ATC131017: This report replaces that Report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on its Oversight Visit to the University of Cape Town (UCT), dated 11 September which appeared on page 3621 of the ATC published on 27 September 2013:

Higher Education, Science and Innovation

This report replaces that Report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on its Oversight Visit to the University of Cape Town (UCT), dated 11 September which appeared on page 3621 of the ATC published on 27 September 2013:

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, having undertaken an oversight visit to the University of Cape Town, reports as follows:

1. Introduction

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training undertook an oversight visit to the University of Cape Town (UCT) on 06 August 2013. This report would firstly, summarise all the presentations made by management and various stakeholders of the university during the oversight visit; secondly, it would articulate on the observations made by Members of the Committee during their interaction with the university; thirdly, a summary of all the observations would be provided and finally recommendations for consideration and implementation by the Minister would be highlighted at the end of the report.

2. Background

The oversight visit to the university formed part of the Committee’s routine visits to higher education and training institutions across the country with the objective of assessing their roles and responsibilities in terms of government objectives. The oversight visit was further influenced by the university’s extended invite to the Committee based on the request of the Vice-Chancellor.

The terms of reference of the oversight visit to UCT was based on assessment of the university in the following niche areas:

·         Research,

·         Teaching and Learning,

·         Transformation,

·         Internationalisation, and

·         Social responsiveness.

In addition to the above mentioned niche areas of the oversight visit, the Committee invited stakeholders such as Councils, Student Representative Council (SRC’s), Labour Unions and Institutional Forum (IF) of the university to make input on behalf of their constituents.

3. Composition of the Delegation

3.1. The Parliamentary delegation

The multi-party delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training consisted of; Ms D Chili (ANC), Mrs N Gina Whip (ANC), Adv I Malale Chairperson (ANC), Mr C Moni (ANC), Prof A Lotriet (DA) and Mr J Dikobo (AZAPO).

Support Staff: Mr A Kabingesi: Committee Secretary, Ms M Modiba: Content Adviser, Mr L Komle: Researcher and Ms T Majone: Committee Assistant.

3.2. University of Cape Town

Management: Dr M Price: Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof T Nhlapo: Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Prof C Soudien: Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof S Klopper: Deputy Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning, Prof I Scott: Director Academic Development, Dr M Sienaert: Executive Director Research, Prof D Visser: Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Ms J Favish: Director Institutional Planning, Ms G Kruger: Executive Director Communication and Marketing, Ms K Hatton: Deputy Director Communication and Marketing, Ms C Ojwang: Manager International Office.

Council: Arch-Bishop N Ndungane: Chairperson, Prof F Petersen Member, Ms S Barsel: Ministerial Appointee, Ms D Budlender: Deputy Chairperson, Mr T Petersen: Chairperson Finance and Prof E Uliana: Member.

Student Representative Council: Mr L Hallendorf: President, Ms M Gondwe: Secretary-General, Mr K Hendrickse: Vice-President External Affairs, Mr C Chungu: Societies Coordinator, Mr L Nemalili: Chairperson Postgraduates Academics, Mr R Chikane: Vice-President International Affairs and Ms M van Rensburg: Transformation Officer.

Unions: Mr L Aranes: Treasurer National Education and Health Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), Mr S Abrahams: Administrator Nehawu, Ms P Bevie: Branch Secretary Nehawu, Prof B Weiss: President Academics Union, Dr R Roth: Executive Member Academics Union, Dr M Mulaudzi: Executive Member Academics Union, Mr F Mamabolo: Executive Member Employees Union and Mr D Sias: Executive Member Employees Union.

3.3. Department of Higher Education and Training

Mr M Mabizela: Chief Director University Policy, Ms G Umeh: Deputy Director Branch Coordination and Ms P Sekgobela Parliamentary Liaison Officer.

4. Summary of presentations

4.1. Presentation by the Vice-Chancellor

Dr M Price: Vice-Chancellor highlighted the following key issues:

·         The university had six strategic goals namely; internationalising UCT with Afropolitan niche, transformation of UCT towards non-racialism, working towards a desired size and shape for UCT, a vision for the development of research at UCT, enhancing the quality and profile of UCT graduates and expanding and enhancing UCT’s contribution to South Africa’s development challenges.

·         In terms of size and shape, the university had 17000 students in year 2000 and that number had increased to 26000 in 2013. The university could not grow further than 28000 students owing to inadequate space and establishment of satellite campuses would be an alternative for future expansion.

·         The university targeted to have 28000 registered students by year 2020 in line with its strategic objectives. Majority of universities experienced significant growth only in undergraduate enrolments. However, the university had unique strength in growing Masters and Doctoral enrolments and currently 34% of the total enrolments were postgraduates’ students. Of the total number of postgraduate enrolment a third was students from outside South Africa.

·         The participation of international students was very good for diversification of the university in its commitment to offer quality teaching and learning opportunities to Africa and the rest of the world. In terms of international participation, 14% of students in the university came from African countries and 4% from the rest of the world. In terms of headcount enrolments by race in 2012, 42% were white students, 28% blacks, 16.6% coloureds and 8% indians. The proportion of black students experienced a steadily increase while white students dropped steadily over the last five years.

·         The university paid particular attention to good financial management practices to meet its objectives. The university charged higher tuition fees owing to the top-sliced subsidy from government; however it ensured that no student was excluded due to financial needs. Through its GAP Funding the university ensured that needy students from middle income families earning under R500 000 but not affording the high costs of higher education were financially supported. The university made available R110 million from its own budget and funds from corporate sponsors , and through fundraising from alumni and trusts.

·         National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was meant for undergraduate students only and there was no top-slicing practice because the university used funding from its budget to cover the NSFAS shortfall as well shortfall of cooperate bursaries.  SADC students were not getting financial aid from NSFAS.

·         Capital projects grants remained amajor concern of the university. The university operated in a good space with its stakeholders such as SRC, Labour Unions, Senate, and Institutional Forum.

4.2. Research at UCT

Dr M Sienaert: Executive Director Research led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         Some examples of research making a difference included; the fight against malaria to discover medicines against this disease, researching mine acid water and converting polluted water into  re-usable material, tackling poverty through the Poverty and Inequality Initiative (PII), revitalising clinical research and responding to climate change.

·         Research was a slow and expensive process. In 2012, the total research income of the university was R894 million and research contracts R682 million. Majority of research income was derived from foreign donors. The university had a total of 415 National Research Fund (NRF) rated researchers with 33 of the total 96 research chairs in higher education. In terms of rankings, UCT was the only university from Africa ranked in the top 200 research institutions worldwide and there were only 3 universities (UCT, University of Shanghai and University of Sao Paolo) from developing countries in the top 200.

·         In terms of PhD graduates and publications, the total number of PhD graduates in all South African universities combined was 1390 in 2009 as compared to 2244 at the University of Sao Paolo and 9109 publications compared to 8206 at University of Sao Paolo.

·         The university had an Emerging Researcher Programme (ERP) where academics with excellent research and supervision track records conducted individual or group mentoring and offered seminars or workshops. Through the Carnegie Project, the university assisted in developing the next generation of academics.

4.3. Teaching and Learning

Prof S Klopper: DVC Teaching and Learning led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The university was committed to quality teaching and learning and the recent appointment of the DVC for this function bore testimony to that. Part of the university’s strategic objective was to have a completion rate of 75% by 2020. The development of a teaching and learning charter and strategy to improve throughput rates were underway.

·         Quality teaching and learning required adequate infrastructure to be effective. The university committed to improve classroom facilities over a period of five years at a cost of R15 million. The student laptop project was also underway with the objective of assisting all students with laptops.

·         Improvement of student housing / accommodation formed part of the university’s target of accommodating one third of the total student enrolment by 2020.

·         Student drop-out in the university was classified in two different scenarios. There were those students who dropped-out of the university at their own consent and those excluded based on academic requirements. The drop-out rate in the university varied per faculty and majority of the drop-outs were in the Science and Technology programmes. Of the 2009 student cohort, 16% dropped-out owing to failure in meeting minimum to academic requirements and 9% dropped-out of their consent.

·         Student under-preparedness for higher education contributed to drop-out. The university had a number of student support programmes to assist students who did not cope with their academic work. The diversity of the university was immense as some students came from rural disadvantaged schools and others from private schools.

·          Undergraduate course success rate were, on average, around 86%. On average, 70% of all first-time entering undergraduates completed their degrees within 5 years of entering the university. Completion rates within the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) type faculties (excluding Health Sciences) average at around 60% whereas those in the humanities and business / management were of the order of 74%.

·         The university did not have a policy on articulation of FET college students but admission of students was done on individual case in the Engineering Faculty. However, a process of discussion on possible areas of collaboration for example curriculum development and articulation with all FET colleges in the province was underway.

·         The university had a policy on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and three staff members were designated for it. The majority of students admitted through RPL were postgraduates and a sizable number of them were at Graduate School of Business. The university established an Adult Learning Sub-Committee to identify barriers of mature students in accessing higher education.

4.4. Transformation Report

Prof C Soudien: Deputy Vice-Chancellor led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The current staff representivity profile was 17% Black in the category of Professor and Associate Professor, 33% Black at the level of Senior Lecturer and Lecturer, and 72% Black in the category of Professional and Administrative Support Staff (PASS). At more senior levels in the PASS category, 45% of staff were Black (having grown from 32% over 5 years). The figures quoted for Black staff included African, Coloured and Indian persons.

·         The university had a 2015 projected target for Black staff as follows: 22% in the category of Professors and Associate Professors; 36% in the category of Senior Lecturers and Lecturers; and 41% in the category of senior leadership i.e Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Deans and staff at the level of Executive Director. Here again the figures quoted for Black staff included African, Coloured and Indian persons.

·         The proportion of white students in the university had been steadily declining as compared to black students owing the admission policy of the university that was committed to transformation.

·         The improved completion rates among recent cohorts of first time entering students undergraduates suggested that the university’s persistent focus on throughput and retention yielded positive results. Extensive mentoring initiatives had also been improved in the university.

·         The institutional climate and staff survey had been conducted in the university. The results of the survey indicated a positive response from the participants regarding the environment of the university and staff were largely concerned with rewards for teaching.

4.5. Internationisation

Prof T Nhlapo: Deputy Vice-Chancellor led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         Strong participation in internationalisation was very important for the university to improve diversity. There had been rapid changes to this phenomenon as compared to four years ago. The partnership with international higher education institutions was currently largely based on collaborations in degree programmes. International institutions partnered with the university to benefit from its programmes as well.

·         The Afropolitan niche was developed to enhance collaborations with other higher education institutions within the African continent to improve diversity in programmes offered by these institutions and enhance their capacity.

·         Capacity building for local higher education institutions was also very important for the university. The university had partnerships with the University of Venda and University of Fort Hare on the development of next generation of academics project. Both of these universities sent their lecturers for Doctoral studies at the university. This partnership was also supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training which paid for accommodation of these lecturers.

4.6. Social Responsiveness

Prof C Soudien: Deputy Vice-Chancellor led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         A new policy on Socially Engaged Scholarship was adopted in 2012 with the objective of utilising professional expertise with an intentional purpose or benefits which demonstrated engagement with external constituencies.

·         The university had 100s of activities and interventions in every faculty and much focus was on social justice. However, it was difficult to document these initiatives as academics did not have incentive to report on these as they do for their research.

·         The VC had various strategic initiatives which included but not limited to; safety and violence initiative, African climate and development initiative, poverty and inequality initiative.

·         The university had partnerships with the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Provincial Government. Research contracts with government departments for 2011 was R722 million.

·         The knowledge Co-Op was the gateway for local communities to access skills, resources and expertise inside the university.

·         The Student Volunteering Organisations of the university included; SHAWCO, UBUNYE, Engineers without Borders, Habit for Humanity, Rural Support Network and Green Campus Initiative.

4.7. Council

Arch N Ndungane: Chairperson led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The university prides itself as the first public higher education institution in the country to have own its Ombudsman office headed by Ms Z Mguqulwa. The Office of the Ombudsman reported directly to the Chairperson of Council and its key contribution was to ensure that all members of the university were treated equally and fairly.

·         The Council’s term started in July 2012 and council members by and large constituted a relatively new Council. The new members had shown an exemplary commitment to, and interest in the work of the university.

·         The attendance of council meeting was relatively good and all its sub-committees were fully functional. By law, 60% of council members must be external and members were elected by a diversity of bodies. There was a diversity of skilled personnel within the Council and that helped in exercising its fiduciary duties effectively.

·         The university’s financial statements reflected sound financial management and effective governance by Council. The university received an unqualified audit opinion from independent external auditors Ernst & Young for the 2012 academic year. However, the surplus of the university was not adequate for completion of future capital projects.

·         The Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 required Council, in concert with Senate, to determine the admissions policy of the university. The admission policy of the university continued to be a subject of debate both within and outside the university. The admission policy of the university was designed for redress and race was used as criteria for redress.

·         Council had some concerns regarding the recently passed Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Act 23 of 2012. The Council was concerned that the second version of the Bill introduced new amendments of which the time-frames given for public submission was insufficient for stakeholders to interrogate the amendments and make proper submission. Another area of concern was inclusion of Section 49 concerning the types of directives which the Minister may issue. Council felt that it infringed on the autonomy of the universities. However, Council welcomed the Minister’s call to engage with Higher Education South Africa (HESA) on some of these concerns.

·         Council appreciated the contribution the Department made to the university in terms of infrastructure grant because the university needed to expand on its current infrastructure to accommodate student growth.

·         The university had strong Alumni that were contributing funding to the university.

4.8. Student Representative Council (SRC)

Mr L Hallendorf: President led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The relationship between management and SRC of the university was cordial. The SRC of the university consisted of 17 members headed by the President who was elected by students.

·         In terms of admission policy, the Student Assembly recommended that the admission policy should be reviewed and alternative approaches be used for admission. However, the SRC was satisfied with the current race based criteria for admission as form of redress as other alternatives were not progressive for transformation.

·         In terms of fees and financial aid, the SRC was concerned with high student fee increment. The SADC administration levy was R1500 this year and it would increase to R3000 in 2014. The SRC was concerned with how this administration levy was used by the university because it was claimed that SADC were not getting the services they deserved. The SRC proposed that an investigation in the utilisation of this levy be conducted.

·         The SRC welcomed the review of outsourcing in the university in general. Majority of outsourced companies were not compliant with the university’s code of conduct. They alleged that out-sourced companies were not treating their workers well.

·         The university was committed in ensuring the safety and security of students on campus. However, the challenge was the safety of students outside the precinct of the university.

·         The SRC was concerned with the delays by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in clarifying the new parameters contained in the new central application system. Owing to lack of clarity of this new system, SRC proposed its launch to be in 2015.

·         The SRC proposed a compulsory introduction of African languages to all first years in the coming five years.

·         The SRC conducted academic activism campaigns annually with the objective of encouraging students to be committed to their studies. Teaching quality at the university did not match with the good standard of research outputs.

·         In terms retirement age, SRC was of the opinion that the retirement age should not be increased to improve transformation in employment equity targets.

·         The introduction of compulsory language course for undergraduates was a good proposal which the SRC fully supported and it should be formalised.

·         The SRC was concerned with employment equity targets of the university for people with disabilities. Awareness campaigns for people with disabilities were held by the SRC. However management was slow in responding to this call.

·         The SRC was developing a South African Student Charter with the South African Union of Students (SAUS) and this charter would be useful in highlighting student’s concerns in general. The conference would be held in July 2014.

4.9. Unions

a) UCT Academics Union

Prof B Weiss: President led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The Academics Union consisted of 51% of academic staff of the university with 600 members and it was established in 2008.

·         Measurement of a variety of academic outputs showed that these have increased over the last few years at a rate which outstripped the increase in numbers of permanent staff. Although staff numbers increased by 13% over the last five years, the level of funding in research remained a concern.

·         The salaries of academic staff of the university compared favourably within the higher education sector. However, the academic profession was increasingly being seen as an unattractive option.

b) Employees Union

Mr F Mamabolo: Executive Member led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The Employees Union of the university represented largely administration staff. The relationship between management and unions of the university was good in terms of resolving labour related disputes.

·         Transformation remains a serious concern for the union in terms of employment equity targets. The university was delaying in terms of achieving transformation especially at senior management level. The university focused more on improving conditions of service of academic staff as compared to other staff of the university. The employment equity profile of the university looked the same for the past five years.

·         Of great concern to the union were different policies and remuneration packages for academic and support staff. The promotions policy favoured academic staff and administration staff were largely not considered for promotions. The salary gaps between administration and academic staff were huge.

·         Administration staff of the university felt that they were undervalued by the university. The grievance procedure was bias towards academic staff.

·         The Council of the university did not implement decision taken by the Institutional Forum (IF) and its role in the university remained a serious concern.

·         The union proposed that the Higher Education Act should be amended so as to clarify the roles of IFs, administration and support staff in a public higher education institution.

·         The Ombudsman office was more involved in labour relations issues which were the mandate of the unions.

c) National Education and Health Allied Workers Union (Nehawu)

Mr S Abrahams: Administrator Nehawu led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         Support staff constituted 10% of the overall staff of the university and majority of them were at the lower level in terms of the organogram of the university.

·         Succession planning of the university remained a serious concern for the union. The proposal by Senate to increase the retirement age to 75 years bore testimony to that. Majority of stakeholders in the university rejected this proposal as it was against promotion of transformation.

·         Senior management positions in the university were mostly reserved for white employees and it was very difficult for black employees to be considered for management posts. Lack of transparency in the recruitment selection process remained a serious concern for the union.

d) Institutional Forum (IF)

Prof C Soudien: Chairperson led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:

·         The IF of the university was responsible for advising Council on issues affecting the institution. The IF had three co-chairpersons from different constituencies of the university and met 3 times a year as scheduled.

·         The IF advised Council on the following; role of Ombudsman at UCT, UCT’s labour broking policy,  food prices for students on campus including the difficulties students experienced in trying to establish why food prices were high, development of Transformation Charter for the university and the continuing debate on transformation.

·         The ability to effectively fulfill the mandate of the IF principally dependent on the relationship with Council and its willingness to implement recommendations by the IF. The most challenging concern for IF was the state of transformation in the university. Council did not take into consideration the advice given by the IF.

5. Observations

The following formed part of the key observations:

·         It emerged that the university consistently achieved the highest levels of research outputs nationally and increase in post-graduate degrees. However, the university was vulnerable in terms of funding for its research activities since majority of donors were from foreign countries and austerity measures limited research funding.

·         The partnership of the university with previously disadvantaged higher education institutions on development of new generation of academics was commended by the Committee.

·         It was commendable that the university had 69% of lecturers with PhDs, 33 Research Chairs and 425 rated researchers in different categories, which contributed to its research outputs.

·         It was noted with serious concern that research, the main driver of economic development was not well funded by government and 80% of UCT’s research funding came from foreign donors.

·         UCT was concerned that if it turns out that budgets of the historically advantaged institutions were cut owing to the new funding formula, the move would have negative impact on teaching and research. It emerged that the university had 2000 feeder schools located throughout the country were students with potential were recruited to the university. The Committee requested the university to extend this programme to deep rural areas so that they can also be empowered.

·         It emerged that the university charged international students double the amount paid by local students and, students from the SADC countries paid the same fees with local students besides the SADC administration levy (R1500).

·         The subsidy income from the Department allocated to the university was lower as compared to previously disadvantaged institutions and the university charged high student fees to employ more staff.

·         It emerged that the university did not have a challenge of top slicing NSFAS bursary allocation to students. Students were allocated full bursary which covered tuition and accommodation fees. The university had its own internal bursary system for students from middle class families earning above the NSFAS threshold and yet below R500 000 per annum.

·         The university had full control of all its residences and did not have partnerships with any private accommodation providers.

·         An early career fellowship programme to provide platform for Doctoral graduates to operate as academics was in place to increase the chances of these candidates in becoming lecturers.

·         It emerged that Council had concerns with some of the provisions contained in the Higher Education and Training Laws Act 23 of 2012 and the Committee assured Council that the previous Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 had serious shortcomings which were addressed by Act 23 of 2012. Furthermore, the new Act did not provide the Minister with arbitrary powers and there was no recourse if the Minister abused his powers.

·         The Department noted that the Minister met with Council Chairpersons of universities in June 2013 and agreed on a working group that would update legislation.

6. Summary of the written responses

The summary will focus only on issues that were not addressed during the presentations and engagement with Management and Council.

6.1. Transformation and employment equity

The university rejected the perception that it was not committed to transformation. UCT was completely committed to transformation and has made substantial progress in its efforts to create a university which is alert and sensitive to the context in which it finds itself. There was a transformation plan with targets in place, but it has been extremely difficult to achieve the desired progress in some areas owing to structural features that were beyond its control.

6.1.1. Staff representivity

Staff representivity at professorship level was at 17% blacks and reportedly hardly moved over the past 5 years. At the lecturer/senior lecturer level the staff representivity was 33% black which showed a slight improvement of 2% over the past five years. The staff growth over the past 5 years showed 17% for both black and white, and about 41% for foreign nationals. This showed that the shortage of local academic candidates was a critical constraint factor. A large proportion of the international academics were African and black and that contributed significantly to diversity or faculty staff and to the availability of black role models at senior academic levels, a critical aspect of transformation.

The gender representivity showed lecturer/senior lecturer level was 60% female and at professorship females accounted for about 30%. There has been a significant increase in the non-academic staff where the majority was black (72%) and at the most senior levels had increased from 32% to 45% over 5 years.

The major challenge the university was faced with, was the smaller number of black staff who have necessary qualifications, publications, teaching assessments, experience to have national and international academic reputations compared to their white colleagues. Furthermore the career path for a lecturer with PhD to become a professor took an average of 20 years. One has to progress up the ranks of post-doctorate fellow, junior lecturer, lecturer, senior lecturer, associate professor, to professor. Each stage may be 3 to 5 years. The pool of local black academics available for appointment to professorship in 2013 was a proportion of the pool of black PhD graduates in 1993. This has proved to be a constraint. Another factor that contributes to shortage of highly qualified black professionals was the disparity in terms of the remuneration package between academia and the private sector or even government. What the university paid was not comparable to what the two sectors paid.

The University was of the view that transformation was not a numbers game and also not simply about representivity. The university was concerned that, if transformation is reduced to that it would become tokenistic, superficial, and lack real significance and sustainability. That set transformation back a generation.

6.1.2. The integrity of selection process

The unions alleged that there was impropriety in the selection committee proceedings. The university had not received complaints regarding the matter but committed that the Vice-Chancellor would further engage with the unions. UCT’s recruitment and appointment of staff was governed by established policies that were well publicised on the university website and elsewhere. The policies were subject to regular reviews in order to strengthen their effectiveness. Policies were clear on how selection committees were to be constituted and there were also guidelines pertaining to senior and junior appointments, appointments from within and appointment from outside UCT.

The policy further called for inclusion of the employment equity (EE) representative on each selection committee. In respect of the rules on quorum, a selection committee meeting at UCT was not quorate if the EE representative was absent. In response to a concern that EE representatives were sometimes junior people who might be intimidated by senior colleagues on the committee, the policy now provided for the training of EE representatives themselves in order to empower them to participate effectively in committees. Training was provided on a monthly basis and all EE representatives were encouraged to attend at least one refresher course during the year.

The university had an employment equity policy which was in the forefront and adhered to at all times. In addition to the policy, the university had a dedicated Employment Equity Officer in the Transformation Service office who dealt with the EE issues and engages EE representatives continually.

6.2. Outsourced Services and ill-treatment of workers by service providers

The university outsourced several services where it did not have the necessary in-house skills. There was code of conduct in place and every service provider was required to run the contract according to the code of conduct. The code of conduct provide minimum wage of R4433.10 per month and a commitment to decent working conditions. The university had some difficulty in ensuring that contractors comply with the code, nonetheless, there was commitment to ensuring complete code compliance. The university Council agreed to review the outsourcing.

6.3. Allegation that UCT does not pay equal for equal work (the claim of discrepancies of up to R50 000)

UCT management disagreed with Unions’ the allegation that it the university does not pay equal for the equal work done and the discrepancies of R50 000. It was reported that in 2012 there was a transfer of bargaining rights over employees in payclass 5 from the Employees’ Union (EU) to NEHAWU owing to EU’s loss of the payclass due to a decrease in the number of the registered members in the payclass whilst NEHAWU registered an increase.

Until the change in 2012, NEHAWU’s bargaining position in terms of the approved pay policy had been to seek each year an increase across the board in respect of their members spread across Payclasses 1-4. “Inheriting” pay class 5 introduced a new situation into NEHAWU’s blanket approach to salary demands in that the new PC5 members were located at different salary levels within the pay class because of the performance management system:  longer-serving members naturally occupy higher notches based on performance, in comparison to their entry-level colleagues, for instance, the difference between the highest paid in the payclass and the lowest paid is in the region of R15 000-R20 000.  The R50 000 was an exaggeration that was not borne out by the calculations in respect of existing ranges.

In 2012’s salary negotiations, management was able to structure an offer to help NEHAWU address the differentials which the union found acceptable. UCT management felt that it was unfair for the union to couch the complex issue simplistic terms which implied an illegal breach of the “equal pay for equal work” principle on the part of the university.

6.4. The position of the Institutional Forum

The university disagreed with the notion that the IF was not taken serious by Council. It was stated that all internal constituencies represented in Council (staff, students and senate) were represented in the IF. The IF reported to Council in regard to all senior appointments and it recently dealt with the draft code of conduct adopted by Council. Members of the IF received copies of minutes of Council and the Council members on the IF reported back to it on issues that have been referred to Council by the IF. The IF was not directly represented on the Council, but each of its component parts was.

6.5. Safety of students outside the university precincts

The issue of students’ safety outside the university precincts continued to remain a concern to students. The management reported improvement in terms of security since the establishment of the Groote Schuur Improvement District (GSCID) a few years back. The initiative was a partnership between UCT and business, in which crime and grime received attention, in the corridor from Newlands Brewery to Anzio Road. In June 2013, CCTV was installed along the Main road - within the GSCID area of operation, a project funded equally by the City of Cape Town, South African Breweries and UCT. It was reported that there were more CCTV cameras operating on UCT campuses than there were in the entire City of Cape Town. The university had visible safe-routes for students and staff to use, 24 hour security patrols, the Jammie shuttles to transport students and multiple crime awareness campaigns.

6.6. The new NSFAS process for direct applications and grants direct to students

The university shared students’ concerns regarding the new NSFAS’ Central Application System. The concern about direct payment to students instead of block grants to universities would make it difficult for the university to plan its financial aid budgets which was largely driven by trying to close the gap between the amounts received from NSFAS and the estimate of the unmet needs for financial aid amongst NSFAS eligible students.

The university was also concerned about managing the many bursaries it administered; for example, on behalf of companies and donors who all want to support financially needy students but often in specific professions, sometimes with contracts attached.  In the current system, if a student was eligible for a bursary from an engineering company, the university would allocate the donor fund and not allocate NSFAS loans even though the student was eligible – and rather use the NSFAS loan for a student in a faculty which did not get corporate support. If NSFAS would give bursaries directly to students without knowing anything about what is available to specific students at university level, this could lead to double funding of some and less for others. The university felt that the implementation may be rushed without time to considering or discussing unintended consequences.

6.6.1. Administrative levy payable by SADC students

The university had a well-developed internationalisation strategy and 20% of the 26 000 students enrolment in 2013 were international students. Apart from the Semester Study dents the majority of those were from African continent, significantly more than what the SADC protocol envisaged. International students required administrative support (e.g. with accommodation, with compulsory health insurance required by Home Affairs and with study permits). The university provided the support through the International Academic Programmes Office. The services provided to international came at a cost, which in 2012 was R3000 per student. In regard to tuition and accommodation fees, the university adhered to SADC protocol as well as the provision in Higher Education Act, No. 101 of 1997 subsection 40(g).  The levy payable by SADC students was commensurate to the services the students received at the university that the local students did not have access to.

6.7. The position of professional, administrative, support and service staff (PASS)

The university acknowledged that the issue of PASS staff not feeling equally valued by the university management has been there for many years. The management recognised that PASS staff was central to the delivery of residence life and teaching to students, finances and HR services to academic programmes and research units, student recruitment, registration, records, marketing, fund raising, and ICT services. UCT management conducted climate survey every five years which highlighted the negative perceptions of PASS staff, but the 2012 survey showed significant improvement. The issue continued to remain the major problem within the dynamic of staff inter-relations at UCT. UCT management continued to work very hard to find better strategies of how to address the issue and one of the strategies adopted was through office of the Ombud where staff could raise their concerns anonymously. The benchmark of PASS salaries was raised from the 50th percentile of the market to the 60th percentile. The university committed to reviewing the two distinct sets of disciplinary procedures and the goal would be to merge the two and have one.

6.8. Relationship between management and trade unions

The relationship between the unions and UCT management had been improving, especially since the structures for the annual salary bargaining were streamlined. The bargaining teams were restructured in such a way that they were led in each case by the DVC. The cordiality of the relationship had been enhanced by working jointly of unions and management which yielded improved negotiation process. The constructive situation was the product of better communication between the university and the unions, especially on matters relating to membership numbers and trends (enabling early warnings to the unions if numbers are dwindling), and on economic forecasts and financial forecasts and analyses.

7. Conclusion

The Committee was pleased to report that the governance and leadership of the University of Cape Town was generally good. Commendable performance in achieving consistent highest levels of research output nationally commensurated with the university’s investment in post-graduate programmes. The fact that the university was the only university in the African continent to be ranked among the top 100 research institutions in the world was highly commended by the Committee. The success rates of over 80% in under-graduates courses, highest number of NRF rated researchers and research chairs could be counted among the accolades of the university. Arguably, the university was a leading research institution in the country with research income and contracts close to a billion rand.

It was noted with serious concern that shortage of local skilled professionals especially blacks coupled with uncompetitive salary packages in academia made it difficult for university to achieve the desired employment equity targets. The university was making concerted effort through the Emerging Researcher Programme to develop those who are already teaching.

8. Recommendations

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training requests that the Minister of Higher Education and Training ensures that the following recommendations are considered and implemented, and to give feedback within three months of adoption of this report by the House.

a) Research funding

·         If research was seen as a key driver for economic development, the Department should avail more resources for research activities. The Department should further analyse the concern of the university regarding inadequate research funding.

·         Funding of research programmes should be linked to a developmental plan for the benefit of society at large.

b) Employment Equity targets

Transformation in senior management positions of the university was very slow. The university should also redirect some of its funds to support career paths of lecturers at lower level to become skilled professionals.

c) Shortage of local academics and development of the next generation of academics

·         It is commendable for the university to contribute to capacity building in the continent through Afropolitan niche, but the shortage of local academics is of a serious concern; and concerted efforts should be made towards recruiting more local students in post-graduate programmes especially PhDs as well as developing their career paths towards skilled professionals.

·         The Department should allocate more financial resources to expand the development of the next generation of academics project of the University of Cape Town so that more public institutions could benefit from this programme.

d) Articulation with FET colleges

·         Articulation of FET college students to higher education institutions remains a serious challenge nationally. The Department should develop guidelines on articulation to guarantee smooth transition from the FET sector to higher education.

e) Recognition of Prior Learning

·         Taking into consideration that the implementation of RPL by higher education institutions varied per institutions, the Department should ensure a uniform approach in the implementation of RPL by all higher education institutions.

·         Owing to lack of knowledge by the public with regards to RPL being offered by universities, the Department with universities should consider embarking on national advocacy campaign to promote RPL.

f) Proposed NSFAS Central Application System

·         The university was uncertain about lack of communication around the new application system and the role of the universities in the whole process. The uncertainty around the system was holding the university back in terms of planning for student financial aid for 2014 academic year. The Minister and NSFAS should ensure that there is timeous communication with the post-school institutions around this matter.

g) Institutional Forum

·         The Minister should consider reviewing the role of the IFs in all institutions of higher learning and their relationships to Councils.

h) Introduction of African languages

·         The University of Cape Town should consider the SRC’s proposal of introducing African languages as compulsory subjects.

Report to be considered

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