Hon Deputy Speaker, your Excellency, Deputy President, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, maybe I should also acknowledge my last-born daughter, who is up in the gallery, a typical example of those graduates who are unemployed. [Applause.]
I feel very honoured today to be afforded the opportunity to address you on the Vocational and Continuing Education and Training programme, which is the weapon of the ANC-led government in addressing the learning needs of young people aged 18 to 24 who are not employed, or in education or training, and are referred to as Neets. According to Sheppard:
... in 2007 there were over a million young people in this age group with primary school education and less than Grade 10 attainment, a further one million with Grade 10 but less than Senior Certificate, and nearly 700 000 young people with Senior Certificates - nearly three million not in employment, nor in education or training.
To get a better understanding of this crisis, the hon Minister has established a Task Team on Community Education and Training Centres. The task team provides a working definition of adult learners:
... to include the age range of 15 to 55 years as most likely interested in still completing their education or in learning more generally. These adults in 2001 amounted to nearly 7 million with less than a Grade 7 and a further 11 million who completed a level lower than Grade 9.
The Green Paper proposes a new vision for a postschool education and training system that should, and I quote, be a "single, coherent, differentiated and highly articulated ... system", and one that is "equitable, accessible and affordable ... including free education and training for the poor".
To achieve this, the Green Paper and the National Planning Commission's proposed vision for 2030 both target an increasing university headcount enrolment, but more significantly to have tripled provision in the colleges sector by 2030, including through community education and training centres.
This is the way they see it. The targets for the 2030 enrolment in the postschool sector institutions are as follows. In 2011 the headcount for university students was 950 000 and the target should be 1,5 million by 2030; for further education and training, FET, colleges, in 2011 the headcount was 300 000 and the target for 2030 is 3 million; and for the public adult learning centres, in 2011 the number was 300 000 and the target for 2030 is 1 million.
If one looks at it, one can see that the figure for Vocational and Continuing Education and Training for 2030 is 4 million. The department's target is to have 1 million in 2014. Where will the 1 million people who are going to be in those FET colleges come from?
The department is also saying, "Give me a student who qualifies and who has no funds, and I'll fund that student." It is our responsibility and duty all to go out there and find those who qualify to be in our vocational schools, so that they can improve their employability.
The further education and training college system is central to the government's programme of skilling and reskilling the youth and adults. It plays a vital role in the postschool education system. It is key to the integration of education and training, and in responding to the skills needs of the country.
We want the FET colleges to provide intermediate level and artisanal skills to reduce the shortage of skilled people to fill positions available in the technicians' and associated professions and thereby alleviate unemployment. The Department of Higher Education and Training is assisting in building college capacity to ensure that it takes centre stage in skills development.
The Sector Education and Training Authorities, Setas, also play a pivotal role in the FET college system. This is in line with the National Skills Development Strategy III, NSDS III, as it encourages closer co-ordination and synergy between public FET colleges and the Setas. The Sector Education and Training Authorities are to strengthen the FET colleges and prioritise them when it comes to training provision. The challenge there is that there should be no FET colleges without a link with Setas.
Every college lecturer is critical to the Human Resource Development Strategy in general and to FET college reform in particular. It is an undeniable fact that most FET college lecturers' qualifications are not adequate to deal appropriately with the National Curriculum (Vocational), NCV. This is so because in the past many lecturers were qualified in trades and occupations and, although they were teaching, they did not have teaching qualifications. However, now some teachers in the system have teaching qualifications, but lack occupational qualifications relevant to occupational work and experience.
The NCV programme emphasises theoretical understanding of particular vocations. This is a shift from the more practical focus of artisan training, to which some lecturers are more accustomed. The NCV programme has marked a significant move in vocational education, so much so that FET college lecturers need to have the right combination of subject knowledge, pedagogy, workplace knowledge and experience.
They also need to be exposed to the latest developments and technology, both in the colleges and in industry. This will be helpful, as FET colleges are being called upon to be responsive to the practical needs of industry and business, so as to make learners employable and train them for a growing South African economy.
The National Development Plan proposed an expansion of the FET sector in order to increase participation to 25% in 2030. Expanding the higher education sector will contribute to rising incomes, higher productivity, and a shift to a greater knowledge economy. The Department of Higher Education and Training has moved swiftly to respond to the NDP's proposal by planning to build six new FET campuses in the 2013-14 financial year. These FET campuses will be built in Umkhanyakude, Graaff-Reinet, Lusikisiki, Giyani, Sisonke and Sterkspruit. A further six campuses will be built next year.
South Africa has adopted recognition of prior learning, RPL, as a means to support transformation of the education and training system of our country. The South African Qualifications Authority, SAQA, has been at the forefront of RPL policy development since 2002. The main purpose of RPL is to facilitate access to and mobility and progression within education, training and a career path. It also seeks to accelerate redress of past unfair discrimination.
Systemic blockages do exist in the higher education sector, such as a lack of synergy between various postschool subsystems, ie, universities and FET colleges. This leads to a lack of articulation across the subsystems. Universities offer FET colleges little recognition in the domain of knowledge production.
To make things work, there should be a good understanding between universities and FET colleges in order to generate and facilitate a good form of collaboration. Be that as it may, there are pockets of success, as some institutions have a memorandum of understanding between them about articulation. However, this needs to be widespread and be a policy that applies across the spectrum of higher education. Any university that has no link with an FET college must try to think otherwise.
With regard to the challenge of the certification of FET college graduates, we as the ANC acknowledge the challenges currently being experienced with the certification of FET college graduates. We especially appreciate the progress that has been made with respect to the National Technical Education, Nated N1 to N6 graduates, who are now being certificated per examination cycle. We also note that certification of NCV graduates has commenced. We are confident that the backlog for NCV certificates dating back to 2007 will be addressed in a similar manner and with the urgency it deserves. We would like to commend the department for its efforts in ensuring that the youth of this country finally get practical recognition of their efforts, and can now access opportunities in higher education and the workplace.
In the main we have taken note of the following interventions. Firstly, there are the plans that are under way to put in place a comprehensive IT system that will meet the demands of the national examinations function. Secondly, there is the issuing of letters to higher education institutions and employers confirming the legitimacy of the statement of results issued by the department. The endorsement of Umalusi in this regard gives more credence to this intervention.
If one takes the background that I have given, one needs to check what the department is doing in order to facilitate matters. Some of the steps taken by the department are the following. The department aims in this current year to train 3 600 Adult Education and Training and FET college lecturers for the National Senior Certificate for Adults and the General Education and Training Certificate, GETC. Artisan candidates found competent have increased by 60% from 8 238 to 13 168. All public FET college functions, as the Minister has said, are being transferred to the department. Finally, 12 new FET college campuses will be built by 2014-15.
The Department of Higher Education Training has established the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, QCTO, and the National Artisan Moderation Body, Namb. The QCTO works together with Namb to strengthen the role of vocational colleges in artisan development. The QCTO will bring the needs of industry closer to the education and training system, so as to meet the aspirations of the youth and adults, while ensuring that education, training and skills development initiatives respond adequately to our social and economic needs.
The department's objective is to provide college bursaries to 100% of eligible college students. The number of bursaries awarded this year is 222 817 and the target is to award 702 430 FET college bursaries over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period. To be eligible for this college bursary the household income - I wish we would take note of this - should be R127 000 per year or less. If one takes it per month, that means R10 583 or less, and the student must be performing well. The department is challenging both the universities and the FET colleges to bring forward any student who meets these requirements and who has not been assisted. They are going to assist that student.
Let me close off by referring to the vandalism at Walter Sisulu University. When I saw the house in ashes, I didn't even read the content. We are now celebrating 16 years of our Constitution and the leaders there have access to the council, to the department, to the portfolio committee and to Chapter 9 Institutions. Under what circumstances can anybody at this point in time burn property? [Applause.] I find it difficult to accept that. This is one thing that I think our student leaders and all leaders in general should refrain from. Those properties are both ours and theirs.
The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]