Thank you for the invitation to address your national congress. As the largest student formation, we will use this opportunity to give you a report on the work of the Department of Higher Education and Training since its establishment seven months ago and our plans for 2010 and beyond.
This 16 th Congress takes place at an exciting time in the education and training sector with extensive and far-reaching changes underway to improve the provision of post-school opportunities for especially the youth but also adults. As an organisation at the coalface in the higher education system, you are patently aware of the challenges we face and the obstacles which inhibit young people from acquiring the theoretical knowledge and skills to participate meaningfully in the economy as well as for their personal development.
Nevertheless we are embarking on this journey of building an integrated education and training system in the context of the worst global capitalist crisis since the 1930s. It is a crisis that threatens to roll back some of our plans for educational transformation and addressing the needs of the overwhelming majority of our people. But as government, we have committed to maintain spending on our key programmes, especially investment into infrastructure and not to reduce funding for our five key priorities. However this requires vigilance and struggle on the part of all progressive forces to ensure that we mitigate the impact of this crisis.
Our government and my department in particular are determined to identify and overcome the challenges and obstacles. We need to admit our failures and shortcomings and change what has gone wrong in the higher education and training system.
Comrades, you would be aware that we recently took responsibility for government's entire skills development component from the Department of Labour, including transfer of FET colleges from a provincial to a national competence. We are now in a good position to create a coherent but diverse and differentiated post school education and training system. The reconfiguration of the education and training sector in government means we are now better able to meet the aspirations of youth and adults and to ensure that education, training and skills development initiatives respond adequately to our social and economic needs.
This vision must be anchored within the framework of the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa which was adopted last year and is being reviewed in line with the priorities of our new government. The HRD-SA is led by our Deputy President, Cde Kgalema Motlanthe and the Department of Higher Education and Training is responsible for its administration.
During 2010, we will work with stakeholders, including student organisations, to develop a policy framework which will be responsive to identified challenges and our collective aspirations, including transformation imperatives.
One of the key challenges facing our democracy is that of addressing the deeply interrelated contradictions of class, race and gender. In these contradictions, we are not simply dealing with a past legacy but they are being daily reproduced as a result of, among others, a skewed education and training system. However we must realise that education and training is both a reflection of these contradictions and at the same time a key terrain upon which to confront them.
In this context comrades, it is important that SASCO asserts its role and influence to better represent the needs of your constituency. In order to do this effectively, it is essential that while operating at the level of formal institutions such as universities and colleges, you understand the entire landscape of the education and training sector.
SASCO has already affirmed itself as an important player in the sector, championing not only student rights and interests but also representing the voice of the progressive youth movement in higher education. We are proud that SASCO continues to maintain its status of a majority student organisation in most universities, and that membership has also been extended to FET Colleges, with mobilisation in some private colleges and institutions.
As this sector develops and grows in line with our strategic goals, it would be to SASCO's benefit to adapt and keep in step with the changing environment. For example, we have already set a target to expand the college sector and increase student enrolment at FET colleges to at least 1million by 2014.
I therefore urge you to expand your reach in FET colleges and assist students there to cope, progress and succeed. We also need you to assist us in promoting FETs as colleges of choice rather than how they are now viewed as consolation prizes when university entrance is declined. In my view comrades, SASCO also needs to get more actively involved in the process to secure work opportunities and placements for students. In this regard, we all have the task of examining the role and effectiveness of the SETAs, as well as leveraging business to step up to the plate in terms of our training requirements. Priority should be given to placement of students from universities of technology and FETs who require workplace experience as part of their curriculum.
In the past few months, I have held numerous meetings with professional organisations, such as the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, to improve the access of particularly black students to skills and professions which are still a scarcity. I intend to continue these engagements with other professional organisations, including those in the financial and engineering sectors to increase the intake of black students in workplace training and placements towards their qualification.
With regard to the SETAs, you may be aware that I have postponed the relicensing of the 23 authorities for a year. It is my intention that this next year be spent focusing on certain priorities such as improved work placement for university of technology and FET college students. I urge SASCO to play an active role in this process and to continue to provide perspectives and ideas on the training and skills development needs of young people. The changed education and training landscape calls for SASCO to cast its net wider while organisationally rooted in formal education institutions.
Chairperson, let me turn to an issue which I know is of particular concern to SASCO - financial assistance for poor students and progress towards achieving the commitment of the ANC Manifesto that no poor but capable young person is excluded from post-school education opportunities. This is also central to the strategic mission of my department to improve access and success, particularly among black students, in the higher education system.
You would all be aware of the Ministerial Committee reviewing the efficacy of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). I instituted this evaluation shortly after my appointment because it is generally recognized that the scheme has acute shortcomings in providing adequate support for needy students. As a result of these shortcomings, poor students and their parents have to resort to undesirable options such as mashonisas to finance their studies. This practice perpetuates a cycle of debt in thousands of poor households around the country and needs to come to an end.
Deficiencies in the scheme currently also propagates high drop out rates as financial aid often excludes essentials such as food. Comrades, it is imperative that poor students should not be denied the opportunity to quality higher education. This is a commitment that the ruling party made to the country and I assure you this is at the top of the agenda of my department. I want to thank the leadership of SASCO for engaging the committee and participating in this important review process.
I am happy to announce that the ministerial committee is scheduled to hand over its report to me by the end of the year. In terms of the scope of the committee's work, I expect that the report would contain proposals which may significantly change the nature and functioning of the scheme. This should include a review of the means test, the repayment process and a more equitable formula for financial support of students.
In the final analysis, the revamped NSFAS must give effect to Government's commitment to progressively introduce free education for the poor up to undergraduate level. The report will be released for public comment in a few weeks and I urge SASCO to engage on the findings. We look forward to your response to the report.
Comrades, improving success and throughput rates also involves a host of other measures. This includes developing and expanding academic support, as well as enhancing the quality of teaching at colleges and universities. In this regard, beginning next year, we will be embarking on a process of institutional audits of all FET colleges. This is aimed at establishing the strengths and weaknesses of each FET college and turning them into prime centres for vocational skills.
We are already aware of some of the difficulties students experience at FET colleges including the absence of financial aid offices at the institutions which creates problems during registration. There is also limited information available about the programmes offered at colleges and there have been complaints about the standard of services as compared to universities.
The department has already invested R1.9billion to improve the system and quality of programmes offered at FET colleges. As we take the skills development sector on board, we intend to consolidate the FET system through strengthening its partnership with the SETAs and other training providers.
Comrades, an issue which is a top priority for this congress and for my Ministry is that of transformation in higher education. Our university communities are microcosms of racial and gender interaction in our broader society and therefore it is of deep concern how prevalent various forms of discrimination are in higher education, as reflected in the Soudien report.
I have written to all the university councils asking them to respond to the findings of the Soudien report and advise what process each institution is undertaking to deal with racism and other forms of discrimination. Early next year, we will convene the first ever higher education stakeholder summit to tackle the issue of transformation head on. I am aware that SASCO has strong views on this issue, with your members being subjected to discrimination of various forms on a daily basis. I therefore invite you to participate in this summit where we will deal with various issues including curriculum transformation, governance, funding and the state of institutional forums.
My department has actually undertaken an investigation into the state of the institutional forums and found that with a few exceptions, institutional forums are in a sorry state and largely dysfunctional. This is a matter which requires priority attention because institutional forums are essential in the life and transformation of our higher education institutions.
On of the proposals of the Soudien report -which I have accepted -is that of establishing a ministerial oversight committee on transformation. I intend establishing this committee at the beginning of next year and will ask it to submit its proposed terms of reference and scope of work at the higher education summit. At the end of the term of this government, it is my intention that significant progress is made towards the eradication of all forms of discrimination and inequalities in the higher education system.
I also intend that the summit will emerge with clear directives on processes to eliminate discrimination, complaint mechanisms and institutional monitoring mechanisms. While we respect and uphold the autonomy of institutions, we need to strike the right balance of public accountability, particularly relating to our constitutional and transformational imperatives.
Something which in my view is perpetuating apartheid-type inequalities in higher education is the current funding formula; despite the many significant advances made in the past 15 years. The means by which institutions are allocated funding is fundamentally flawed as it maintains privilege in some institutions and keeps others perpetually disadvantaged. I therefore intend to appoint a departmental task team next year to review this funding formula which has been in operation for six years.
It is not surprising that the official opposition is already protesting at the first indication that we intend reviewing the funding formula. Led by their Higher Education spokesperson Dr Wilmot James, the DA concocts scarecrows about the lowering of standards every time I mention transformation in higher education. Let me state clearly that the issue of transformation is not up for debate and a transformed higher education system is nonnegotiable. The DA's agenda is transparent, parading as champions of excellence when all they are doing is trying to maintain and defend islands of privilege. The problem with the DA is that they have equated transformation and upliftment of the black majority to lowering of standards.
Comrades, in a few weeks we begin the 2010 academic registration process which we will be monitoring closely to avert any possible disruptions.
9.6 % and an average residence fee increase of 9.3 %.
I have had an initial engagement with HESA on the student intake for next year and one of my concerns is unfunded students -though these have reduced over the years. We have a situation where some universities, particularly the previously disadvantaged institutions, take in more students than they plan for, due to high demand, while others take less than what they receive funding for. We therefore need to achieve proper alignment in order to stabilize the system.
At the start of every year, my department monitors registration and will meet with registrars of all universities to plan for the registration period. This also includes a process of consultation with key stakeholders such as SASCO and HESA to ensure a smooth start to the academic year. The Department will target certain institutions to monitor their operations and provide the necessary information to first entry students.
It is important that SASCO partners with the Department, as you have always done, to assist and support our campaign of ensuring that we provide access to those who cannot afford their fees. We will also work closely with SAUS and SRCs to ensure that we are proactive in dealing with problems which may arise during this time. Plans are underway to establish a fully functional call centre in the department to address a variety of issues facing the higher education sector, not least the students.
In my view, a major problem in the system is the application process where students have to pay large amounts of money applying for admission to multiple institutions. We need to work towards a central application system with national or provincial application offices. In this regard, we need to look closely at the system in place here in KwaZulu-Natal and draw lessons from it.
I am hoping that the higher education summit can also look at the issue of fees and fee increases and that together with all stakeholders we can reach a consensus position and national framework.
Finally comrades, I am happy to inform you that the process towards establishing universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape are on track. Last month, we held a public participation event in Mpumalanga where we discussed this issue with all stakeholders in the province. I will be holding meetings with the National Institutes for Higher Education in both provinces to take forward these plans and also intending the Northern Cape in the next few months to engage with stakeholders there. I want to thank SASCO for your activism in this regard and urge you to remain engaged with us to provide the valuable perspectives we need to create the first universities of a democratic South Africa.
Mr President and delegates, I have sketched out some of our plans and work of the department, which you can see are extensive and complex. While we are serious about our commitments, government alone cannot achieve the goal of a high quality and performing higher education and training system. We need the co-operation and commitment of students to work hard and study diligently to produce high quality graduates and skills. I therefore urge you as the major student organisation to help us raise the bar by getting your members to work hard and break the barriers which inhibit their success.
Comrades, I wish you well in this important congress and in your deliberations which I believe will help us in our mission to create a quality and equitable post-schooling system in our country.