ATC191205:Report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology on the Colloquium on Funding of the Post-School Education and Training Sector, dated 3 December 2019

Higher Education, Science and Innovation

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON THE COLLOQUIUM ON FUNDING OF THE POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR, DATED 3 DECEMBER 2019

 

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology having conducted the Colloquium on funding of the post-school education and training (PSET) sector, held on 06 November 2019, reports as follows:

1. Background

The Portfolio Committee is mandated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, (1996) to oversee the activities and performance of the Departments of Higher Education and Training, and Science and Innovation. In addition to its oversight mandate, the Portfolio Committees also provide a platform for the public to engage in and discuss issues of national importance within the context of a participatory democracy. In response to this constitutional obligation, the Committee has resolved to convene a series of Colloquiums to discuss issues affecting the post-school education and training sector, as well as the science and innovation sector.

 

Before 2009, the responsibility to provide education and training was divided between the Department of Education and the Department of Labour respectively. As a result, coordination between the two departments was often difficult, and the institutions did not always support each other. To mitigate this anomaly, the post-school education and training system was conceptualised through the development of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training policy. The PSET system in simple terms is comprised of all education and training provision for those who have completed school, those who did not complete their school, and also those who have never attended school. This includes the following sub-sectors: 26 universities; 50 public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges; 9 Community Education and Training (CET) colleges; Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs); private post-school institutions and Quality Councils (QCs).

 

 

Education has long been recognised as providing a route out of poverty for individuals, and as a way of promoting equality of opportunity. Moreover, the achievement of greater social justice is closely dependent on equitable access by all sections of the population to quality education and training opportunities. In this regard, the development of a single and coordinated PSET system is underpinned by the need to respond to the socio-economic challenges and to cater for the needs of the youth aged 15 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training, also known as (NEET). This requires the PSET system to substantially expand access to education and training opportunities, and for it to be affordable to the potential students.

 

As far as funding is concerned, the PSET system largely depends on government for funding for its existence. As a result, government has significantly increased the funds available for student loans and bursaries through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and also increased subsidies allocated to universities and TVET colleges to increase access and success of students coming mainly from poor and working class families. However, given the fiscal constraints due to a contracting economy, the demand for education and training surpasses the current funding available, and government has to reprioritise its resources to respond to this demand.

 

2. Colloquium on funding of the post-school education and training sector

It was against the background that the Committee hosted the Colloquium on funding of the post-school education and training sector. The Colloquium achieved a high turnout, drawing speakers and participants from the PSET sector, including the science and innovation sectors. The guests speakers included Universities South Africa (USAf), the National Research Foundation (NRF), student governance structures (the South African Union of Students (SAUS), South African Further Education and Training Students Association (SAFETSA) Working Group), online crowdfunding organisation Feenix, NSFAS and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The Colloquium drew participants such as University Vice-Chancellors, TVET college Principals, CET college Principals, students organisation leaders and representatives from the science and innovation sectors. Altogether, seven presentations were made and opportunities were also accorded to participants to comment and ask clarity seeking questions from the presenters.

 

The Colloquium was based on three themes, namely: the impact of funding on student access and success; funding for infrastructure development and maintenance, and funding for research and development and academic offerings.

 

3. Scene setting session

3.1 Opening remarks: Hon MP Mapulane: Chairperson PC on Higher Education, Science and Technology

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the Colloquium and stated that funding is the most important discourse that all stakeholders in the PSET sector should continue to engage in. He said that the Colloquium attracted speakers and participants from the PSET sector, and the Committee had invited the Minister who could not attend owing to other commitments. The Chairperson referred to section 29(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees everyone the right to basic education, including further education and training, which the state should make available and accessible.

 

He referred to the National Development Plan (NDP) which places education at the forefront of societal development and the White Paper for PSET, which also affirms the importance of education as a route out of poverty. The WPSET states that the PSET system must be expanded to cater for the needs of over 3.2 million young people who are not in employment, education or training, thereby expanding general, vocational and professional education opportunities. In this regard, government has implemented fee-free education from 2018 to support students coming from poor and working class families at universities and TVET colleges. The implementation of this policy will ensure expansion of access to the PSET institutions and will, over time contribute to growing the skills needed by the country.

 

The Chairperson remarked that funding is the most critical mechanism for the realisation of government policy objectives. The expansion of infrastructure and teaching and learning requires significant allocation of funds. Equally important is the role of Parliament in exercising oversight over the work of the Department in ensuring the realisation of the national priorities or policy objectives. Through its oversight mandate, Parliament assesses the performance of the Department on the use of funds that have been appropriated by Parliament. Finally, the Chairperson indicated that the Colloquium sought to unpack the current funding level versus the mandate and policy priorities for the PSET sector and discussions will assist the Committee to enhance its oversight function.

3.2 Key note address: Dr D Parker: Deputy Director-General University Education

Dr D Parker: Deputy Director-General (DDG) University Education on behalf of the Minister, Dr B Nzimande, delivered the keynote address. She began the keynote address by referring to the emergence of the PSET system which was conceptualised through the publication of the White Paper for PSET. The PSET system aims to provide opportunities of education and training for young people and adults who are not in school through a variety of institutions that offer skills development programmes. Dr Parker made reference to the anomalies of the schooling system by mentioning that 38 percent of the population did not finish secondary school and the throughput rate of learners who qualify for a bachelor’s pass is low. In this regard, the PSET system is positioned to cater for the demands of the 3.2 million young people who are not in education, employment and training (NEET).

 

With respect to increasing access to education and training opportunities, Dr Parker indicated that over the past 20 years, enrolments have doubled in the university and TVET sectors, and NSFAS has largely contributed to this significant increase in enrolments. Despite the growth in enrolments, the demand for access to PSET institutions is growing and there is a need for the PSET system to be expanded and capacitated to meet this demand. The participation rate of students in the PSET institution stood at 19.8 percent which is far behind in comparison with the Brazil Russia India China and South Africa (BRICS) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that have a participation rate of 45 percent. South Africa needs to find ways to increase its participation rates to become globally competitive, and also make use of technology to expand access to education and training opportunities. Distance learning plays a critical role in expanding access to the PSET system, however, lower throughput rates needs to be addressed.

 

With respect to funding, government has invested huge resources over the last 10 years to address the plight of historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs) and TVET colleges. However, the current funding for the PSET system is insufficient to meet the growing demand. The Department’s budget increased at an annual average rate of 12.6 percent over the 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from R73 billion in 2018/19 to R104 billion by 2021/22. The bulk of this budget is dedicated to supporting poor students to increase access to the PSET institutions. TVET college students receive free education through NSFAS and this has been extended to first year university students. By 2024, all cohorts of undergraduate NSFAS qualifying students will receive fee-free higher education. The total investment for undergraduate university students amounts to R82 billion over the MTEF period and R20.4 billion for TVETs. Subsidies to universities and TVET colleges will increase from 0.67 percent to 0.77 percent over the 2019 MTEF as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) which is lower in comparison to the 0.9 percent in OECD countries.

 

In so far as infrastructure is concerned, Dr Parker indicated that the expansion of infrastructure is critical for the growth of the PSET system. Universities have much better infrastructure in comparison with TVETs since they have three different income streams. Since 2007/08, the Department has invested 28 billion in infrastructure and efficiency grants to universities and R7.9 billion for developing the University of Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje University. However, TVETs solely depend on government for funding, and there has never been dedicated infrastructure funding for TVETs since the recapitalisation in 2006. For the first time in 2018, the TVET sector benefitted from an infrastructure grant that amounts to R4.9 billion over the 2019 MTEF. Moreover, the National Skills Fund (NSF) is also contributing significantly towards the expansion of infrastructure in the TVET sector. Universities on the contrary have been receiving significant support through infrastructure efficiency grants to improve and maintain their infrastructure since 2007. The shortage of student housing in higher education remains an ongoing concern given that 20 percent of the student population is accommodated in University-owned residences. A process is underway to expand student housing in higher education, and an additional 200 000 beds would be added over a 10-year period and 100 000 for the TVET sector. In relation to support for research and innovation, provision is made to support institutions that produce research outputs. Research intensive institutions receive the largest portion of the funding and since 2005/06 financial year, R18 billion has been invested in universities in research output subsidies.

 

4. Summary of the presentations

4.1 Theme 1: Impact of funding on student access and success

4.1.1 National Student Financial Aid Scheme

Dr R Carolissen: Administrator began his presentation by making reference to the exponential increase of access to social media by students in the PSET system which enables them to be more assertive. He gave a breakdown of the education profile of the South African youth, which amplified the unemployment dilemma. In this respect, 45.7 percent of youth aged 19 - 24 is not in education, 41.4 percent are currently attending secondary schools and only 6.4 percent are enrolled at universities.

 

Dr Carolissen outlined the profile of the PSET system with respect to graduates from public higher education institutions (HEIs) by major fields of study from 2009 – 2017 and the trends in TVET college enrolments. He gave a synopsis of the changes at the NSFAS since the administration period, which includes: improved disbursement process which significantly reduced irregular expenditure; improved IT system performance; allocation of R21 billion out of the total R22 billion to 650 000 students in 2018 and payments made to students in February 2019 for the first time. Some of the innovations introduced during the administration period include: more than 90 percent of applications are online; toll free contact centre; payment of funds directly to students’ accounts and dedicated administration capacity for TVET colleges.

 

Dr Carolissen drew attention to the impact of the NSFAS in the PSET system, which includes: growth in enrolment and participation in higher education and training; growth in PSET budget; growth in spending and contribution to debt reduction; growth in number of TVET students funded by the NSFAS; debt relief for historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs); 26 percent of graduates in 2016 were funded by the NSFAS; 61 percent of women in 2019 are funded by the NSFAS; the throughput rate of the NSFAS funded students is 69 percent as compared to 58 percent of the national cohort; 9 out of 10 of the NSFAS funded graduates find employment.

Dr Carolissen concluded the presentation by reflecting on some of the challenges in higher education, which includes: funding of the missing middle; the attractiveness of the TVET sector; inadequate student accommodation; limited access to technology in rural areas and the graduate unemployment rate, which is 10 percent.

 

4.1.2 Feenix

Mr J De Ru: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) gave a brief background about the emergence of Feenix. He explained that Feenix was all about providing an alternative means of access to education which should not be limited to the wealthy. As a result, a crowdfunding solution was established in 2017 using a safe and secure online fundraising platform to achieve debt-free education. Standard Bank played a crucial role in funding the establishment of Feenix and the organisation employs people who assists in its operations.

 

Mr De Ru spoke about the criteria for funding students through Feenix. He noted that students are required to produce proof of registration and an updated copy of identification and fee statements. Only students whose combined annual household income is below R600 000 qualify for funding through Feenix. Mr De Ru explained the benefits that businesses receive by funding students through Feenix. Some of the benefits include: tax benefits; accumulation of points for broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BEE) and a database to find students that can be hired as interns or full time employees. Some of the successes of Feenix include, but are not limited to: R28 million raised thus far; 126 business funders; 1 515 individual funders and 2 601 total students on the platform.

 

Mr De Ru outlined the challenges facing Feenix which include: resistance from universities to allow Feenix to integrate with their IT systems; administrative burden to continuously obtain updated information from students and inadequate platform to spread the word about the work of Feenix. In so far as the future of Feenix is concerned; Mr De Ru said that the organisation plans to raise R30 million during 2020 to fund over 1 500 students, and will continue to drive social impact by helping students to get employed and also contribute to the economy.

 

4.1.3 South African Union of Students

Mr S Dlamini: National Executive Office (NEC) Member started his presentation by highlighting the plight of historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs). He said that these institutions lacked infrastructure funding while they are expected to admit new students each year. In relation to funding, he remarked that postgraduate students continue to struggle due to underfunding of their studies. In this regard, government needs to urgently take drastic measures to address this problem. The funding of undergraduate students is not sufficient and NSFAS should be expanded to cover the funding of postgraduate students.

 

Mr Dlamini alluded to the importance of the private sector’s role in contributing to education. He suggested that the private sector should contribute towards postgraduate funding and universities should produce graduates that are needed by the private sector. Mr Dlamini acknowledged the efforts of the Department in increasing access to postgraduate studies through the establishment of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). He proposed for the establishment of a ministerial task team, which will deal with fundraising for postgraduate students.

 

 

 

4.1.4 South African Further Education and Training Students Association (Working Group)

Mr T Mofokeng: Member of the Working Group appreciated the continuous invitation of SAFETSA to Parliament and the manner in which the Committee interacts with the student leadership to resolve the challenges of the TVET sector. He indicated that SAFETSA represents the student leadership of the 50 TVET colleges at the national level and has a direct interest in access and success of students in the TVET sector. He emphasised that funding plays a vital role for students to find access and succeed in their academic life.

 

In so far as the impact of funding on students’ access and success is concerned, Mr Mofokeng indicated that SAFETSA has a role to play in advising government to link its major economic activities and targets to TVET colleges. He alluded to the challenges with the outdated curriculum of the sector, which is not linked to industry needs. Thus, TVET graduates continue to struggle in accessing opportunities in the labour market since their qualifications are not relevant to the industry needs. He expressed concern regarding the underfunding of the TVET sector and the inability of the sector to enrol more students due to insufficient infrastructure. Other challenges highlighted by Mr Mofokeng with respect to underfunding of the TVET sector include: ill-equipped workshops; shortage of student accommodation; inadequate NSFAS funding for eligible students; disparities in the allowances provided to students at TVET colleges in comparison to their counterparts; absence of Wi-Fi; absence of funding for research and innovation; poor infrastructure; lack of health care facilities within TVET college campuses and inadequate academic support.

 

4.2 Funding for infrastructure development and maintenance

4.2.1 Department of Higher Education and Training

Mr S Mennon; Director presented on funding for TVET infrastructure. He drew the Colloquium’s attention to the challenges of the TVET sector, which include the poor condition of facilities related to repair and maintenance due to the lack of funding, and increased access required by students. Nonetheless, for the first time, TVET colleges have an allocation for infrastructure through a capital infrastructure and efficiency grant (CIEG) amounting to R7.9 billion from 2018/19 until 2023/24. Some of the conditions attached to the CIEG funding include: each college must open a separate interest bearing bank account; these funds are exclusively appropriated for repairs and maintenance of TVET infrastructure; each college is required to appoint a project manager and the funding is for priority areas.

 

The Department approved maintenance work package approvals amounting to R798 million or 54 percent of the 2019/20 CIEG funding. However, there has been severe underspending by colleges on CIEG funding and this can be attributed to: capacity constraints; lack of experienced and qualified staff to deal with infrastructure maintenance planning and execution and delays in the finalisation of procurement of tenders. In terms of the TVET college campus development programme, the programme consists of 13 new TVET college campuses and the refurbishment of three existing college campuses with a total budget of R2.5 billion funded by the National Skills Fund (NSF). Moreover, 16 campus sites have been identified for development.

 

Dr D Parker: DDG University Education continued with the presentation focusing on the university infrastructure programme. She said that the programme consists of the infrastructure and efficiency programme and the new university development programme. The infrastructure and efficiency grant (IEG) allocation between 2007/08 and 2020/21 amounts to R28.6 billion. This funding is provided to 24 universities with the initial focus being on government priorities. Some of the key issues identified included: a maintenance backlog of R25 billion for the sector; very poor conditions in some student residences; inadequate budgeting by some institutions; overcrowding; incapacity by some institutions to manage infrastructure programmes; problems with procurement processes; inadequate contract management; slow start of infrastructure projects and the need to develop local contractors, especially in remote areas. Dr Parker concluded the presentation by outlining the student housing infrastructure programme (SHIP) which aims to provide 200 000 new beds over 10 years for university students and 100 000 for TVET college students. The project will cost upwards of R60 billion.

 

4.3 Funding for research and development and academic offerings

4.3.1 Universities South Africa

Prof A Bawa: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) began his presentation by outlining the challenges facing the higher education sector, which includes: underfunding and its impact on teaching, research and innovation; high levels of instability; students, staff wellbeing and safety; issues of governance; deeply fractured schooling system and insufficient student accommodation. He also reflected on shifts in the global landscape and their implications for the higher education system and whether Africa will be a role player or pawn in the near future.

 

With respect to teaching and learning and academic offerings, Prof Bawa gave a synopsis of the South African higher education sector which comprises of 26 public universities with over 1.2 million students (59 percent being female and 41 percent male) and a graduation rate of 60 percent. In relation to the NDP 2030 targets, the higher education sector is expected to have: 30 percent participation rate which is equivalent to 650 000 additional students; 80 percent throughput rate; 75 percent of academics with Doctorates (currently 45 percent) and 5 000 PhDs produced per annum (currently 3 400).

 

In relation to research and innovation, Prof Bawa outlined the SA higher education research outputs, namely: more than 3 400 PhDs produced per annum; more than 24 000 peer-reviewed research articles per annum; 1 percent share of global output and 10 percent share of articles in the top decile of most the cited articles globally. In addition, 55 percent of research outputs are in collaboration with international institutions; 30 percent are published by women; 32 percent by the black researchers and 45 percent by researchers above the age of 50.

 

Prof Bawa concluded by underscoring some thoughts on postgraduate and undergraduate funding. He stressed the importance of broadening the postgraduate pipeline as a critical ingredient for sustainability of the HE system and the need for sustainability of the current DHET bursary model.

 

4.3.2 National Research Foundation

Dr M Qhobela: CEO gave a brief background about the mandate of the NRF and outlined some of the reasons for the NRF to invest in research and postgraduate studies, which include: providing an ecosystem of knowledge institutions in public, private and civil society; knowledge institutions provide agency to enable society to reflect on its own reality in context; enable democratization of knowledge and investing in future generations to enable transformation of the inherited knowledge system. In addition, he also highlighted the reasons for investing in research and postgraduate studies for building and expanding knowledge. He emphasised that the NSFAS mainly provides financial support for undergraduate students while the NRF tends to focus more on postgraduate students, institutions and researchers. However, the demand and need for researcher and postgraduate student support exceeds available support.

 

Dr Qhobela gave a breakdown of the NRF supported programmes, which include but are not limited to: 148 949 students enrolled for honours, masters and doctorates for 2017; 9 521 awarded research grants and bursaries from 2015; 11 251 students from 2015; R2.3 billion investments in 2018 on postgraduate studies and R1.1 billion on fellowships.

 

5. Discussions emanating from the proceedings

 

5.1. Impact of funding on student access and success

5.1.1.    The provision of financial aid to students coming from poor and working class families through NSFAS has been an essential contributor to improved access and equity in higher education. It is commendable that research studies have proven that NSFAS funded students perform better as compared to the general population in higher education. However, the recent collapse in governance and systemic challenges at NSFAS which resulted in the entity being placed under administration poses a serious threat to the great strides that have achieved by the entity. There was overwhelming consensus on the need for the NSFAS to be fully functional and implement its mandate as per the law.

5.1.2.    The existing inequities in the disbursement of student living allowances between students at TVET colleges and universities remains an ongoing concern. Students at TVET colleges receive less stipends and allowances while they also reside in similar off-campus accommodation and have to buy the same books, food and other necessities with students from universities.

5.1.3.    The delays in the disbursement of funding and allowances, particularly to students in the TVET sector remains an ongoing concern. Some of the students continue to attend classes without receiving their allowances and are likely to fail of drop-out of the system.

5.1.4.    Information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly becoming a critical ingredient for expanded access into education and training opportunities. The existing infrastructure in the PSET system is unable to cope with demand, and it will take a couple of years to have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate the increasing number of young people and adults at contact institutions. It is therefore critical for the country to explore opportunities of expanding e-learning through investment in ICT infrastructure to respond to the demand. However, the low throughput rates within the distance learning institutions such as the University of South Africa (UNISA) remains an ongoing concern that needs to be attended.

5.1.6.    The PSET system needs to have more places for young people and adults out of school to access learning and training opportunities. It is concerning that 38 percent of young people did not complete their secondary education, and 3.2 million young people are not in education, employment or training. Equally important, is the need for the PSET system to cater for the needs of adults who never attended school and require education and training opportunities to live productive lives and contribute to the economy.

5.1.7.    The TVET sector is central to the provision of mid-level skills required to develop the economy and to equip young school leavers with the knowledge and capabilities to access the labour market. The expansion of this sector requires requisite funding to improve access, throughput rates, management capacity, improved governance and improving the placement of college graduates into workplaces.

5.1.8.    CET colleges have a critical role to play in the PSET system, particularly for the millions of adults and youth who are unemployed, poorly educated and not studying. Equally important is that communities have special learning needs which are not catered for by the current public education and training institutions. However, the severe underfunding of the CET sector remains a serious concern and there is no provision for infrastructure funding in the MTEF period for the sector.

5.1.9   Notwithstanding the significant increase in the subsidy funding for universities and the projected allocations over the 2019 MTEF, underfunding is still a reality in the sector. The increase in subsidies has not translated in the increased subsidy per student.

 

5.2. Funding for infrastructure development and maintenance

5.2.1.    Student accommodation, particularly at TVET colleges is inadequate and in need of significant expansion and upgrading. Unlike universities, TVET colleges for many years have not been receiving infrastructure allocation grants for maintenance and expansion of infrastructure. This has caused a severe strain on the ability of TVET colleges to expand infrastructure and build recreational facilities for students. The Department’s capital infrastructure and efficiency grant amounting to R1.3 billion for 2018/19 was welcomed. However, the underspending of this funding due to incapacity of TVET colleges to have proper systems in place for procurement processes remains an ongoing concern. The Committee was also extremely concerned that R400 million was declared as an underspending to Treasury largely due to underspending of infrastructure grants.

5.2.2.    The importance of good governance and management is critical for strengthening TVET colleges to become institutions of choice for a large proportion of school leavers. Presently, some of the TVET college councils have not been properly constituted due to the delays in the filling of the outstanding positions within councils. This poses a serious oversight risk over the utilisation of college resources due the absence of an Accounting Authority, whose mandate is to ensure compliance with laws and regulations by the administration.

5.2.3.    Responsive curriculum and skills development interventions to be implemented in the sector would require a dedicated infrastructure and a conducive space for the operations of the CET sector. The CET sector does not have its own infrastructure and mainly operates in schools, and teaching and learning can only take place after school hours. There is no infrastructure efficiency grant for the sector.

5.2.4.    The PSET system is over reliant on contact studies and this compounds infrastructure needs. To expand the system to accommodate the NDP, heacount enrolment targets would require expansion of the current infrastructure and the e-learning opportunities are not maximised. 

 

5.3. Funding for research and development and academic offerings

5.3.1.    Whilst government has successfully implemented fee free education policy to expand access to education and training for students coming from poor and working class families for their undergraduate studies, there is inadequate funding to enable these students to undertake their postgraduate studies. 

5.3.2.    The increase in the headcount enrolment at universities has resulted in academics spending more time on teaching than researching.

 

6. Committee resolutions

The following formed part of the key resolutions:

6.1.1.    A reliable and comprehensive system of data collection, integration, analysis and storage is required to build an efficient PSET system. An integrated information system for the entire PSET system will assist in tracking and monitoring the output of all the skills development interventions and the absorption of beneficiaries into the labour market.

6.1.2.    Task team to be established to review the curricula of the PSET system so that it is designed in consultation with employers and education and training providers, especially in those programmes providing vocational training.  The curricula needs to be responsive to the immediate needs of the local economy to sustain growth and development. Equally important, the skills programmes offered by Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) need to be responsive to the skills challenges facing the country to reduce unemployment.

6.1.3.    Good governance is an essential ingredient to promote accountability and efficiency in the work of PSET institutions. Thus, the Minister working in collaboration with the Department should ensure that the candidates appointed to serve in boards and councils of the PSET institutions and entities have the requisite expertise and qualifications needed to exercise their fiduciary duties. In addition, the filling of outstanding council positions at TVET colleges should be expedited.

6.1.4.    Government has allocated R7.9 billion in college infrastructure efficiency grants over a five period from 2018/19 – 2023/24 mainly to expand and maintain infrastructure. TVET colleges should be assisted to build capacity within their respective supply chain and procurement process for effective and efficient utilisation of the funds for their intended purposes. The infrastructure development for TVET colleges should take into consideration the needs for students with disabilities.

6.1.5.    The demand for student housing exceeds the planned provision of 300 000 new beds for the PSET system over the 10-year period. The Department needs to explore the possibilities of expanding its partnerships with the private sector to invest more resources into the expansion of student housing in the PSET system.

6.1.6.    The current funding model of the TVET sector is not ideal for the expansion and development of this sector to become institutions of choice for a large portion of school leavers. The review of the funding model for the sector needs to be expedited since the underfunding has adverse effect on the colleges’ mandate of providing quality education and training. due to unfunded mandates.

6.1.7.    The CET sector has an important role to play in the PSET system such as providing lifelong learning opportunities in communities. These institutions are located within communities and need to offer specific programmes that contribute to local development. In this regard, funding for the CET sector should be increased so that it can expand its infrastructure and enrolments going forward as well as providing relevant skills to respond to the local and regional economic needs.

6.1.8.    The Department in collaboration with the NSFAS should standardise student allowances for students in the TVET colleges and universities.

6.1.9.    Infrastructure development at the PSET institutions should take into consideration issues of safety and security.

 

Report to be considered.