Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela held a media briefing to update the public on his first 19 days in the post.
He explained that he and his deputy Ministers had been meeting with all key stakeholders in the sector. Post-school education includes the formal education institutions like universities, TVET colleges etc, as well as the skills development and training systems that are more directly focused on workplace skills and needs.
Minister Manamela is no stranger to the sector as he has held the post of Deputy Minister himself for over ten years.
Minister Manamela stated "The truth is that our post-school education and training system remains fragmented and uneven. Too many young people are locked out of opportunity. Too many skills taught are not the skills the economy needs. Too many institutions are underperforming. Governance failures weaken delivery".
"Funding models remain unstable. Data is incomplete," he added. "The system is not coherent enough to guarantee the return on investment that South Africans expect. After three decades of transformation, ten years since Fees Must Fall, and twenty years since our universities and colleges mergers, we must admit that progress has been uneven. We must learn from the past, fix what is broken, and reimagine what is possible."
"We are restating these challenges to re-establish national consensus on the monstrosity of the problem in front of us, and to remind ourselves, in the spirit of Proffessors Bengu and Asmal, that nothing is insurmountable," he said - referring to previous government Ministers who have covered the education sector.
Minister Sets 6 Core Objectives
"Our work from today is guided by six core objectives," explained the Minister. "First, to integrate the system into a single, coordinated whole. Second, to expand equitable access to all who can benefit. Third, to ensure responsiveness to the needs of the economy, the labour market, and society. Fourth, to raise the quality of provision and learning outcomes. Fifth, to improve efficiency, governance, and accountability. And sixth, to guarantee sustainability – in funding, in institutional stability, and in the confidence of our people."
3 Timelines
The Minister explained that the work is being structured over three timelines. In the next three months, they will stabilise NSFAS and set in motion a sustainable student funding model. "We will establish the PSET Reengineering Task Team, bringing together expertise from across sectors to guide the redesign of our system," explained Manamela.
"Additionally, we will strengthen SETA oversight, finalise their realignment and ensure every SETA delivers measurable value," concluded Manamela.
