Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Hon Minister, what effect does a strike like that at Walter Sisulu University, WSU, have on the budget for Higher Education and Training, after students have gone on the rampage, burning down a dining hall, toppling fences, smashing windows and scattering litter?
Is an urgent investigation being done into the circumstances that triggered the violent protests, in which students accused management of dragging its feet regarding the NSFAS loan agreements, of not issuing IntelliCards, that is, the meal vouchers, and of irregularly appointing a private security company?
Other students, of course, have complained about student residences, which they say are in a foul state - filthy dirty, run-down and overcrowded. That is not to mention the ablution facilities! Apparently there is no operational dining hall at WSU either. Instead the students are entitled to vouchers to spend at a nearby Spar Supermarket, and even those vouchers have not been forthcoming, leaving many students on a diet of bread and milk.
While this sort of behaviour by the students is indefensible, and the responsible students must face serious consequences, the ACDP is concerned that conditions are deteriorating to the degree that living conditions are intolerable. What measures are in place to assist students affected by the closures? This is the kind of question we are getting more and more.
The need for higher and further education and training in South Africa is, of course, intensifying in the face of an extremely competitive job market and the fact that the national unemployment rate is 25% to 40%, depending on whose eyes you are looking through. I believe that one standard used in counting those unemployed is that if you work one hour a week, you are employed! So, we are probably looking more at 40% than 25%.
The Milpark Business School has pointed out key factors that may impact future budgets for Higher Education and Training, and it may be interesting for the department to take a look at these factors. Some of those mentioned here are: the immense growth of mobile technology, with smart cellphones and tablets that will enable the delivery of educational material; the improving bandwidth quality and lower Internet prices, which make it possible for students to access distance learning resources on line; responsible on-line business banking and financial skills, which support the expansion of the economy, not to mention greater access to job openings; and the Worldwide Web, which enables learning years beyond school to facilitate possible career changes and the updating of skills in the global corporate environment.
How is the department doing in the area of creating more bridging courses, which can play a vital role in assisting students to gain access to degree programmes? This, of course, is a need many have identified as being key in producing students better prepared for higher and further education.
The budget for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme appears to have increased to R6 billion, up from R5,4 billion last year, which we welcome, in the hope, of course, that it is going to result in greater numbers of students accessing tertiary education. But what has happened to the plans that were in place apparently for NSFAS personnel to be at tertiary institutions to ensure that there is problem-free access to the financial aid?
The ACDP sincerely hopes that between you and Minister Motsoaledi you will also manage to get the provision of nursing colleges sorted out as quickly as possible. This very important issue seems to have fallen into the cracks between the two departments.
The ACDP will be supporting this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]