Higher Education & FET Colleges: registration and enrolments, financial exclusions, allocation of bursaries: Deputy Minister and Department Higher Education & Training, National Student Financial Aid Scheme and Higher Education SA briefings

Meeting report

Appointment of Acting Chairperson
In the absence of the Chairperson, Adv I Malale, who had to attend to a death in the family, the Committee nominated Ms N Gina (ANC) as Acting Chairperson. She welcomed the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, noted the apologies of the Minister, who was out of the country. She said that there were several causes for concern in the higher education sector, especially problems of registration and enrolment. She hoped that the presentations by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET or the Department), Higher Education South Africa (HESA), and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) would assist the Committee to gain a deeper understanding of the existing challenges, and to work together to find solutions.
 
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Enrolment Report February 2012
Mr Gwebinkundla Qonde, Director General, Department of Higher Education and Training, tabled and presented the Department’s Enrolment Report as at February 2012. He explained that the most recent enrolment figures reflected those of first-time students entering the higher education system in 2010. The 2010 figures were the most recent ones available, because of the time that it took to audit and assess those figures. As a result of the strict auditing process, the margin of error was minimal. The Department was working on the strength of projections for the year to come. There was a notable increase in the number of veterinary science students, because there was a high demand in that field, and so the institutions had concentrated their efforts on increasing the number of first-time students in that field, and it was going well. Career guidance had been identified as an important aspect of higher education. From experience, the Department had noticed that high school students tended to think that attending university was the only option for continuing their education. The Department’s career guidance programme had various components, and made use of nine languages. Other initiatives included the Apply Now Campaign and the Minister’s road shows. All institutions were encouraged to hold open days for prospective students.
 
The Department monitored the registration process by arranging and determining projected first-year availability at the various institutions. During registration, the Department kept in touch with the Registrars at each institution. The Department had also set up a call centre. In visiting a number of institutions, the Department had noticed that the three institutions that were currently under administration had few problems. For instance, Walter Sisulu University, for the first time in seven years, was not experiencing disruptions. The recent tragic deaths of the parent of an aspiring student at the University of Johannesburg, as well as a student at another institution, had raised concerns.

One of the key issues identified by the Department was that of insufficient space for qualifying matriculants. It was necessary for high school learners to understand the processes involved in provisional acceptance, as well as correspondence relating thereto.

In relation to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), there was a problem with “the missing middle”, which was defined as those students who did not qualify for the loans, but whose parents could not afford to pay for their continued education either. The matter was currently under consideration. Under the present policy framework, the eligibility for financial assistance was determined by the combined income of a family, but there were problems with that model. Late applications and walk-ins were also problematic. Some causes of the walk-in phenomenon include disappointed students who did not qualify for a particular institution or subject choice. In some cases, people did not apply in the first place because they did not think they would pass matric. The problem of late applications to Further Education and Training (FET) colleges arose because some students were not accepted or registered at the universities of their choice. The Department was looking for ways to extend the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Training Programmes to Grade 11 learners.

Discussion
Mr K Dikobo (AZAPO) said that he was disappointed with the presentation, since it did not include information that he had expected to hear. He had expected to hear facts and figures on exactly how many students were currently enrolled, and at which institutions. The presentation dealt with scarce skills, but that was not the most topical point. He asked why the presentation was based on “projections”, and not on current figures.

Mr Dikobo noted that on the day of the death at the University of Johannesburg, his niece and a nephew were on the scene. He learned, from them, that the masses of people that day consisted of different categories of would-be students approaching the University in the same disorganized and long queue. There should be different queues for students who had been provisionally accepted, those who had received letters of regret, and those who were “walk-ins”.

Mr Dikobo said that the issue of autonomy and freedom by institutions of higher learning was a deep and complex one. He asked for examples of when the Department had been blocked in its efforts in the name of “autonomy”.

Mr S Makhubele (ANC) also felt that the presentation should have been broader. It should have shown, for example, the numbers of people who had passed matric, and how many qualified for universities and FET colleges.

Mr Makhubele made the point that Instability at institutions was not only about financial exclusions, but involved other issues, such as insufficient accommodation. There was a tendency to pressurise certain institutions to accept larger numbers, even when they did not have enough capacity. The issue of how aspiring students were treated needed to be addressed. It was worrying that poor people were not being treated with a basic standard of dignity in their interactions with institutions. Students who entered FET colleges as a second-choice option sometimes had to repeat content they had already covered in high school.

Mr Makhubele felt that the workshops planned to be held with stakeholders were to be commended, as they would provide an opportunity for the Committee members to learn what they could do to assist.

Ms A Lotriet (DA) referred to the target for 2012 that projected an increase of 145% for veterinary sciences students, and asked whether there was enough infrastructure to accommodate such a large increase.

Ms Lotriet agreed that the question of career guidance was important. The Apply Now campaign, while commendable, should not be a once-off occurrence, and there had to be continuous programmes of that nature being run at schools. Yesterday she had received a visit from parents and children, who reported that NSFAS had told them that they would have to pay registration fees before qualifying for financial assistance. This was but one example of how NSFAS offices were not functioning properly at all institutions.  

Ms W Nelson (ANC) said that the problem of the “threshold” that determined who qualified for financial assistance from NSFAS had been around for a long time. In some cases, students only found out about their respective allocations by mid-January. There still needed to be more discussion around NSFAS. There was a perception that there was no real threshold, and that anyone could qualify for financial assistance.

The Chairperson requested Members to reserve their questions and concerns about NSFAS until after the relevant presentation had been made.

Ms Nelson asked when the Department would have a plan available regarding the implementation programme of the national centralised application process.

Mr L Bosman (DA) said that South Africa was fortunate to have so many students applying at institutions of higher learning, but that the enrolment process needed to be planned better in future. There also needed to be more emphasis on the role the Department played in high schools in the year before students left school to attend institutions of higher learning. On the practical side, universities and colleges had to communicate with students well beforehand, so that students would know where to go and what to do to register successfully. Different categories of aspiring students could, for instance, be called to  enroll on different days.

The Acting Chairperson requested more information regarding those institutions that offered medicine as a subject.

The Acting Chairperson suggested that career guidance programmes should be run in partnership between the Departments of Basic Education and of Higher Education and Training. She asked whether a viability study had been conducted to determine the practicality of a central applications office.

Mr Qonde replied that the figures in the presentation dated back to 2010, because institutions were still currently in the process of registering students for 2012. Additionally, the figures in question were only made public after they had been audited, which took place in October of each year. This meant the Department had to deal with projections, as the figures from 2011 were still in the process of being audited.

Ms Diane Parker, Acting Deputy Director General: University Education, DHET, added that the delay in processing the enrolment data collected by the Department occurred because of the technical system governing the auditing process. It had to be remembered that auditing was linked to funding.

Mr Qonde agreed that chaotic queues were one of the issues that the Department had found at institutions that had failed to plan properly. In some instances, institutions only dealt with administrative issues at the time of registration, and there were no qualified people available to deal with more complex issues as they arose. Quite a few were improving, but some institutions were being overwhelmed by numbers, because the preferences of students. The Department was working hard with Higher Education South Africa (HESA) to deal with the challenges. The Department engaged with institutions directly, but ultimately, those institutions had to take decisions and implement them, as the Department was not in a position to make decisions for institutions.

Mr Qonde noted the concern that aspiring students should be treated with dignity, and said he personally had written to all institutions, engaging them on that matter, and HESA was also assisting. The Department was currently following up in specific instances that had given rise to complaints. In some cases, institutions had reacted well to his request.

With regard to the increased numbers of veterinary science students, Mr Qonde noted that there was not yet enough capacity to accommodate the increased numbers, but this was work in progress. The University of Pretoria had agreed, in principle, to broaden and increase its capacity in this respect. It was currently in the process of acquiring a farm for veterinary science training, to be used along with other institutions. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform had requested specifications for the farm, and these had been provided.

In the field of medicine, all universities were currently looking at increasing enrolment in the medical sciences. For that to happen, however, money had to be made available. The Department and various institutions were in discussions with the National Treasury on the matter. The Department was planning a meeting between the University of Pretoria and the Health Professions Council of South Africa, as there was a need for approval from that statutory body before medical training facilities and programmes could be expanded. It was important to note that the financial position of some institutions was better than that of others.

The Acting Chairperson questioned whether the announcement of an increased intake of students was premature.

Mr Qonde replied that institutions had already accepted more students than they had planned for, and had cooperated quite well. There were, however, still students who did not make it into their desired programmes because of insufficient institutional capacity.

Mr Qonde agreed that career guidance should be institutionalised in each school in the country.

In relation to the comments about NSFAS, Mr Qonde told Members that the Department had already corresponded with institutions and made arrangements to deal with advanced allocations, in order to address cash flow issues within institutions. The Department needed to receive detailed reports about which institutions were demanding registration fees before NSFAS applications were allowed, so that it could take action accordingly. The “missing middle” threshold issue had already been addressed with NSFAS, and policy-makers needed to consider whether the relevant legislation had to be amended. The Department considered this to be an issue requiring urgent attention.

Ms Parker said that students who passed matric were not aware that they did not necessarily meet the requirements for all degree programmes, even if they qualified to seek application for one, and this was an issue that linked back to the need for proper career guidance programmes. A Steering Committee had been formed to deal with the proposed centralised application system, and a number of studies had already been conducted. It was important to understand that aspiring students were currently making applications to a number of institutions, and paying application fees at each one. The centralised application system should include FET colleges, and would enable students to make fewer applications and pay less money. She likened the planned system as a “one-stop shop” where students could get information about their options and make applications at the same time.

Ms Parker added that the issue of accommodation was indeed a pressing one. The Ministerial Committee on Student Housing had compiled a report that showed that there needed to be increased and better-quality student housing, especially at the more disadvantaged campuses.

Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training said that in the context of the overall debate, it was important to elevate the question of scarce skills. However, the Department did not question the importance of humanities and social sciences, and there was a movement to promote those programmes, in addition to African languages.

She referred to questions about institutional autonomy but noted that the DHET did not necessary agree with the “academic position” of institutions wanting to defend their independence. A task team was set up with the aim of engaging institutions, since results would only come about after continuous consultation and engagement with the various institutions. The question of quality had not been raised yet in the meeting that day, but it was also important. Whenever there was talk of increasing the number of students in a given field, the question of quality was always raised. Staff to student ratio was another crucial issue, and that was also linked to quality.

The Department of Basic Education felt that it was doing enough with regard to career guidance. However, Mr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, felt that career guidance was one of the core areas that needed to be addressed in greater depth. Existing career guidance programmes at schools were insufficient, especially when offered to children from poorer families who did not have other options available. It also had to be borne in mind that historically disadvantaged universities did not always have the capacity to put systems in place and to ensure that those systems were being run properly.

Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges: Department of Higher Education and Training briefing
Mr Steve Mammen, Director, Department of Higher Education and Training, guided the Committee through a presentation on Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. Enrolment planning entailed a three-month process, during which colleges formed an idea of what their funding would be, and how the enrolment process would be run. Real enrolment pressure started in early January of each year. The 2012 enrolment process was well structured, and had commenced in January. The FET colleges’ enrolment progress was monitored on a weekly basis, and the resultant information was integrated to form a complete picture of enrolment at FET colleges. This year had been different because there was more concentration on the type of support that students should receive when approaching the FET colleges.

There were 30% more new students in 2012, as compared to 2011. “Unassisted students” was the term used to describe so-called “walk-ins” in the FET college setting. In past years, such unassisted students had been unable to enter FET colleges because of a lack of availability of programmes. However, in this year FET colleges had been set up to deal with an additional 18 000 students for 2012.

Mr Mammen then set out some of the key issues. It was clear that more structured work placements needed to be approved. The management of students who were repeating courses had become quite sophisticated, and more oversight was needed. There were still issues involving student motivation and textbook availability. There had also been instances of FET colleges requesting registration fees, although that was not in fact a requirement. The problem of late enrolments still existed. It was also a challenge to find additional teaching staff in cases in cases where enrolment numbers turned out to be greater than expected.

DIscussion
Ms Nelson said that one of the FET colleges had indicated that it was willing to run extra classes, but that doing so would impact on its resources. She wanted to know how other institutions were dealing with this type of scenario.

Mr Dikobo pointed out, with regard to the issue of career guidance, that the Minister had been consistent in saying that when students were not accepted into university, they still had the option of entering an FET college. However, he was concerned that this was suggesting that the FET colleges were a “second-tier” option.

Mr Dikobo thought that career guidance should go all the way to Grade 9.

Mr Dikobo spoke to comments made in the earlier presentation, and said that the same comment applied; 2010 enrolment figures were not useful. The system of gathering and auditing information needed to be improved. Members needed to know how many unassisted students there were, and in which fields. That information was available “at the touch of a button”, and should not need to be audited. He asked the Department officials to apply their minds as to how they could assist the Department to do its work better.

Mr C Moni (ANC) agreed that the figures in the presentations were outdated. He questioned whether there was a way to modernise the process.

Mr Moni asked, in relation to skills, whether lecturing staff were obtained from outside of the country, or whether less qualified staff were employed at FET colleges.

Ms Lotriet asked whether there were specific plans now to take on extra lecturers, in light of the recent increase in enrolments.

Ms S Sibiya (ANC) asked how the FET colleges were dealing with children from poor families who were unassisted students.

Mr Makubela said that the presentation seemed to suggest that the FET colleges were not experiencing the same problems as the universities, and wondered if this was in fact the case.

Mr Bhanga said that the intention had always been to provide one unitary system of education, but that there were still some gaps. The FET colleges seemed to be picking up the pieces where schools had failed. Unfortunately, FET colleges did not appear to be “attractive” to school leavers, and graduates from these colleges were not being hired, even by government. He wondered if the Minister had hired any FET graduates to work in his own office, supporting his comments about the FET institutions. He urged that education should not be seen merely as a “service delivery product”, because it involved children’s futures and their employment prospects. He commented that at the FET colleges there was no tradition of strong student governance. Academic support needed to extend to student governance and extra-mural activities as well.

Mr Qonde said that the DHET had put in place a number of interventions to deal with the issue of student placement. In relation to employment of FET graduates, the Department had a pilot project and exposed graduates to industry, which had, in turn, changed industry’s attitude towards these graduates. An important aspect of career guidance was that around 60% of National Vocational Certificate (NVC) graduates were students who had passed Grade 12. However, that was a waste of government resources, because it effectively required students to do Grade 12 twice.

Mr Qonde agreed that it was important to focus on grade 9 students and attract them to the FET colleges. The reason that career guidance had traditionally been geared towards Grade 12 students was because such guidance used to focus upon preparing for university.

Mr Qonde noted that recently, South African business had opened up workplaces for the exposure and training of lecturers at FET colleges. Previously, many of those lecturers had not been exposed to the workplace. The Department was working hard in partnership with FET colleges and business.

Mr Qonde agreed that the programmes offered at FET colleges and universities should be strengthened. Universities were starting to understand that if FET colleges were strengthened, it would take some of the strain off the universities.

The Acting Chairperson said that the Committee had been worried about the pass rate in the FET college setting. She questioned whether this was related to the quality of lecturers.

Mr Qonde replied that at the Further Education and Training Summit, a comprehensive list of specifications for programmes had been compiled. That led to a move to review and improve the quality of those programmes. Students who initially opted for NVC during Grade 12 were now attending programmes offered at FET colleges, other than NVC. This had helped to reduce the number of students who had done grade 12 at school and were then entering NVC courses.

Mr Dikobo said that intervention was required to ensure that the quality of instruction at FET colleges was of the required standard. There was a perception that the FET colleges existed for people who could not “make it” in high school.

Mr Qonde replied that the quality of programmes on offer, and the pass-rate, were both noticeable indications of success at the FET college level. Universities had offered training and development for FET colleges. He agreed that the perceptions around the FET colleges were indeed important, and that underscored why career guidance programmes needed to be improved, and the overall system restructured. It was crucial to acknowledge the benefits of vocational training within the system. The preliminary results of a study on FET college graduates showed that their employability was in fact greater than that of university graduates. There were a number of FET college graduates working in the Department, and they were quite competent, because they had a grasp of practical needs. It was a myth that FET colleges were not producing quality graduates.

Mr Mammen said that South Africa had been investing in vocational training for roughly nine years, and that a broad recognition of the value of this training was starting to filter into the public domain. In order to avoid situations where poor families were turned away, the Department had been clearly communicating with FET colleges in regard to advance funding, so they could accommodate those students. Two FET colleges had reported problems with insufficient lecturing staff, coupled with huge increases in registration. So far, however, internal stakeholders were managing to contain the pressure at those colleges. While it was true that there had been some delays in the issuing of results, there had also been a massive improvement when compared to previous years. This sector had historically drawn its lecturing stock from business and industry. This pool had become more challenging, given the recent changes in the economy. There were now programmes in place to deal with professional development of lecturers, and to ensure that they had the necessary competencies. Sports and extra-murals were also on the list of priorities. The college system had historically given those areas low priority, since some students only attended for three months at a time, for example, to obtain a specific certificate. There was a need to give consideration of how to obtain a new group of lecturers.

The Acting Chairperson affirmed that FET colleges had been one of the Committee’s main priorities. There was still so much that had to be examined, including those FET colleges that were under administration, the huge number of repeat students, and what was happening with the NSFAS. The Committee needed to meet again to discuss issues around the FET colleges in greater depth.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS): funding in 2012
The Department of Further Education and Training then gave a presentation setting out information relating to the numbers of students receiving financial assistance from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the criteria for funding, the situation relating to historically disadvantaged institutions; and utilisation of previous years’ funding. Students who were not able to pay back loans before graduating were still allowed to graduate, but their degree certificates would be withheld until such time as they had repaid their loans in full. The relevant institution would provide a letter to prospective employers stating that the course of study had been duly completed. However, these institutions still experienced problems in collecting outstanding monies.

Discussion
Mr Dikobo congratulated the NSFAS on their stance of allowing people to graduate even when there were still monies outstanding.

Mr Dikobo said that there was a perception that South African students were being sacrificed in favour of foreign students, who had the money to pay more.  

Mr Dikobo noted also rumours that in some cases, students were granted accommodation by NSFAS, but they moved elsewhere and rented that accommodation out for profit. There were also rumours that lecturers and staff had been complicit in such arrangements.

Mr Makhubele said that some students dropped out in cases where the institution did not have mechanisms in place to assist them. That meant that every year, more money was given to an additional group of incoming students who may or may not graduate. He urged that institutions must assist current students, and do all they could to see them graduate. Increases in administrative fees needed should be announced well in advance. He wondered if there were any norms or standards around increases at all institutions across the board.

Mr Makhubele asked whether loans were being extended to people who could not possibly repay them. There were institutions that refunded students who had “credit” on their loans, but then those same students could not afford to pay for registration the following year. He felt that no refunds should be made, and the institutions should rather keep the money so that the student could be guaranteed registration the following year.

Mr Bhanga said that NSFAS had been doing some good work, and that he himself had received study funding from NSFAS. However, it still needed some improvement, and the issue of upfront payment requirements needed to be addressed. He wondered why there had been a decline in expenditure on the part of NSFAS, and when the promise of free education would be fulfilled.

Mr Bhanga wondered why, despite former President Nelson Mandela having called for one single system of education, there were institutions of higher learning with different admission requirements, as he felt that these requirements should be standardised.

The Acting Chairperson said that the representatives of NSFAS and HESA might not be in a position to answer all of Members’ questions on that day because of the limited brief that had been given to them.

The Acting Chairperson asked for clarity regarding the projected figures in the presentations, and enquired whether those projected figures were indeed reflective of the actual situation on the ground. It had to be determined whether NSFAS was in fact assisting students the way it was supposed to assist.

A representative from the Department replied that there was no truth in the suspicion that foreign students were taking over opportunities that could otherwise have gone to local students.

Mr Qonde added that institutions had been requested to provide detailed information so as to dispel such false rumours.

The Department responded, with regard to fee increments, that HESA had developed a guideline framework, which had since been signed off. Institutions of higher education were currently taking those guidelines to their respective boards for approval. He noted that he was not aware of a situation where students were being “refunded” monies and then expected to pay registration fees in the following year, as it seemed an illogical practice.

A DHET representative added that in terms of the NSFAS rules, no students were supposed to be given refunds at the end of the academic year. The policy was as follows: if a student had applied for a R50 000 loan and then received a bursary for R30 000, the remaining R20 000 was to be paid back to NSFAS. In regard to up-front payments, there was an in-principle agreement with universities that students should be allowed to register, even in cases where they could not afford to pay up-front. However, not all institutions followed this agreement. In some cases, NSFAS has been able to provide up-front payment for students to register.

Mr Qonde said that more needed to be done in future with NSFAS. Access, progress and success were the three key issues. NSFAS was, however, moving closer to being a truly student-centred model.

Mr Makubela said that student leadership had told Committee members of instances in which some money had been refunded to them, which they then spent, leaving them with no money to re-register in the following year. He added that some university registration fees were quite expensive. He asked how long it took NSFAS to catch up with those situations.

A representative from the Department replied that he was surprised to hear that the practice was still ongoing, considering the in-principle agreement that had been mentioned earlier. The money given to institutions by NSFAS was not for the use of those institutions, but rather for the benefit of students in need of financial assistance.

The DHET noted that the question of “free” education was a policy matter, and said that in fact nothing was “for free”.

The Acting Chairperson suggested that issues around NSFAS fees should be reserved until the Committee’s next meeting.

Professor Russel Botman, Member of HESA Exco, said that the quality of “a matric pass” had to be monitored carefully. If a matric graduate was not capable of studying for his or her their desired course to graduation level, it could put an entire family in debt, without achieving the desired result. “Free” education could become a reality once South Africans get better at “giving back”. If every person who studied gave some money back, that would amount to free education. He agreed with the DHET that there would always be a cost factor that someone must pick up. He further noted that President Zuma, in his recent State of the Nation Address, had referred to the idea of a “knowledge economy”. There was a need to look at how such a knowledge economy would provide jobs to coming generations.

A representative from the Department said that NSFAS had a responsibility to investigate allegations of fraudulent activities. Students were allowed to stay in the system for a period of about 5 years. If a student had not performed well, that student would be given the opportunity to perform better and continue.

Mr Qonde reaffirmed the need to take decisive action against institutions engaging in unacceptable practices. The Admission Point System (APS) was used to determine access to a shortage of space.

Mr Qonde noted, in relation to fee increases, that in many cases it was not correct that students had a problem in meeting the fee increment, but there was a breakdown in communication about such fee increment. For example, if there was an increase in the fee for registration, and it was not communicated, that would cause a huge problem for students receiving financial assistance. In the May 2011 Budget Speech, Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, said there were 25 000 students who were ready to finish their studies but could not do so because of lack of funds. R200 million had accordingly been put aside to assist them.

The Acting Chairperson noted that the Committee still needed a number of reports and responses from issues raised that day, especially regarding NSFAS. The Committee would be visiting the NSFAS offices. She noted that the Committee would follow up on the questions that were not able to be answered.

The meeting was adjourned.