4.3 Legislative, policy and regulatory framework for Higher Education in South Africa Mr H Amoore: Registrar of UCT led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues: * The Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997 regulated the higher education landscape of the country. The roles and functions of the university council and management were articulated in the Act. The relationship between university council and management was critical for good governance of any public HEIs. * The Auditor-General (AG) had a good working relationship with public HEIs. The AG was not solely responsible for the auditing of HEIs. All universities reported through the annual Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS), a detailed report of all universities. * The Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) had been under review for the past 24 months and was a very important regulatory framework to ensure a system of quality that provides proper articulation. * Stipends paid to PhD students remained a serious concern in attracting more local black academics. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) also taxed the stipends paid to PhD and HESA's view was that stipends should not be taxed as they are not salaries. * The funding formula for universities was very important and HESA was waiting for the outcomes of the Ramaphosa Report. Universities differed in terms of their resource base and future funding should take cognisance of this norm. * The low productivity in HE remained a serious concern for the sector. Factors such as drop-out rates, students' under-preparedness for higher education, low throughput and graduation rate were negatively affecting the sector. * The capacity of HEIs to accommodate the growing numbers of students registering for higher education remained a serious concern for the sector. The majority of the Matriculants who passed with university exemption expected an automatic acceptance to higher education. Unfortunately, this was no longer the case since HEIs considered top achievers for admission. * In terms of the Central Applications Process, the Registrars Forum was working with the Department to look at the feasibility of this process. Although a National Applications Office may have many advantages for students, HEIs had to regulate their current registration systems in order to be efficient. There was a need to encourage students to apply in advance in order to solve the challenge of late registrations and walk-ins. * It was unfortunate that the role of FET colleges was not properly articulated in the Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training.