Questions & Replies: Higher Education B

2015-07-07

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received june 2015

QUESTION 1833

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/05/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15 OF 2015)

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

1. How many students in each institution in Mpumalanga have qualified to receive National Student Financial Aid Scheme funding for the 2014-15 financial year; 
2. in each case, how many students per institution have (a) not received their funding to date and (b) funding due to them for three months or longer;
3. what portion of the outstanding funding is for (a) tuition, (b) textbooks and learning materials, (c) accommodation and (d) living expenses?

NW2053E

 

REPLY:

1. The number of students who qualified to receive National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding is tabulated below:

 

Institution	Number of students qualifying for NSFAS funding in 2014 academic year
University of Mpumalanga	179 (106 Funza Lushaka, 73 NSFAS)
Ehlanzeni Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College	3 555
Gert Sibande TVET College	8 273
Nkangala TVET College	5 138
Total	17 145

 

1. All students at the University of Mpumalanga, Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande and Nkangala TVET colleges have received all their funding for the 2014 academic year.  

 

1. With respect to the 2014 academic year, all funds have been paid out to qualifying students. Therefore, there is no outstanding funding for tuition textbooks and learning materials, accommodation and living expenses. 

 

Reply recived June 2015

QUESTION 1798

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22/05/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15 OF 2015)

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

1. Whether he has found that single medium English-speaking tertiary institutions fall within the provisions of the Constitution of the RSA, 1996, with specific reference to the promotion of indigenous languages and non-discrimination based on language; if so, what is the basis for the establishment of single medium tertiary institutions; if not,
2. whether he will be taking steps against single medium English-speaking tertiary institutions so as to compel these institutions to change their language policy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2017E

 

REPLY:

1. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa declares that: “the official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu”. The Constitution, Section 6 (1), (2) and (4) of the Founding Provisions 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”. The Constitution enjoins the Pan South African Language Board to promote and create conditions for the development and use of these and other languages.

 

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 –

1. Equity;
2. Practicability; and
3. The need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices.

 

These facts are stated so that there is a clear understanding on the obligations of the Minister of Higher Education and Training. In terms of Section 27 (2) of the Higher Education Act (101 of 1997, as amended), the Minister determines Language Policy for Higher Education. In accordance with this legislation, each institution of higher education is required to establish its own language policy, guided by the Constitution and Language Policy for Higher Education. This requirement takes into account the autonomy of institutions to determine flexible language policies provided that such determination is within the context of public accountability and my responsibility to establish the parameters. Although the Language Policy for Higher Education is designed to promote African languages in institutional policies and practices in higher education, it clearly does not discourage the use of English. English is an international language utilised in higher education across the globe, and it is practicable for South African institutions to utilise this as the main language of teaching and learning.

Therefore, I have found that English-speaking tertiary institutions fall within the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA).

1. In terms of language policies of individual universities, none are single medium English-language speaking. Therefore, in terms of the question there are no steps that need to be taken to compel universities to change their language policies.

 

The action required is aggressive improvement of universities in developing indigenous languages. I believe that the promotion of multilingualism in the higher education sector is imperative as the Constitution of the RSA accords equal status to all our languages. In this regard, the Language Policy for Higher Education published in November 2002 is the framework that guides the practices at higher education institutions. In addition to this policy, there are other mechanisms through which the Department attempts to steer institutions towards the development of all official languages especially the indigenous languages. For example, an allocation of infrastructure and efficiency funds to support the development of facilities for the teaching of African Languages was introduced during the 2012/13 to 2014/15 infrastructure cycle; R311.654 million was allocated to the category ‘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 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 with regards to the training of teachers.

 

 

Reply received June 2015

QUESTION 1713

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 15/05/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 14 OF 2015)

Ms C N Majeke (UDM) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

1. Whether, in respect of the ongoing strike by students at the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Technical and Vocational Education and Training (KSD TVET) College in the Eastern Cape, allegedly due to lack of clear information on the granting of bursaries by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), he is aware of the impasse at that institution; if not, does he intend to investigate the situation in order to bring stability to the institution; if so, what steps has he or will he take in this regard;
2. does the NSFAS bursary allocation for KSD TVET College students cover (a) tuition, (b) accommodation and (c) food vouchers;
3. what is the state of the accommodation of all seven campuses falling within this institution?

NW1931E

 

REPLY:

1. No, the Department is not aware of the student protest at King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College. In this regard, the Department has requested the college to submit a report on the matter. The nature of the intervention by the Department will be informed by the findings emanating from the investigation.
2. The 2015 bursary allocation for KSD TVET college is R36 381 000. The Department’s bursary allocation is calculated in terms of 80% of the total projected full-time equivalent students estimated to qualify for tuition fees. The remaining 20% is earmarked for transport and accommodation allowances based on the college’s affordability, as per the applicable policy. However, due to limited funds, the 2015 Bursary Rules and Guidelines encourage TVET colleges to prioritise tuition and award transport and accommodation allowances thereafter, subject to available funding. The amount to be awarded for allowances to qualifying students is determined by the financial aid committee of a college.
3. The provision of student accommodation in KSD TVET College is not adequate to accommodate the needs of students who qualify for student accommodation. The college only manages to place 590 students in the college residence. The 2010 project at the Mthatha campus for infrastructure of 1 000 beds for the student residence has not been completed due to insufficient funds. However, the Department has allocated R46 million for completion of the student residence.

The college student accommodation does not currently accommodate students with disabilities. However, on completion of the 2010 project, the student residence would be accommodative of students with special needs.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1640

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 08/05/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 13 OF 2015)

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

1. What is his department’s position on the Human Resource Development Council’s Enabling the Entrepreneurship Technical Task Team final report for small, medium and micro enterprise training and development, published in November 2013;
2. does his department intend to implement the report’s recommendations pertaining to his department; if not, why not; if so, when?

NW1857E

REPLY:

1. The Department of Higher Education and Training has accepted the recommendations as stipulated in the Human Resource Development Council’s Technical Task Team report on Enabling Entrepreneurship as published in November 2013.
2. Yes. The various recommendations have implications for the development of an integrated curriculum model for Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges as well as curricula of universities. The Department is engaging with the relevant committees of Higher Education South Africa to establish a community of practice within the higher education sector. This will assist in the revitalisation of entrepreneurial education. Further to this, my Department is also in the process of developing a policy on creative and innovative outputs intended to stimulate the development of creative artefacts, patents and intellectual property that can lead to commercialisation.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1610

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 08/05/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 13 OF 2015)

Prof B Bozzoli (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training: [Interdepartmental transfer from the Deputy President on 8 May 2015]

 

With reference to the findings of the Ministerial Committee for the Review of the Funding of Universities, which Mr C Ramaphosa chaired, what steps (a) has he taken and (b) will he take to ensure that the recommendations pertaining to increased funding for universities have been implemented?        

NW1827E

REPLY:

1. Prior to the release of the Report in February 2014, a Cabinet Memorandum on the recommendations of the report for increased funding was tabled. Cabinet noted the report and approved that the Department approach National Treasury through the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) processes for additional funding. Each year, I submit a request for additional funding. However, additional funding is only approved by Parliament on the availability of funds and in consideration of priorities for the country, seen within the broader economic context.
2. Implementing the recommendations with regard to increased funding needs to be considered through the availability of government funds within the context of competing priorities. Increased funding for Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs) has already been addressed through the introduction of the HDIs Development Grant from 2015/16 over a period of 5 years, to an amount of R2.050 billion. The Department is also exploring other possibilities for additional funding for student financial aid and housing outside of the fiscus.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1552

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/04/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 11 OF 2015)

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

1. How does his department intend to address the shortage of academic staff in the age group of 45 to 55 years, so as to replace the older, soon-to-be retiring cohort;
2. does his department have an existing guideline for the (a) appointment and (b) retention of academic staff beyond the existing retirement age at universities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
3. does his department intend to introduce new guidelines in respect of the aforementioned matters; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1763E

REPLY:

1. The table below shows that the 45 – 55 age category comprised of just less than 30% of the permanent academic workforce in 2012. The 35 – 44 age category was similar in proportion of just over 30%. In addition, 20% was younger than 35 years, and almost the same proportion was in the 55 – 65 age category. The figures therefore do not support the view that in terms of ageing, the academic workforce is in trouble.

Headcounts of instruction/research professionals with permanent appointments at South African universities, according to age (HEMIS audited data, 2012)

Age	Professor/ Associate Professor	Director/ Associate Director	Senior Lecturer	Lecturer	Junior Lecturer	Below Junior Lecturer	Undesig-nated	Total	%
≤ 24 years	0	0	2	43	64	5	7	121	0.7
25-34 year	72	0	656	1 998	432	56	92	3 306	18.9
35-44 years	766	31	1 504	2 598	246	44	99	5 288	30.3
45-54 years	1542	67	1 419	1 906	107	22	72	5 135	29.4
55-59 years	960	43	592	580	23	10	34	2 242	12.8
60-62 years	427	25	230	151	12	1	19	865	5.0
63-65 years	242	12	112	67	4	1	8	446	2.6
66-69 years	19	0	4	9	1	0	0	33	0.2
≥ 70 years	6	1	2	6	0	0	0	15	0.1

1. The Department does not have an existing guideline as different institutions, both in South Africa and internationally, have diverse regulations. Historically, in times of growth and expansion, retirement ages have tended to be raised in order to retain expertise for as long as possible. In such a scenario, the expansion creates opportunities for promotion and inclusion of new groups of academics. In times of contraction or where social imperatives such as transformation are prominent, retirement age comes under the spotlight as the retention of senior and/or older academics can be seen as a barrier to the recruitment and/or advancement of under-represented groups.

1. In South Africa, where both expansion of post-school opportunities and transformation are urgently needed and acknowledged, the aim must be to create, nurture and retain a new generation of academics, whilst retaining and using all available expertise.

In January 2015, I approved the “Staffing South Africa’s Universities’ Framework” (SSAUF) which aims to bring about fundamental and sustainable transformation and revitalisation of the academic workforce, by:

• identifying and nurturing academic talent early in the academic development trajectory, at senior undergraduate level or early post-graduate level;
• supporting newly recruited academics to acquire doctoral degrees (or Master’s Degrees in selected fields);
• develop teaching expertise;
• develop research skills, including scientific publication skills;
• provide development opportunities for existing academic staff at all levels; and
• enable the recruitment of supplementary staff (including retired academics) to enhance and strengthen teaching, research and social engagement at universities.

Phase 1 of SSAUF, the ‘New Generation of Academics’ Programme” (nGAP) is currently being implemented, with the aim of recruiting the first cohort of 125 new generation academics by July 2015 with 80% of these nGAP posts being filled by black and/or women candidates.

1. The Department recognises the need to provide advice and guidance to institutions, including on the matters raised in these questions, but also recognises the autonomy of institutions in this regard. SSAUF in its ‘Supplementary Staff Employment Programme’ highlights the contributions that retired staff can make, for example as joint supervisors, mentors, or part-time teachers in areas of scarcity or high demand, and proposes that funds be made available for institutions to secure such expertise. It is envisaged that this component of SSAUF will be implemented from 2017 onwards.  

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1525

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/04/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 11 OF 2015)

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

Has the Council on Higher Education considered any teacher training courses to be substandard over the past 10 calendar years; if not, why not; if so, (a) which courses at (b) which institutions and (c) have these courses lost their accreditation?

NW1735E

REPLY:

Teacher education programmes were subject to national review processes by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in 2005 to 2006 for Masters Programmes and in 2006 to 2007 for the Advanced Certificate in Education, Bachelor of Education, Postgraduate Certificate in Education and Master of Education programmes. The results of these National Reviews are listed and attached as Annexure A as they appear on the CHE’s website. The tables provide full responses to questions (a), (b) and (c).

Improvement plans and progress reports for those programmes accredited with conditions have since been submitted for approval and are monitored. All programmes from the 2006 to 2007 review, that were not accredited or which were put on notice for withdrawal of accreditation, have since been phased out and no longer have students registered on them. The one remaining programme accredited with conditions is currently being phased out. It is envisaged that this will be replaced with a new programme, which is currently under development for alignment to the new Policy on Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ).

It should also be noted that all existing teacher education programmes offered at universities are being redesigned to comply with the MRTEQ. This policy puts in place specific minimum standards relating to knowledge and practice, which all teacher education programmes must henceforth comply with. As a result of the introduction of the new policy, all teacher education programmes have to be resubmitted for accreditation and are being subjected to the full CHE accreditation process.

See the link for AnnexureA: /files/RNW1525A-150512.pdf

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1524

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/04/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 11 OF 2015)

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

Is the Council on Higher Education planning to reintroduce a system for the auditing of universities which is the same as, or similar to, any system which has been utilised previously; if so, when?

NW1734E

REPLY:

Yes. Improvement plans and progress reports of some institutions resulting from the first round of institutional audits, are still being monitored. The Council on Higher Education (CHE) is currently in the second year of a five-year Quality Enhancement Project (QEP) which focuses on specific areas of teaching and learning in need of improvement as determined by the institutional audits. The CHE intends resuming institutional audits once the QEP process has been completed.

 

Reply received: May 2015

QUESTION 1523

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/04/2015

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 11 OF 2015)

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

1. (a) How much funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) went to students in (i) universities and (ii) further education and training (FET) or technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges (aa) in the (aaa) 2004-05, (bbb) 2005-06, (ccc) 2006-07, (ddd) 2007-08, (eee) 2008-09, (fff) 2009-10, (ggg) 2010-11, (hhh) 2011-12 (iii) 2012-13, (jjj) 2013-14 and (kkk) 2014-15 financial years and (bb) during the period         1 April 2015 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) in the case of each financial year or period, how many students were supported by the fund;
2. in the case of each of the above financial years and time period, how (a) much NSFAS funding went to students in (i) universities and (ii) FET and/or TVET colleges on a loan basis, excluding loans converted to bursaries due to students’ academic performance, (b) how many students were supported by the fund in this manner and (c) much of these loans has been recovered;
3. (a)(i) what has been identified as the required rate for the recovery of loans from students and (ii) what is the said recovery rate, expressed as a percentage of current monies owed and (b) what criteria was used in identifying the required rate of recovery;
4. has the said rate of recovery been achieved; if not, what steps does he intend taking to remedy the situation; if so, what are the relevant details;
5. (a) why is the repayment of loans by former students handled on a voluntary basis and (b) does his department intend to introduce a system for automatically deducting payments from former students’ income once they are employed at an appropriate salary level; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1733E

REPLY

The Department of Higher Education and Training provides the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) with voted funds, which are then disbursed through the entity’s own processes.

1. (a)(i) Table 1 below provides information on the amount of funding that went to university students from NSFAS for the 2004/05 to 2014/15 financial years. It must be noted that the 2014/15 figures are unaudited. Final audited figures will be available in July 2015.

 

Table 1: NSFAS funding for university students 2004/05 – 2014/15
Financial Year	Funding	(b) No. of Students supported
2004/05	R 984 527 910.26	98 732
2005/06	R1 214 620 227.23	106 772
2006/07	R1 379 965 435.06	108 294
2007/08	R1 682 353 956.38	113 107
2008/09	R2 117 714 766.07	117 764
2009/10	R2 818 220 031.70	135 202
2010/11	R3 343 869 489.05	148 386
2011/12	R4 561 359 562.01	173 927
2012/13	R5 871 489 880.57	194 504
2013/14	R6 729 069 970.37	194 923
2014/15	R6 959 689 088.00	185 70

           

(ii)    Table 2 below provides information on the amount of funding that went to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students from NSFAS for the 2007/08 to 2014/15 financial years. It must be noted that NSFAS only started administering bursaries for TVET college students in the 2007/08 financial year.