise or performance of the powers and duties bestowed on me as the Minister, and development of policies that will promote the objectives of the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Reply received: November 2014

QUESTION 1126

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 29/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 12 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What measures are currently in place in higher education institutions to protect students who are being intimidated and prevented from attending lectures by violent strike action;

2) whether he has raised the need for institutions to develop their current measures further; if so, what support is he providing to capacitate these institutions to further develop their measures?

NW1364E

REPLY:

1) Each university has a set of policies and measures in place, which are meant to protect the rights of all individuals on its premises. Universities should implement their policies and take disciplinary action where appropriate.

In addition, the Department and I interact regularly with various stakeholders including:

· South African Union of Students (SAUS) which is a national body representing all the institutional Student Representative Councils (SRCs), whom I met on 17 January 2014;

· On 17 January 2014, I met with student political organisations and Trade Unions that operate at our universities. I also met with the South African Students Congress separately on 14 February 2014;

· I had a meeting with the Vice-Chancellors of our universities and their national body, Higher Education South Africa (HESA) on 25 September 2014;

· I met with the Council Chairs through the University Chairs of Council Forum (UCCF) on 8 July 2014 and a second meeting was planned for October 2014 which was postponed on the request of the UCCF;

· On 30 September 2014, officials from my Department met with SAUS, HESA and UCCF.

At these meetings, I raise and discuss such issues and emphasise the need to ensure that the core business of teaching, learning and research are at the centre of their mandate. I have indicated to university management and the Chairs of Council that I support their actions to protect the lives of individuals and the universities' property.

The Department is also running workshops with student leaders where violent, destructive and disruptive actions are discussed. While it is accepted that students have a right to protest, they are expected to follow the correct policy and procedures and not to disrupt the rights of students to learn.

2) To date I have not requested institutions to develop their current policies and measures further. Councils of universities should revise their individual policies if and when there is a need, based on their individual institutional experiences in implementing current policies.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1126

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 29/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 12 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What measures are currently in place in higher education institutions to protect students who are being intimidated and prevented from attending lectures by violent strike action;

2) whether he has raised the need for institutions to develop their current measures further; if so, what support is he providing to capacitate these institutions to further develop their measures?

NW1364E

REPLY:

1) Each university has a set of policies and measures in place, which are meant to protect the rights of all individuals on its premises.

2) No, I have not asked institutions to develop their current policies and measures further. Councils of universities would revise their individual policies if there were a need, based on their individual institutional experiences with the implementation of current policies.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1125

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 29/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 12 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether his department collects statistics of academic cheating by students in higher education institutions; if so, what are the statistics for the (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 academic years and (c) period 1 January 2014 up to the latest date for which information is available;

2) whether he has (a) raised the issue with the Higher Education South Africa and (b) requested the specified institutions to provide him with an indication of steps they are taking to address the issue?

NW1363E

REPLY:

1) No, the Department of Higher Education and Training does not collect statistics on academic cheating by students. It should be noted that universities are autonomous institutions managing their own affairs and it is expected that each university will take these issues seriously, taking appropriate action where necessary.

2) No, I have not raised the issue with Higher Education South Africa nor requested any specific institution to provide me with an indication of steps they are taking to address the issue.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 1058

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Mr J J Mc Gluwa (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) With reference to his reply to question 884 on 13 August 2014, will persons in possession of a National Diploma in Early Childhood Development, as offered by the Further Education and Training colleges, who wish to study towards the Diploma in Grade R teaching, receive any exemption from the subjects needed for the specified diploma; if not, why not; if so, (a) for which subjects and (b) for how many subjects will they be able to receive exemption;

2) are there any initiatives to better align the national Certificate Programmes in Early Childhood Development with the specified diploma in order to (a) facilitate the possible exemption of certain subjects and (b) shorten the time needed to study towards the specified diploma; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1231E

REPLY:

1. Yes, the National Diploma in Early Childhood Development (ECD) offered by Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges (former Further Education and Training colleges) may be presented for admission and assessment for advanced credit standing for a Diploma in Grade R Teaching. A Diploma in Grade R Teaching is an NQF Level 6, 360-credit qualification, and as per the requirements of the Higher Education Qualifications sub-framework, 50% of the credits, i.e. 180 credits, completed in the National Diploma in ECD can be transferred to the new qualification. Therefore, there is a possibility that 180 credits can be transferred to a Diploma in Grade R Teaching for candidates who have already completed the National Diploma in ECD. The admitting university offering the programme will be able to identify which credits/modules can be recognised.

2. The admission requirement to the Diploma in Grade R Teaching is a National Senior Certificate with diploma entry endorsement or equivalent qualification, e.g. National Certificate (Vocational). The Level 4 or 5 Certificate in Early Childhood may also be presented for admission and assessment pertaining to advanced credit standing. The admitting university offering the programme will be able to identify which credits/modules will be recognised, e.g. a Level 4 National Certificate in ECD may enable admission, but will not shorten the time of study to complete the Grade R Diploma qualification, whilst a Level 5 National Certificate in ECD may afford both admission and advanced credit standing for the Grade R Diploma, and thus shorten the time of study.

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1057

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Does his department's funding model assist Further Education and Training (FET) colleges with the higher per capita costs for rural campuses, such as the (a) costs related to the transport of learners over long distances, (b) residence costs and (c) financial pressures of smaller class sizes; if not, will his department develop a funding model that will provide for these additional costs; if so, to what extent does the model provide for these costs;

2) has the current funding model been effective enough to ensure the establishment and sustained presence of FET college campuses in small towns; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

3) what is the minimum population size that has proven to be sufficient to ensure the continuity of the business and technical programmes offered to various levels of tuition?

NW1230E

REPLY:

(1) The current Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College programme funding model does not provide for costs related to the transport of learners over long distances, residence costs and financial pressures of smaller class sizes in rural college campuses. However, the Department's bursary scheme administered by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme does provide hostel and transport allowances for academically deserving students from poor socio-economic backgrounds based on the application of a means test.

I have recently set up a Ministerial Committee to review the current funding framework for TVET Colleges. The review intends to address, amongst others, the following issues:

· Provision of dedicated funding towards rural college campuses taking into account the size of campuses, and distance between campuses and the college central office.

· Determining a funding framework for hostel accommodation that will be separate from programme funding. The funding of hostel accommodation will alleviate the financial pressure of smaller class sizes, as students will be housed nearby or on campuses allowing colleges to meet the required minimum number of students in a class whilst also addressing the challenges related to vast distances and transport costs.

· Determining the minimum size of a college and campus that would be economically viable to deliver optimum outcomes.

In addition to the above, the Ministerial Committee will also address the following issues:

funding review of students with disabilities and special education needs;

· consideration to fund student workplace experiential learning and bridging programmes such as Literacy, Mathematics, Science, etc.; and

· determining the funding requirements for distance education.

(2) The Department is not aware of any TVET College campus that had to close as a result of the current funding model.

(3) The current norm is a minimum of 250 students enrolled in each level of both business and technical programmes.

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1022

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How many (a) university and (b) further education and training colleges staff have been (i) charged with and/or (ii) found guilty of (aa) falsifying qualifications and/or (bb) plagiarism at each institution since 1 January 2009;

2) what has been the outcome of each of these cases?

NW1175E

REPLY:

1) (a) The Department of Higher Education and Training does not routinely collect information

on staff falsifying qualifications and cases of plagiarism at institutions. To date 13 universities responded to the request as tabulated below. It should be noted that universities are autonomous institutions managing their own affairs and it is expected that each university will take these issues seriously, taking appropriate action where necessary.

University	False Qualifications			Plagiarism
University	Charged	Found Guilty	Outcome	Charged	Found Guilty	Outcome
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	1	1	1 was dismissed	0	0	None
Central University of Technology	3	2	2 were dismissed 1 has resigned	0	0	None
Mangosuthu University of Technology	0	0	None	0	0	None
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	0	0	None	2	1	1 was found not guilty 1 is pending
Rhodes University	0	0	None	2	2	2 were dismissed
University of Cape Town	2	2	2 were dismissed	3	0	3 were found not guilty
University of Fort Hare	0	0	None	0	0	None
University of Free State	2	1	1 was dismissed 1 has resigned	1	0	1 contract was not renewed
University of Johannesburg	2	2	2 were dismissed	2	1	1 was given an official written warning 1 has resigned
University of KwaZulu-Natal	11	8	6 were dismissed 3 have resigned 2 were given a final written warning with a condition that they must obtain their matric within 2 years which they have now fulfilled	0	0	None
University of Pretoria	3	3	3 were dismissed	1	1	1 was dismissed
University of Zululand	0	0	None	1	1	1 was given a final written warning
University of the Witwatersrand	2	1	1 has resigned 1 was dismissed	4	3	2 were dismissed 1 was given a final written warning 1 has resigned

(b) There are no historical data on the falsification of qualifications and plagiarism of staff at

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. This year the Department introduced a Case Management System for TVET colleges called MIG (Misconduct/Incapacity/Grievances) where cases must be registered. Currently, the MIG database does not show any registered cases related to plagiarism and the falsification of qualifications at TVET colleges.

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 1021

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What has been the total cost of damage to universities' property due to student protest for each (a) year and (b) institution since 1 January 1994;

2) what has been the total cost of damage to further education and training colleges property due to student protest for each (a) year and (b) institution since 1 January 1994?

NW1174E

REPLY:

1) The total cost of damages to university property due to student protest for each year and institution are tabulated below based on available information provided by universities for the 2005 – 2014 period. 10 Universities still need to provide information in this regard.

a) Total cost of damage per year

Year	Total Cost
2005	R12 000.00
2006	R53 630.00
2007	R155 529.00
2008	R626 109.00
2009	R3 459.00
2010	R33 200.00
2011	R491 887.00
2012	R218 684.00
2013	R300 000.00
2014	R1 459 584.00

b) Total cost of damage per institution

6 Universities indicated that there were no damages to university property for the 2005 – 2014 period.

Institution	Total Cost
1) Cape Peninsula University of Technology	R168 950.00
2) Central University of Technology	R81 367.00
3) Mangosuthu University of Technology	R250 000.00
4) Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	R12 000.00
5) Rhodes University	R0.00
6) University of Cape Town	R0.00
7) University of Fort Hare	R1 200 000.00
8) University of Free State	R885 268.00
9) University of Johannesburg	R0.00
10) University of KwaZulu-Natal	R756 497.00
11) University of Zululand	R0.00
12) University of Witwatersrand	R0.00
13) Stellenbosch University	R0.00

2) The total cost of damages to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college property due to student protest for each year and institution are tabulated below based on information provided by TVET colleges for the 1994 – 2014 period. Tshwane North TVET college still needs to provide information in this regard.

a) Total cost of damage per year

Year	Total Cost
1994	R0.00
1995	R0.00
1996	R7 000.00
1997	R4 000.00
1998	R38 000.00
1999	R0.00
2000	R0.00
2001	R0.00
2002	R0.00
2003	R7 830.00
2004	R0.00
2005	R0.00
2006	R15 000.00
2007	R45 000.00
2008	R137 500.00
2009	R158 322.00
2010	R334 216.00
2011	R612 600.00
2012	R3 796 863.00
2013	R3 811 914.00
2014	R364 932.00

b) Total cost of damage per institution

18 TVET colleges indicated that there were no damages to TVET college property for the 1994 – 2014 period.

TVET College	Total Cost
1. Buffalo	R19 090.00
2. Capricorn	R120 372.00
3. Central Johannesburg	R32 000.00
4. Coastal	R2 655 000.00
5. College of Cape Town	R458 960.00
6. Ehlanzeni	R903 812.00
7. Elangeni	R260 000.00
8. Esayidi	R405 100.00
9. False Bay	R165 532.00
10. Goldfields	R27 922.00
11. Ikhala	R7 500.00
12. Ingwe	R61 550.00
13. King Hintsa	R284 961.00
14. Lephalale	R1 500.00
15. Letaba	R16 500.00
16. Lovedale	R34 815.00
17. Mnambithi	R5 000.00
18. Mopani	R20 152.00
19. Mthashana	R18 500.00
20. Northlink	R207 410.00
21. Orbit	R5 000.00
22. Port Elizabeth	R20 770.00
23. Sekhukhune	R197 050.00
24. Taletso	R27 455.00
25. Tshwane South	R125 106.00
26. Umfolozi	R1 200.00
27. Umngungundlovu	R2 507 689.00
28. Vhembe	R96 701.00
29. Vuselela	R234 600.00
30. Waterberg	R381 494.00
31. West Coast	R30 436.00

Reply received: October 2014

QUESTION 1020

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) For each university, how many cases of (a) rape, (b) sexual abuse and (c) domestic violence were reported in the (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and 2014 academic years;

2) (a) how many cases were taken forward to a disciplinary hearing and (b) what was the outcome of each case?

NW1173E

REPLY:

The Department of Higher Education and Training does not routinely collect information on rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence at institutions. To date 15 universities responded to the request as tabulated below. It should be noted that universities are autonomous institutions managing their own affairs and it is expected that each university will take these issues seriously, taking appropriate action where necessary.

See the link for university response: www.pmg.org.za/files/rnw1020table.pdf

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 933

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether his department has carried out any investigation or studied any reports to determine whether universities produce an adequate number of graduates in business and financial sciences to properly support the economy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details and outcomes thereof?

NW1026E

REPLY:

In light of South Africa's rapidly growing economy, many labour market studies have shown that the growth in provision to meet demand is still not sufficient. These challenges are worsened by contextual factors such as unemployment, poverty and inequality. Universities and other post-school institutions are also focusing on providing education and training to produce a sufficient number of professionals with a particular emphasis on black and female graduates.

The National Plan for Higher Education (2001) indicated that the proportion of enrolments in business and management majors should constitute 30% of the national headcount enrolment in higher education. Data on enrolments and graduates in business and management sciences collected during the enrolment planning process for the academic years 2014/15 to 2019/20 indicates:

Business and management enrolments will increase from 282 299 in 2012 to 298 394 in 2019 at an average annual increase of 0.8% over the period;

In terms of graduates, business and management graduates are set to increase from 46 045 in 2012 to 55 751 in 2019 at an average annual increase of 2.8% from 2012 to 2019;

Current audited data for 2012 indicates that business and management enrolments constituted 30% of the national enrolment whilst business and management graduates constituted 28% of those produced nationally.

To support the output of graduates in professional fields, the Department has engaged with professional bodies, as part of its ongoing collaborations with key stakeholders, to ensure that the required graduates are produced. Engagement with selected professional bodies resulted in a report on The Role and Contribution of Professional Bodies to the Development of Graduates which is a summary of meetings the Department undertook. This included meetings with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) and South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). A regulatory framework through which the interaction, coordination and collaboration between professional bodies, quality councils, industry, provincial and national government departments, and higher education institutions can be enhanced to produce more professional graduates, will be established. This framework will improve the extent to which the Department will be able to steer the system and communicate systemic requirements to stakeholders, and also provide a platform to align strategy, policy and funding towards the production of professionals especially relating to the funding and availability of work placements within provincial and national government departments. This will assist in removing the barriers which inhibits increasing the number of graduates and professionals, especially with regards to females and Africans.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 932

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 10 OF 2014)

Mr W M Madisha (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether his department has taken any decision to (a) re-open colleges of education and (b) initiate a wide scale programme to offer educators in-service courses to enable them to improve their qualifications and help them to use improved technology in the classroom; if not, in each case why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

NW1025E

REPLY

(a) The Department of Higher Education and Training is, in line with the strategies described in the "Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, 2011-2025" which I jointly launched with Minister Motshekga in 2011, working on expanding teacher education capacity in the country.

The Department is working in a logical and step-wise fashion to develop the institutional capacity to ensure that the country is able to produce sufficient quality teachers for our schools by:

· ensuring full utilisation of university campuses that currently offer teacher education programmes;

· extending capacity by expanding the delivery of teacher education programmes to additional campus sites which will be identified on the basis of analysis of geographical reach and quantified need; and

· if it is identified that the existing capacity after being strengthened and extended, is still not able to meet national and provincial needs, new institutions will be opened.

The possible re-use of former college of education sites are linked to the above. Their re-use will be dependent on a number of factors including availability, feasibility and need.

Current expansion efforts at universities have resulted in a substantial growth in the number of new teacher graduates since 2008 from 5 939 to 13 708 new teacher graduates in 2012.

Other expansion initiatives that are in process include the following:

Two new universities have been established and both will offer the full range of teacher education programmes once they become fully established. Sol Plaatje University has established a campus in Kimberly from which a Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching is being offered. The University of Mpumalanga has established two campus sites, one in Nelspruit and the other in Siyabuswa. The Siyabuswa campus is developing into a dedicated teacher education campus and uses the site of the former Ndebele College of Education. 200 Students are enrolled in a Bachelor of Education programme at the Siyabuswa campus.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is being supported to expand teacher education to the Missionvale campus in Port Elizabeth through establishing a Foundation Phase Bachelor of Education programme. The Department has allocated significant financial resources to enable the development of new buildings to support the expansion of the campus.

Durban University of Technology is being supported to substantially increase its teacher education capacity at its Indumiso campus in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg.

Rhodes University is being supported to establish a full-time, contact Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching in Grahamstown.

The expansion initiatives that are now in place will ensure that the country will be able to produce sufficient numbers of teachers. An enrolment planning process, recently concluded with universities, has indicated that the system will produce in excess of 23 000 new teachers annually by 2019, thus largely addressing the teacher supply-demand gap.

Discussions are underway regarding the further expansion of teacher education capacity in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces which may result in former college sites in these provinces being re-used as teacher education facilities.

(b) The Department of Basic Education is responsible for the implementation of in-service development programmes for educators.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 884

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 01/08/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 7 OF 2014)

Ms A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) With reference to the reply by the Minister of Basic Education to question 390 on 17 July 2014, (a) what are the details of the institutions that will offer the Diploma in Grade R Teaching for each academic year from 2015 to 2019, (b) which of the specified institutions will offer the qualification via (i)(aa) part-time and (bb) full-time contact and (ii) distance learning and (c) what is the number of first-year students that each institution will be able to accommodate;

2) whether students studying towards the Diploma in Grade R Teaching are eligible for funding through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme; if not, why not; if so,

3) whether this funding is received from the Department of Basic Education as part of the Funza Lushaka bursary scheme;

4) how many students will be funded at each institution for each of the academic years referred to above?

NW973E

REPLY:

1) (a) Two universities were approved to offer the Diploma in Grade R Teaching, i.e. North-

West University (NWU) and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Programmes of two private higher education institutions have also been approved, i.e. Lyceum College and SANTS Private Higher Education Institution. Other institutions that are in the process of seeking approval for programmes include the University of Johannesburg, University of Fort Hare and Aksie Reformatoriese Onderwys.

(b) The delivery mode for the Diploma in Grade R Teaching is as follows:

Institution	Mode of delivery
North-West University	Contact and Distance
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Full-time or part-time over 4 years depending on the needs of the majority of applicants
Lyceum College	Distance: Full-time and/or part-time
SANTS Private Higher Education Institution	Distance: Full-time and/or part-time

N.B: This is as it appears on the approved programme submissions and accreditation reports from the Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education.

Year	CPUT first year enrolment target	NWU first year enrolment target
2015	60	192
2016	60	316
2017	60	432
2018	Still to be determined	648
2019	Still to be determined	720

Enrolment numbers are dependent on the number of applications received and availability of funding support for students.

2) Yes, students will be eligible for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding. In terms of the NSFAS criteria, a student qualifies for a loan or bursary "if he/she is an undergraduate student studying towards a first higher education qualification, or a student studying for a postgraduate course which is a requirement to practise in his/her chosen profession". If the Diploma in Grade R Teaching is the first higher education qualification for a student, then the student will be eligible to apply for funding. However, students enrolled at private higher education institutions do not qualify for a NSFAS funding.

3) The Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme does not currently support students enrolled for the Diploma in Grade R Teaching.

4) As the Diploma in Grade R Teaching will be introduced for the first-time in 2015, it is not possible at this stage to predict the numbers of students who will be supported through NSFAS funding as this is dependent on students applying and meeting the criteria of NSFAS.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 805

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 25/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 6 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) Whether (a) he, (b) the Deputy Minister, (c) the Director-General or (d) any of his staff (i) attended, (ii) accepted an invitation and/or (iii) received tickets to the 2014 Soccer World Cup in their official capacity; if so, what are the relevant details including the (aa)(aaa) names and (bbb) positions of those who attended and (bb) breakdown of the amounts spent by his department on (aaa) travel, (bbb) accommodation, (ccc) entertainment and (ddd) any further specified expenses;

(2) (a) what is the breakdown of the amount spent by his department on any persons accompanying (i) him, (ii) the Deputy Minister, (iii) the Director-General or (iv) any of his staff to attend the 2014 Soccer World Cup including (aa) travel, (bb) accommodation, (cc) entertainment and (dd) any further costs and (b) in each case, what is the (i) relationship and (ii) reason for accompanying the relevant person?

NW892E

REPLY:

1) None.

2) Not applicable.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 756

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 25/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 6 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) How many (i) judgments and (ii) court orders were made against his department in the (aa) 2010-11, (bb) 2011-12, (cc) 2012-13 and (dd) 2013-14 financial years and (b) in each case, (i) how many of these (aa) were implemented and (bb) await implementation by his department and (ii) what was the nature of the (aa) judgment and/or (bb) court order?

NW843E

REPLY:

a) The number of judgements and/or (ii) court orders in each financial year were:

(aa) 2010/11 - 5

(bb) 2011/12 - 2

(cc) 2012/13 - 2

(dd) 2013/14 - 3

b) (i) (aa) Judgments/ Court Orders implemented

The following judgements and/or court orders were implemented:

2010/11 - 5

2011/12 - 2

2012/13 - 2

2013/14 - 2

(bb) (i) Judgments and /or (ii) Court Orders awaiting implementation

2010/11 - None

2011/12 - None

2012/13 - None

2013/14 - None

c) (ii) (aa) Nature of judgments and /or (bb) court orders:

2010/11

· Mahosi Masilo Michael and 24 Others / Minister of Higher Education and Training; MEC Education: Limpopo Province and Vhembe FET College (Makwarela Campus)

Urgent Application to the Thohoyandou High Court in Limpopo by 25 students to direct the DHET to release full results of year end examination written during the Oct/Nov 2010 examinations. Even though there were 25 applications, the matters were dealt with as a single case, due to the similar facts of the cases. The absence of an Internal Continuous Assessment or Integrated Summative Assessment Task mark in an applicable subject has resulted in the students registered for that particular subject receiving an "incomplete" result. The Applicants applied to the High Court to get an order that the results must be released to enable them to continue with their education for the next year.

Court Judgment:

The Court ordered the Respondents to release full examination results of the group comprising 25 students, which was done by 16 February 2011, which was within the stipulated timeframe set by the Court.

· Makhado Mashudu and 45 Others / Minister of Higher Education and Training; MEC Education: Limpopo Province and Vhembe FET College (Makwarela Campus)

Urgent Application by students to the Thohoyandou High Court in Limpopo to direct the DHET to release results of year end examination written during the Oct/Nov 2010 examinations. These matters were brought to court separately. The absence of an Internal Continuous Assessment or Integrated Summative Assessment Task mark in an applicable subject has resulted in the students registered for that particular subject receiving an "incomplete" result.

Court Judgment:

The Court ordered the Respondents to release full examination results of the group comprising 48 students, which was done by 22 February 2011, which was within the stipulated timeframe set by the Court.

· Mahosi Masilo Michael vs National Department of Higher Education and Training; MEC Education: Limpopo Province and Vhembe FET College (Makwarela Campus)

Urgent Application by students to the Limpopo High Court, Thohoyandou to interdict or to restrain the Department of Higher Education and Training to conduct supplementary examinations.

Court order:

The Court ordered that scheduled supplementary examinations must take place, but that special supplementary examinations be conducted for applicants in whose favour orders were made by the Court in any subjects the Applicants wrote during the end year examinations at the end of 2012 and may have failed. The first week of NC (V) supplementary examination scheduled from 21 February 2011 to 25 February 2011 was moved to run from 28 March 2011 to 1 April 2011 for all students. This allowed the Department to delay the start of the supplementary examinations by one week and still be in compliance with the court order which stated that the NC (V) supplementary examinations must be finalized by 31 March 2011.

· CTI Education Group (Pty) Ltd vs Minister of Education and Others

The Applicant, a private higher education institution provisionally registered in terms of the provisions of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997), acting on behalf of the University of Greenwich applied to the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria for a declaration order to the effect that its conduct in offering, delivering and facilitating higher education programs on behalf of the University of Greenwich (United Kingdom) does not have to be registered in terms of the Higher Education Act, 101 of 1997. The issue before the Honourable Court was whether the HEA intended to, and prevented any institution whether local or international from providing higher education in the Republic of South Africa unless it is registered in terms of and conforms to the provisions of the HEA and, to the extent necessary, to the National Qualifications Framework Act, No. 67 of 2008 and other related legislation. The applicant contended that it does not and cannot do that and sought a declaration to that effect.

Court Judgment:

The Court after interpreting and applying the provisions of section 51 of the Higher Education Act, 101 of 1997, found in favour of the Applicant. The parties were ordered to pay costs of the hearing on the 21/04/2009 and costs of the Application, including costs of the postponement on the 19/05/2009 respectively.

Construction SETA vs Minister of Higher Education and Training

The Accounting Authority of Construction SETA brought an urgent Application to interdict the Minister from appointing an Administrator for the Construction SETA and also to review the Minister's decision to appoint the Administrator.

Court Judgment

The Minister was interdicted from appointing the Administrator and the Minister abided by the order.

2011/12

· Birnam Business College (Pty) Ltd vs Minister of Higher Education and Training

Birnam College was given a provisional registration as a private FET College until 31 December 2014, however a miscommunication occurred relating to its registration status. The DHET received court papers where Birnam sought relief from, amongst other things, to announce that Birnam Business College is duly registered as an educational institution with the DHET and UMALUSI.

Court Judgment:

The Department of Higher Education and Training was ordered to rectify the position through a letter to Birnam College which letter was sent in accordance the court order.

Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) vs Minister of Higher Education and Training

The former Accounting Authority of Services SETA brought an urgent Application in the Labour Court to review the Minister's decision to appoint the new Accounting Authority of Services SETA. This was followed by another urgent Application to interdict the Minister from appointing an Administrator for Services SETA.

Court Judgment

The court ruled in favour of the Applicant in both cases.

The Minister subsequently applied for a leave to appeal against both rulings which was dismissed. The Applicant (Services SETA) subsequently applied for the execution of both judgments and the Department opposed the application and the application was granted.

The Department petitioned the Judge President of the Labour Appeal Court for appeal and the parties reached a settlement prior to the hearing of the petition to allow the Minister to appoint an Administrator.

2012/13

The Council of Central University of Technology, Free State / Minister of Higher Education and Training & Others - Free State High Court, Bloemfontein Case No. 2786/2012

Judgment delivered on: 13 August 2012

Court order:

(i) The decision of the Minister of Higher Education and Training dated 18 June 2012 published in the Government Gazette of 20 June 2012 under GN No. 476 appointing the forth Respondent (Prof. Stanley Ridge N.O.) as administrator to the Central University of Technology is set aside.

(ii) The Minister was ordered to pay the Applicant's costs, including the costs of two counsels.

Nomsa C Motaung / Department of Higher Education and Training & Others - Labour Court Case No. JS 196/2010

Judgment was delivered on 15 October 2012.

Court judgment:

The Court found that the Applicant (Ms Motaung), a former Director: Private Higher Education in the employ of the DHET (a successor to the defunct Department of Education) was subjected to unfair discrimination by the Department of Education for refusing to carry out instructions in relation to the performance of her duties based on obeying the dictates of her conscience, which instructions might have entailed flouting of the regulatory framework.

The Court inter alia declared that:

(iii) The failure by the DHET to grant the Applicant a notch increase for the financial year 2008/09 was an act of unfair discrimination;

(iv) The DHET must restore the Applicant her normal functions and duties as Director: Private Higher Education in so far as the Applicant was still in the employment of the Department by 15 November 2012. (NB: this part of the order could not be implemented as it had been overtaken by events in that the Applicant had already been discharged from the public service on the ground of abscondment);

(v) The DHET pay the Applicant a salary notch increase based on the difference between her previous salary notch and the salary notch of R673 164.00 with retrospective effect from 1 April 2009 and a salary notch increase based on the difference between the R673 164.00 and the new salary notch of R724 533.00 with effect from 1 April 2010. No court order was made, as to costs.

The Department complied with the aforesaid order; the Applicant was paid a sum of R29 314.00 in January 2013.

2013/14

Solani Ramovha / Minister of Higher Education and Training & Others - South Gauteng High Court Case No. 141142/ 2013

Judgment was delivered on 05 October 2013.

This was an application to compel the Minister to allow a candidate, Ms Ramovha of Central Johannesburg FET College to allow her to write the examination for the modules which there was no investigation pending for examination irregularities.

Court order:

By agreement between the parties, the Court ordered that:

o The Applicant be allowed to write examination of modules for which there was no investigation pending whilst the hearing into the alleged irregularity regarding Computer Practice N6 continues.

o The third Respondent (Central Johannesburg Public FET College, Parktown) was ordered and directed to facilitate the return to the College and examination room of the applicant.

o The issue of costs of the application was postponed to the opposed roll.

Pursuant to negotiations with the Applicant's attorneys, the Respondents tendered costs of the application which are yet to be taxed.

Hospital Association of South Africa vs Minister of Higher Education and Training

HASA made an Application to the Labour Court for review and setting aside of the Minister's appointment of members of the Accounting Authority of HWSETA on the grounds that it was not in line with the constitution of HWSETA as HASA was not properly represented in the Accounting Authority of HWSETA.

Court order

The Court ruled in favour of the Applicant and the Minister is appealing the judgement and the court order made in favour of the applicant was stayed until the outcome of the appeal.

Road Freight Association of South Africa vs Minister of Higher Education and Training

Road Freight Association of South Africa brought an Application to review the Minister's appointment of the Accounting Authority of the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) on the grounds that it is in conflict with the TETA's constitution as they are not represented in the Accounting Authority.

Court order

The Minister's decision to appoint the Accounting Authority was challenged. During the hearing the matter was settled by a filling of a vacancy in accordance with the nomination put forward by the applicant.

Reply received: August 2014

QUESTION 719

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 25/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 6 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether he has been informed of any allegations of intimidation with regard to the forensic investigation of any of the 13 technical and vocational educational training (TVET) colleges; if so, what are the details of the investigation(s) undertaken to determine the veracity including the details of the team tasked to investigate, (a) findings and (b) recommendations;

2) whether the recommendations were carried out in full; if not, why not;

3) what other actions did he take in response to the allegations?

NW803E

REPLY:

1. There are currently four Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges under forensic investigations.

Acts of intimidation were reported at Vhembe and Eastcape Midlands TVET colleges. The Department has taken decisive action by placing officials on precautionary suspension to ensure that the investigations are not compromised.

The Department has appointed the following reputable firms on a rotational basis to conduct investigations at TVET colleges:

· PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC);

· Ernst and Young;

· Siswe Ntsaluba Gobodo;

· KPMG; and

· Deloitte.

Key findings from these investigations relate to procurement irregularities, non-declaration of business interest by the Executive Committee, as well as the lack of effective internal control processes applied in the finance and procurement divisions.

2. As soon as these investigations are completed, an analysis will be performed and appropriate action will be taken which may include disciplinary proceedings against identified individuals.

3. The Department is working with TVET colleges to develop appropriate mitigating controls to ensure that these risks are addressed and recommendations are implemented.

Reply received: September 2014

QUESTION 616

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 18/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 5 OF 2014)

Ms S P Kopane (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How many (a) international and (b) domestic hotel bookings were made by (i) him, (ii) his predecessors and (iii) departmental officials attending (aa) workshops, (bb) seminars, (cc) oversight visits or (dd) any other relevant meetings of the relevant portfolio committee from 1 April 2013 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

2) in respect of each specified booking, what was the (a) date, (b) name of the hotel, (c) number of delegates, (d) cost of the hotel booking for each delegate and (e) the nature of the relevant portfolio business dealt with?

NW699E

REPLY:

In order to fulfil the mandate of the Department of Higher Education and Training, it is required of the Deputy Minister and myself to engage with various stakeholders in all nine provinces of the country and on occasion travel abroad. If these engagements are outside the area of our usual place of residence, Ministers and Deputy Ministers can be accommodated in hotels befitting their office requirements as outlined in relevant policies.

As part of this request from the Honourable Member relates to officially sanctioned hotel bookings for workshops, seminars, oversight visits, attendance of parliament and meetings in the 2013/14 financial year which was recently audited by the Auditor-General, information for this period could be made available after the Annual Report is presented to Parliament in September 2014 and published for the general public. Information relating to the 2014/15 period, once audited will also be made available at the relevant time.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 512

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 11/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 4 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) (a) What are the names of the 13 technical and vocational educational training (TVET) colleges that are under forensic investigation and (b) what are the reasons in each case;

2) what (a) budget was (i)(aa) allocated and (bb) spent and (ii) what is the breakdown of the budget and (b) time frames are in place for the investigations to be (i) completed and (ii) reported upon?

NW594E

REPLY:

1. (a) There are currently seven Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges

under forensic investigations.

The responses to 1(b), 2 (a) (ii) and (b) are tabulated in the table below:

No.	Name of College	Reason for investigation	Breakdown allocated budget	Time frames for investigations to be completed	Time frames for investigations to be reported upon
1.	Central Johannesburg TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities identified and reported by the placed South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Support Chief Financial Officer (CFO)	R338 138.00	Completed	Completed
2.	Coastal TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities reported by the College Labour Forum	R1 638 759.00	Phase 1 and 2 are completed	31 July 2014
3.	Eastcape Midlands TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities and nepotism identified and reported by the placed SAICA Support CFO and the College Labour Forum	R497 275.00	Phase 1 is in progress. Phase 2 has not commenced and a conclusion date is yet to be determined	31 July 2014

No.

Name of College

Reason for investigation

Breakdown allocated budget

Time frames for investigations to be completed

Time frames for investigations to be reported upon

Central Johannesburg TVET College

Alleged procurement irregularities identified and reported by the placed South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Support Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

R338 138.00

Completed

Coastal TVET College

Alleged procurement irregularities reported by the College Labour Forum

R1 638 759.00

Phase 1 and 2 are completed

31 July 2014

Eastcape Midlands TVET College

Alleged procurement irregularities and nepotism identified and reported by the placed SAICA Support CFO and the College Labour Forum

R497 275.00

Phase 1 is in progress.

Phase 2 has not commenced and a conclusion date is yet to be determined

31 July 2014

No.	Name of College	Reason for investigation	Breakdown allocated budget	Time frames for investigations to be completed	Time frames for investigations to be reported upon
4.	Maluti TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities identified and reported by the placed SAICA Support CFO	R2 167 746.00	Phase 1 is completed. Phase 2 is in progress and its conclusion is planned for 15 August 2014	31 August 2014
5.	Port Elizabeth TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities reported by the College Labour Forum	R395 392.00	Phase 1 is completed. Phase 2 is in progress and its conclusion is planned for 31 August 2014	30 September 2014
6.	South West Gauteng TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities and nepotism identified and reported by the placed SAICA Support CFO and the College Labour Forum	R1 662 829.00	Phase 1 and 2 are completed	Completed
7.	Vhembe TVET College	Alleged procurement irregularities reported by the College Labour Forum	R606 548.00	Phase 1 is completed. Phase 2 is in progress and its conclusion is planned for 15 August 2014	31 August 2014

2. The budget allocated and spent for forensic investigations is tabulated below:

(a)(i)(aa) Budget allocated for forensic investigations

R'000

Total budget committed to date

R'000

(bb) Total expenditure incurred to date

R'000

10 000

7 307

3 731

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 506

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 11/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 4 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) (a) What are the names of the eight technical and vocational educational training (TVET) colleges that have been put under administration and (b) what are the reasons in each case;

2) what are the details of the measures his department is taking to restore each of these institutions under administration to proper governance, including (a)(i) who was appointed as administrator and (ii) when were they appointed, (b) what budget (i) was (aa) allocated and (bb) spent and (ii) what is the breakdown of the budget and (c) what time frames are in place for this process to be (i) completed and (ii) reported upon?

NW585E

REPLY:

1. (a) and (b) There are currently only three Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges under administration. They were placed under administration due to, amongst others, the collapse of leadership, governance, management, financial management, and/or teaching and learning. The colleges currently under administration are:

· King Hintsa TVET College;

· Mthashana TVET College; and

· Port Elizabeth TVET College.

The colleges listed below were under administration for similar reasons indicated above. However, it should be noted that these TVET colleges are now stable and no longer under administration.

· Coastal TVET College;

· Ikhala TVET College;

· Ingwe TVET College;

· King Sabata Dalindyebo TVET College;

· Lovedale TVET College;

· Motheo TVET College was placed under administration by the Free State Provincial Department of Education; and

· Tshwane North TVET College.

2. It is important to note that a TVET college would remain under administration until stability was achieved in management, governance and leadership.

Financial as well as human resource capacity in TVET colleges was strengthened by partnering with the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) to deploy qualified Support Chief Financial Officers to TVET colleges to assist in building the capacity of college Chief Financial Officers and the establishment of sound financial systems, including Human Resource Generalist Managers to support clusters of colleges to set up Human Resource systems, procedures and policies to ensure smooth and effective human resource management and development in each college.

To ensure that each college had structures that enabled a learning institution to function optimally, the filling of vacant senior management posts and appointment of college Councils were prioritised.

The table addresses 2 (a), (b) and (c) (i).

TVET College	Administrator	Appointment Date	Administration period ending / ended on	Budget
King Hintsa	Mr J Jacobs	17 February 2013	31 August 2014	R333 612.00
Mthashana	Dr RD Russon	1 September 2012	31 August 2014	R872 214.00
Port Elizabeth	Mr L Beech	10 May 2013	9 August 2014	R1 068 936.00
Coastal*	Dr EMS Ntombela	15 July 2012	14 July 2013	R872 214.00
Ikhala*	Ms P Steyn	1 April 2013	31 March 2014	R282 987.00
Ingwe*	Mr E Cassim	2 December 2012	15 December 2013	R452 304.00
King Sabata Dalindyebo*	Ms N Chagi	10 July 2012	30 June 2014	R321 223.00
Lovedale*	Ms M Van Rooyen	15 October 2012	11 December 2013	R872 214.00
Motheo*	Mr JS Tladi	1 August 2011	Principal assumed duty on 15 August 2013	N/A
Tshwane North*	Mr C Brink	1 July 2013	6 April 2014	R1 008 866.00

* Indicates TVET Colleges no longer under administration

The budget reflects the remuneration package of administrators for the period of administration. In addition, administrators were eligible for a once off payment of:

· R20 000 towards resettlement costs; and

· R18 000 as a resettlement allowance.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 475

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 11/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 4 OF 2014)

Mr M H Redelinghuys (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether Further Education and Training (FET) colleges currently actively (a) recruit or (b) encourage retired professionals to bolster their capacity to transfer scarce skills.

2) whether his department (a) has conducted or (b) will conduct a feasibility study on the potential of transferring scarce skills; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant (i) time frames and (ii) details?

REPLY:

1. (a) and (b) Currently there is no evidence that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges actively recruit retired professionals to bolster their capacity to transfer scarce skills. The Department of Higher Education and Training has established a database of unemployed, retired and foreign professionals who are interested in teaching in TVET colleges.

2. I will be requesting the Human Science Research Council to conduct a study on the post-school education and training sector which should be completed by the end of 2016. The terms of reference will include critical scarce skills and details of individuals who have retired and/or those who left the employ of education and training institutions to apply their trades in private companies.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 432

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 04/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 3 OF 2014)

Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) How many claims for outstanding payments of remuneration of examiners or markers for the (a) November 2013 and (b) April 2014 examinations for Further Education and Training colleges have been received by his department;

2) how many (a) of these claims have been paid by the end of May 2014 for each examination period and (b) claims were still to be processed for each examination period;

3) when will the last of these payments be made for each examination period;

4) are there any plans in place to speed up the processing of these claims by his deparment; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

5) what is the amount of (a) the finalised payments for each examination period and (b) outstanding payments for each examination period?

NW515E

REPLY:

The table below responds to questions 1, 2, 3 and 5

Examination cycle	No. of outstanding claims	No. of paid claims	No. of claims still to be processed	Date by which last payments will be made	Amount of finalised claims	Amount of outstanding payments
November 2013	525	15 185	525	15 August 2014	R54.7 million	Not yet known
April 2014	3 433	235	3 433	15 September 2014	R1.3 million	Not yet known

4) Yes, the Department of Higher Education and Training established a dedicated unit early in 2013 to deal with the processing of examiners and markers' claims. Additional administrative staff, including existing officials and interns, has been assigned to assist this unit. All officials involved in the process are working overtime to clear the backlog. In addition, workshops for Marking Centre Managers' are now being convened per examination cycle to ensure that the college officials managing the marking process are trained on the procedure and documentation required, amongst other tasks, to facilitate the efficient payment of claims.

N.B: It should be noted that it is only since November 2012 that the marking process has been under the full control of the

Department. During the strict verification processes introduced at the time, many irregular and non-compliant practices were

detected in the claims process. Examples of irregular practices include the inflation of hours and kilometres claimed whereas

non-compliance practices include incomplete or missing information, e.g. attendance registers and control sheets. Some of

these practices have persisted and thus prolong the verification process.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 397

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 04/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 3 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether he discussed the removal of the Chair of Council of the University of the Western Cape with any of his five nominees on the council at any stage; if so, what are the relevant details;

2) whether he instructed any of his five nominees on the council to remove the Chair of Council of the University of the Western Cape at any stage; if so, what are the relevant details;

3) whether he intervened in the removal of the Chair of Council of the University of the Western Cape at any stage; if so, what are the relevant details;

4) did he in anyway support the removal of the Chair of Council of the University of the Western Cape?

NW479E

REPLY:

The Higher Education Act does not allow the Minister to intervene in the governance of a university unless under extreme conditions which are outlined under Section 42 of the Higher Education Act (of 1997 as amended), and the procedures to be followed for such an intervention are outlined under sections 43 and 44 of the Act.

Universities are juristic persons and as such are governed by their Councils as constituted through their statutes. The Minister of Higher Education, in terms of the Higher Education Act of 1997 (as amended), is permitted to appoint up to five members to a University Council. However, these appointees are not appointed to represent the Minister on the Council. They are individuals who have been chosen to sit on Council, by virtue of their expertise, experience, and the value they will add to a university Council in terms of ensuring good governance. They sit on a Council as individuals who have a responsibility to ensure good governance of the institution in terms of its mission, vision and mandate, and in line with the Higher Education Act. They do not act on any mandate provided by the Minister.

1) I did not discuss the removal of the Chair of Council of the University of Western Cape with any of the five nominees.

2) In view of the above answer, questions 2, 3 and 4 are therefore irrelevant.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 396

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 04/07/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 3 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) (a) What was the total annual running budget granted to each university in each year since 1994 and (b) in each case, what was the National Student Financial Aid Scheme apportionment of the budget;

2) how many students have been registered at each university in each year since 1994;

3) how many academics have been employed at each university in each year since 1994?

NW478E

REPLY:

1) (a) The total allocations including the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)

granted to all universities increased from R3.314 billion in 1994 to R28.070 billion in

2014/15. Annexure A provides the budget allocation per university from 1994 to 2014.

(b) Allocations to NSFAS were introduced in 1996/97 and the allocation to universities from

the education vote increased from R300 million to R3.915 billion in 2014/15. These amounts per university are included in Annexure A for the academic years 1996 to 2011. Table 1 provides a breakdown per university from 2012 to 2014. Please note that the amounts reflected in the table include NSFAS recoveries.

2) Total headcount enrolments have increased from 495 355 in 1994 to 953 373 in 2012. Tables 2 (A) and (B), indicate student headcount enrolments per university from the 1994 academic year to the 2012 academic year. Audited Higher Education Information Management System (HEMIS) information for the 2013 academic year will only be available in October 2014.

3) The number of academics (permanently appointed instruction and research staff) employed at each university have increased from 12 852 in 1994 to 17 451 in 2012. Tables 3 (A) and (B) indicating the number of academics per university from 1994 up to 2012. Audited HEMIS information for the 2013 academic year will only be available in October 2014.

See attached link for tables: http://www.pmg.org.za/policy-documents/rnw396a

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 370

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Dr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) (a) How many doctorates have been awarded at each separate university in each year since 2000 and (b) for how many of these doctorates was the thesis done in each official language;

2) whether he will make a statement on the matter?

NW467E

REPLY:

1) (a) The table below reflects the number of doctorates awarded at public higher education institutions from 2000 to 2012.

Institution	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Cape Peninsula University of Technology	0	2	5	5	2	6	6	10	13	12	11	13	24
Central University of Technology	3	1	4	7	7	6	6	11	5	4	3	5	5
Durban University of Technology	0	2	1	3	3	4	4	5	3	5	12	14	6
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	11	27	23	28	35	30	25	35	47	39	64	59	86
North West University	51	59	59	92	87	82	110	124	100	123	129	115	154
Rhodes University	28	24	41	27	40	31	46	48	27	32	44	57	67
Tshwane University of Technology	2	8	9	5	9	12	19	12	13	25	22	28	44
University of Cape Town	104	86	109	103	99	182	133	142	151	178	160	163	199
University of Fort Hare	3	2	2	3	2	1	9	10	11	34	36	44	43
University of Johannesburg	89	65	70	92	95	88	73	75	73	70	51	68	109
University of KwaZulu-Natal	70	92	98	135	98	98	108	106	136	159	163	154	177
University of Limpopo	6	4	4	10	20	15	12	17	14	17	10	17	17
University of Pretoria	114	135	153	146	187	192	148	170	180	196	188	206	200
University of South Africa	221	121	68	76	96	92	81	78	67	71	55	93	152
University of Stellenbosch	83	103	111	112	115	126	102	153	120	139	174	150	240
University of the Free State	59	50	78	84	58	65	60	77	55	78	100	107	94
University of Venda	0	1	0	3	3	3	0	6	2	4	9	9	4
University of Western Cape	20	22	15	27	23	35	28	41	42	47	60	80	75
University of Witwatersrand	81	79	97	73	93	101	98	134	106	124	106	169	150
University of Zululand	17	14	21	12	31	18	31	20	13	21	19	19	28
Vaal University of Technology	0	0	1	3	2	2	1	0	2	2	4	2	2
Vista University	10	3	14	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Walter Sisulu University	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	4	3
TOTAL	973	900	985	1052	1105	1189	1100	1274	1182	1380	1421	1576	1879

(b) Universities have their own language policies. Individual doctoral students are usually permitted to write their thesis in the language of their choice, e.g. the University of Pretoria would allow an individual to submit their thesis in isiZulu, English or Afrikaans. However, for international comparability, individuals and institutions prefer to publish their thesis in English. It is therefore not possible to indicate how many of these doctorates were published and released in various official languages.

2) No, I will not be making any statement on this matter.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 338

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What are the details of all flowers purchased by his department for each year between 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

2) what are the details of (a)(i) the address and (ii) the name of the office where the specified flowers were displayed, (b) for whose benefit were the flowers purchased and (c) what was the purchase value of the flowers for each office where it was displayed;

3) in respect of flowers purchased for individuals, (a) what is the (i) name and (ii) relationship of the person to (aa) him and (bb) the Ministry and (b) what is the cost of each purchase;

4) what are the details of any (a) contractual arrangements and (b) plans to purchase flowers in the future?

NW419E

REPLY:

1) I have not purchased any flowers from April 2009 to date.

2) Not applicable.

3) Not applicable.

4) I do not have contractual arrangements and/or plans to purchase flowers in the future.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 305

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Ms B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What are the details of office furniture ordered and or purchased for the use of him and/or his staff since 1 May 2014;

2) in respect of each piece of furniture, (a) what is the description, (b) what is the breakdown of the costs, (c) where will each piece of furniture be used and (d) who will use each piece of furniture;

3) what are the details of furniture disposed of;

4) in respect of each piece of furniture disposed of, (a) what is the description, (b) original purchase costs and (c) on what date was it purchased;

5) (a) how was this furniture disposed of, (b) what disposal method was used, (c) what is the name and contact details of person/s to whom it was disposed and (d) at what price was it disposed of?

NW385E

REPLY:

(1) I did not order and/or purchase office furniture since 1 May 2014.

(2) Not applicable.

(3) Not applicable.

(4) Not applicable.

(5) Not applicable.

Reply received: April 2014

QUESTION 296
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER:
Dr A Lotriet (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) (a) How many Further Education and Training (FET) colleges are there in each province, (b) what are their names and (c) how is each FET college funded;

(2) (a) how many students (i) were enrolled at and (ii) graduated from each of these specified institutions and (b) how many certificates were issued to graduates at each of these institutions in the (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13 financial years and (c) what (i) are the top ten qualifications that students graduate with from these institutions and (ii) is the percentage of graduates for each qualification;

(3) what (a) is the total number of (i) permanent and (ii) contract staff employed at each of these institutions respectively and (b) steps will his department take to combat fly-by-night FET institutions in each province;

(4) what (a) number of private FET colleges are currently registered in each province and (b) are their (i) names and (ii) addresses;

(5) whether the department has any plans to open additional FET institutions in each province; if so, what are the relevant details?

Attached please find here: REPLY

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 271

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Dr B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What are the details of motor vehicles ordered and/or purchased for his use since May 2014;

2) (a) what is the (i) make, (ii) model, (iii) total cost and (iv) breakdown of the cost of each motor vehicle and (b) where will each motor vehicle normally be stationed?

W350E

REPLY:

1) I did not order and/or purchase any motor vehicles since May 2014.

2) (a) and (b) Not applicable.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 226

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Ms H S Boshoff (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) Whether his department opened any additional teacher training colleges in the last three financial years; if not, why not; if so, (a) where and (b) when was each opened;

2) what are the details of teacher training colleges that will be opened over the next three financial years;

3) how many prospective foundation phase teachers have enrolled to study at the Teacher Training College in Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga?

NW304E

REPLY:

(1) The Department of Higher Education and Training opened one additional teacher education campus with its first intake in January 2013, the former Ndebele College of Education in Siyabuswa.

(2) Discussions are underway with relevant universities about the potential use of the former Cape College of Education site in the Eastern Cape, and the former Giyani College of Education site in Limpopo as further sites for teacher education, and for other education programmes within the Post-School Education and Training environment. While planning is on-going for possible expansion, it is too early to confirm whether or not these sites will be developed over the next three years as funding first needs to be secured from National Treasury. In 2013/14, an MTEF Bid to National Treasury to support the development of new teacher education campuses was unsuccessful.

(3) The Siyabuswa campus (former Ndebele College of Education site) is a campus of the University of Mpumalanga with 108 students registered for their first year and 99 students registered for their second year of studies towards the Bachelor in Education in Foundation Phase Teaching degree.

Reply received: March 2014

QUESTION 192

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/02/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Mr L Ramatlakane (Cope) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) Whether his department has introduced guidelines to regulate the manner in which the universities bill students with regard to various cost items from the allocated subsidy and/or bursary paid in lieu of each student to constrain certain items from utilising most of the funds; if so, (a) what amount or percentage of the total amount has been allocated to (i) accommodation, (ii) food, (iii) cafeteria expenditure, (iv) vouchers issued to each student and (v) any other items, (b) which item is a high cost driver, (c) what is the percentage cost of the specified item and (d) what plans are in place to reduce costs; if not,

(2) whether his department intends to institute an investigation to determine which cost item is the highest cost driver; if so, (a) will his department develop uniform guidelines to be implemented by all universities, (b) what is the time frame for the investigation and (c) what are the further relevant details?

NW198E

REPLY:

(1) The Department has not introduced guidelines to regulate the manner in which universities bill students with regard to various cost items from the allocated subsidy and/or bursary paid in lieu of each student.In terms of the Higher Education Act and individual Institutional Statutes, the mandate for determining fees rests with the Council of an institution.Through consultative processes, Councils at universities decide on their fees based on costs associated with tuition, accommodation, associated costs, books, learning materials and related increments. All of this is based on the respective university's needs, operational costs, budgets and student profile.

(a) Government subsidies through the allocation of block grants assist universities to contain tuition costs to a reasonable level. However, accommodation, food, books and other essentials costs, increased the average full cost of study from R28 000 to R64 000 per annum for the 2014 academic year.

(b) The major cost driver is the cost of living.

In the case of loans and bursaries awarded through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the maximum and minimum amounts for loans and bursaries is determined by the NSFAS Board. The NSFAS maximum loan amount is generally equal to the national Full Cost of Study average which was R64 000 for the 2014 academic year.

Whereas loans and bursaries awarded by universities are done in consultation with their respective financial aid offices and student organisations to determine the loan and bursary amounts that will meet the cost of accommodation, books, meals and travel allowances at a particular university.

(2) The Department does not intend to undertake any further investigations at this point in time as it has concluded a review of NSFAS in 2010 and is in the process of implementing some of the recommendations from the review report, which includes the centralisation of financial aid. In 2012, a student accommodation review was completed and some of the recommendations are now being implemented. Furthermore, a review of the funding of universities was completed in October 2013 and published in February 2014. Given the three Ministerial reviews and annual audited financial reports submitted by universities, the Department has not planned to undertake any new investigations. However, oversight and monitoring of all universities will remain a key priority for the Department.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 180

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 1 OF 2014)

Mr J H Steenhuisen (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1) What are the details of all the costs of the maintenance of the pot plants in his (a) departmental offices and (b) official residence (i) in the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11, (cc) 2011-12, (dd) 2012-13 and (ee) 2013-14 financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2014;

2) in respect of the pot plant maintenance, (a) what is the (i) address and (ii) name of the office where they were/are displayed, (b) for whose benefit are these pot plants, (c) what was/is the value of maintenance for each office and (d) what are the details of any contracts and/or plans for the maintenance of these pot plants in the future?

NW229E

REPLY

1. (a) (i) The response is provided in the table below:

Financial Years	Cost
(i)(aa) 2009-10	R24 595.84
(bb) 2010-11	R5 620.25
(cc) 2011-12	R6 868.62
(dd) 2012-13	R7 502.37
(ee) 2013-14	R7 952.18

(ii) R401.60.

(b) There are no plants supplied by the Department of Higher Education and Training at the official residences of the Minister and Deputy Minister.

2. (a) (i) 123 Francis Baard Street, Pretoria, 0001.

(ii) Department of Higher Education and Training

(b) The pot plants are for the benefit of the Department of Higher Education and Training.

(d) The service provider is Plant Care Pty Ltd and the contract is on a month-to-month basis.

Reply received: March 2014

QUESTION 180

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 21/02/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 2 OF 2014)

Adv A de W Alberts (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

Whether any new universities or other tertiary institutions are going to be established; if not, why not; if so, (a) where each (i) university or (ii) tertiary institution will be established and (b) in each individual case, what (i) is the rationale for its establishment and (ii) will be the language of tuition for the university or tertiary institution?

NW186E

REPLY:

In 2014 a new comprehensive health and allied sciences university will be established in terms of Section 20 (1)of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997 as amended). This institution will incorporate the Medunsa Campus of the University of Limpopo in terms of Section 24 (1) of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997 as amended),

(a) The new university will be established on the site of the Medunsa Campus of the University of Limpopo in Garankuwa, Gauteng Province.

(b) (i) According to studies conducted,South Africa requires an increasing number of suitably qualified health professionals to meet the country's pressing healthcare needs. A dedicated higher education institution with a wide and varied set of health professional programmes will be able to achieve this objective. Based on the recommendations and advice provided to the Departments of Higher Education and Training, and Health by a Joint Task Team, it was decided to establish a new comprehensive health and allied sciences university.

The new university will align itself with national priorities, including the pending implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, by increasing the availability of healthcare professional programmes and training for the country's underserved communities. This will be a comprehensive institution offering a full range of qualifications and programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, coveringtechnical, professional and formative quality programmes, focussing on health and health-related programmes, and allied professions. Apart from training as many new health professionals as is academically possible and economically feasible, the new comprehensive health and allied sciences university will help to improve the competencies of health professionals by offering Continuing Professional Development programmes which emphasises amongst others: teamwork, community and patient-centeredness, service learning, inter-disciplinary interaction and the use of research.

(ii) The medium of instruction will be in English.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 146

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 1 OF 2014)

Ms S V Kalyan (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) What are the details of all expenditure that was found to have been (a) irregular and (b) wasteful in his department for each year from 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) in respect of each such finding of (a) irregular and (b) wasteful expenditure, (i) what (aa) is the description thereof, (bb) is the value thereof and (cc) action has been taken against the persons accountable for such expenditure and (ii) how much thereof (aa) has been recovered and (bb) from whom?

NW159E

REPLY:

The table below responds to the questions above:

Responses to Questions	FINANCIAL YEARS
Responses to Questions	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
1. Expenditure (a) Irregular (b) Wasteful	R0.00 R0.00	R4 023 000.00 R0.00	R485 000.00 R0.00	R856 000.00 R0.00
2. (i) (aa) Description	None	Incorrect procurement procedures were followed	Incorrect procurement procedures were followed and contract expired	Incorrect procurement procedures were followed
(bb) Value	R0.00	R4 023 000.00	R485 000.00	R856 000.00
(cc) Action	Not applicable	Condoned	Condoned	3 months suspension without pay

2 (ii) Not applicable.

Reply received: June 2014

QUESTION 114

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 1 OF 2014)

Mr D America (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) What are the details of official credit cards issued to (a) him and/or (b) his staff;

(2) in respect of each credit card, (a) what is the (i) name and (ii) organogram position of the user, (b) what is the (i) maximum permissible value of each purchase and (ii) total credit limit of the card, (c) what are the details of permissible purchases for which the credit cards may be used and (d) may alcoholic beverages be purchased;

(3) in respect of purchases made with each credit card during the period 8 May 2014 and/or thereafter up to the latest specified date for which information is available, (a) what is the (i) name and (ii) organogram position of the user, (b) what is the (i) value of each purchase made, (ii) what are the details of each item purchased and (iii) for what purpose was each purchase made and (c) were any alcoholic beverages purchased; if so, (i) what are the (aa) details and (bb) value of these purchases and (ii) for what purpose was each purchase made?

NW124E

REPLY:

(1) No credit cards were issued.

(2) Not applicable.

(3) Not applicable.

Reply received: July 2014

QUESTION 81

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 17/06/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 1 OF 2014)

Mr A G Whitfield (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) How many (a) international and (b) domestic flights were undertaken by (i) him and (ii) his predecessors using (aa) aircraft operated by the military, (bb) aircraft chartered by the military or (cc) commercial aircraft during the period 1 April 2013 up to the latest specified date for which information is available;

(2) in respect of each specified flight, what was the (a)(i) date and (ii) place of (aa) departure and (bb) arrival and (b)(i) total cost and (ii) breakdown of such costs?

NW89E

REPLY:

(1) (a) and (b) No international or domestic flights were undertaken by myself using aircraft operated by the military or chartered by military for the period 1 April 2013 to date. There have been no predecessors in this current portfolio.

(cc) 1 Commercial aircraft was used.

(2) (a) (i) 30 April 2014

(ii) (aa) Johannesburg (Lanseria)

(bb) Vhembe

(b) R 65 489.54

Reply received: February 2014

QUESTION 35

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 13/02/2014

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 1 OF 2014)

Mr K S Mubu (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(1) How much does his department plan to spend on (a) advertising, (b) communication and (c) marketing between 1 January 2014 and 30 April 2014 (i) in total and (ii) as a breakdown of the amount;

(2) (a) what mediums is his department going to use in each case and (b) who is the service provider to be used;

(3) what is the main message that his department plans to communicate during this time?

NW36E

REPLY:

The Department will be spending a maximum of R4.8 million on advertising, communication and marketing for the period 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2014.

a) (i) R4 449 313 has been allocated for advertising.

(ii) R3 132 570 on the Department's Central Application Clearing House (CACH) and R 1 316 743 on the Apply Now campaigns.

b) (i) R200 000 has been allocated for communication

(ii) R78 000 for Media Monitoring, R42 000 for Videography and R80 000 for travelling and accommodation.

c) (i) R91 200 has been allocated for Marketing.

(ii) R51 300 for Brochures and R39 900 for folders.

Advertising for major departmental campaigns is procured via the Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) to cover both mainstream and community media.

a) Media being used for advertising include: SABC TV, eTV, Tshwane TV, Soweto TV, GCIS Broadcast, The Independent Newspaper Group and outdoor Alive Advertising screens.

b) All production and placement of advertisements is handled by GCIS due to the discounts they are able to negotiate with media houses. Media monitoring is done Media Basics and marketing materials are produced by Basani Printers.

The main messages being communicated during this period are:

January 2014 Post-School Education and Training opportunities available for matriculants

February 2014 2014 - 2024 as the Decade of the Artisan under the theme "It is cool to be a 21^st century artisan"

The Central Application Clearing House to assist students who have not applied or been accepted at an institution of their choice

March - April 2014 Apply Now campaign to encourage students to start applying for tertiary education

2014-03-03

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