. Members noted that the programme on the Research Chairs Initiative was not meeting its targets and requested an explanation for that. The Department explained the reason for appointing the Research Chairs in facilitating the efficiency and effectiveness of delivery, which is targeted at government's key priority areas. It is expected that the Minister for Science and Technology will make an announcement on the way forward in the near future. . Members wanted to know what efforts were in place to boost the production of PhD studies; if it was a question of money, how much was required to ensure the increase. The Human Capital Development Strategy was being reviewed and one of the things identified was to look realistically at the numbers of doctoral students who could be funded.