Mr Chairperson, allow me the opportunity to start by making special mention of the Maluti FET College. Coming from my constituency, their soccer prowess is one of the few things in the further education and training sector that we can be truly proud of. [Laughter.]
It has been stated in various policy documents and speeches that university and college enrolment has to be expanded. The Minister has also alluded to this. This is to give adherence to the call in the Freedom Charter of 1955 to open the doors of learning and culture and, hon Minister, it is also imperative if we want to address the skills shortage in the country. In my listening to the Minister's budget speech today, and in looking at the department's plans, it does seem that all the right boxes can be ticked. For example, the funds made available this past year to achieve this goal have to be commended. The funding for infrastructure, student loans and bursaries is also welcome and will indeed improve the number of students who can enter through the doors of learning.
However, the reality is that if we look at the current undergraduate and college performance, the increase in intake is not necessarily in itself an efficient means of increasing graduate output. Given the problems in our school system, universities and FET colleges are faced with an increase of poorly prepared students. As it is, only 30% of all students entering for the first time graduate within five years. If we have funding focusing on enrolment growth, rather than on improving the educational process, the question is whether it is money well spent. The further question is whether the focus is on the numbers that have to be expanded at the input end, or it also includes efforts to improve the output by increasing the efficiency and the quality of the system.
Critical to success in any education system is quality - the quality of the curriculum and especially the quality of the teaching. Ticking the boxes is not a guarantee that quality will follow. If we look at the increase in funding made available to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, it does seem that NSFAS is contributing to increasing participation, but unfortunately not necessarily to increasing successful participation. The success rate of students receiving financial assistance from NSFAS is very worrying.
The way in which NSFAS is administered at some universities and FET colleges is also a point of concern. There have been a number of cases at FET colleges where the funds have been mismanaged by the college administration, and students have been left without the necessary funds to pay for transport and accommodation. Many have also been excluded because their study fees have been in arrears because NSFAS funds were not made available timeously.
At the end of last year the students at Walter Sisulu University compiled a petition, indicating their concerns regarding NSFAS bursaries and loans not paid out, and the fact that they then faced financial exclusion the next year. In fact, the problem has still not been resolved, as the students protested only a few weeks ago and the campus in Mthatha was closed down last week.
Mr Minister, the NSFAS situation has to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The new plans look wonderful on paper, but students are facing these problems now. Even though it is totally unacceptable that students protest to the extent that they damage property, there has to be some recognition of the frustration that has built up over a period of time. Another box that can be ticked is the appointment of chartered accountants trained by the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants, Saica, as chief financial officers, CFOs, at FET colleges. This is a necessary step to address the longstanding problem of colleges without CFOs, with resultant poor financial management. However, the appointments themselves will not solve the problem. An example of this is the following. As part of this project a person was appointed as a CFO at an FET college in the Eastern Cape. This person had been implicated in financial mismanagement as a CFO at a municipality. This is definitely not going to ensure quality financial management!
The additional allocation for student accommodation is welcome. This is another box that can be ticked. The state of student accommodation at some universities is shocking and totally unfit for any person to live in. It is a tragedy that the buildings were allowed to deteriorate to this extent without any intervention. While the funds will assist in alleviating accommodation problems at the different universities, it is totally unacceptable that students were recently left destitute, without any accommodation, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A vast number of our students are already on the back foot as a result of coming from poor environments, and having to worry about fees, meals and their studies. They should not be left on the street or in temporary accommodation in an unsafe area. Proper student accommodation forms an important part of a transformed university sector. That is why, Mr Minister - and I have to mention this here - it is noteworthy that this situation at the University of KwaZulu-Natal has occurred under the leadership of the vice-chancellor whom the Minister has appointed as the chairperson of the Oversight Committee on Transformation in the South African Public Universities to oversee transformation at other universities! Would it not have been better if a retired vice-chancellor had been appointed? That would have been much more appropriate and much more effective to monitor needed transformation.
Key to quality higher education and training is the quality of the teaching offered at institutions. Quality teaching requires knowledgeable, experienced and qualified lecturers. The situation at our FET colleges is dire, but another box to be ticked here is the efforts made to improve training for FET college lecturers. The policy for minimum requirements for vocational training lecturers must be welcomed. The question is, however, what processes are in place, or are going to be put in place, to ensure that all FET lecturers are upskilled.
At universities the problem facing the sector is an ageing academic staff complement. The reality is that within our current higher education sector we don't have enough young academics with PhDs entering the sector. The Minister also referred to this.
A tick in another box is the two new universities that are going to be built in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. Funding has been made available and decisions have been taken on the academic courses that these universities will focus on, but buildings, courses and students are not enough to make these institutions viable and successful. There have to be quality teaching and research.
The need for additional academics at these institutions implies that even more postgraduate students will have to be enrolled and encouraged to work in academia - this, against the reality of an impending shortage of academics. It also implies that students who graduate with master's and doctor's degrees will have to be of a high quality and, importantly, have an interest in teaching and research. Our current PhD production is not sufficient, as the Minister also noted.
A further element of quality education and training is the relevance, quality and, importantly, level of the curricula and courses offered. It is very worrying if data shows that more than half of the students in FET colleges have already gained a Grade 12 certificate. Colleges thus have two groups of students - those who have completed Grade 12 and those who left school before reaching Grade 12, or who have failed the National Senior Certificate. This means that there is a mix of learners in one programme, and lecturers struggle to adapt to these mixed groups. The result is that students don't receive adequate support and they have to struggle with course content. The question is also whether it is an efficient use of resources when a student with Grade 12 does a course that is capped at the Grade 12 level.
Regarding the FET colleges, it is clear that much needs to be done to make them institutions of first choice. The problem is, however, that centralising colleges under the national department is not necessarily the answer, because it implies and requires capacity within the department to actually cope with this. We have seen problems with certificates not being issued, results not being released timeously, and students having to wait and not being able to enter the job market.
Alhoewel die agb Minister en sy departement in baie gevalle regmerkies kry in die blokkies om die probleme en uitdagings in ons horonderwysstelsel aan te pak, beteken dit nie dat hierdie planne en strategie tot gehalte- onderwys sal lei nie. In die horonderwyssektor is dit veral belangrik om te besef dat kommissies, verslae en komitees nie noodwendig die eise gaan aanspreek nie. Implementering van planne en aanbevelings, en voldoening aan die verwagtinge wat geskep is, gaan die gewenste verskil teweegbring.
Dit is van kritiese belang dat ons horonderwyssektor nie gereduseer word tot politiek-gedienstige instellings nie. Dit is te betwyfel of transformasiekomitees - nog meer verslae wat jaarliks ingedien moet word - werklik sukkelende universiteite gaan help. Wat belangrik is, is dat universiteite die vryheid moet h om as kritiese, kreatiewe kennisskeppers by die uitdagings van die land betrokke te raak sonder dat 'n politieke swaard oor hul koppe hang. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Although, in many instances, all the right boxes can be ticked for the manner in which the hon Minister and his department are dealing with the problems and challenges in our higher education system, it does not mean that these plans and strategies would lead to quality education. With regard to the higher education sector, it is important to realise that commissions, reports, and committees will not necessarily address the demands. It is through the implementation of plans and recommendations, and by meeting the expectations that have been created, that the desired transformation will be achieved.
It is of vital importance that our higher education sector should not be reduced to politically subservient institutions. It is doubtful whether transformation committees - even more reports that have to be submitted annually - will in actual fact assist struggling universities. What is important is that universities, as critical, creative creators of knowledge, should have the freedom to get involved with the challenges faced by the country without having a political sword hanging over their heads.]
The doors of learning have to be opened, Mr Minister, and they are opening, but an open door is of no consequence or value if it leads to a shut door. It is only within the DA's open opportunity society ... [Interjections.] ... that the open door to learning will lead to even wider doors of opportunity and success. Thank you. [Applause.]