Department and Deputy Minister of Higher Education &Training: 2013 Annual Performance Plan

Meeting report

Department of Higher Education and Training: Annual Performance Plan and Budget 2013
Mr Gwebinkundla Qonde, Director General, Department of Higher Education and Training, gave an overview of the mandate of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET or the Department). It must expand access to education and training for the youth and to capacitate educational institutions for effective provision and facilitation of learning. He noted that the DHET operated under five programmes of Administration, Human Resources Development, Planning and Monitoring Coordination, University Education, Vocational and Continuing Educational Training, and Skills Development.

The strategic objectives included an increase in the number of students successfully entering the labour market after completion of training. The Department thus had to ensure that universities and colleges had had a curriculum responsive to the demands of the local market, and that an emphasis was placed on artisan training. There should be credible institutional mechanisms for skills planning to support an inclusive economic growth path. Another aspect was to expand research, development and innovation capacity for economic growth and social development. This also required effective, professional administration which was informed by good corporate governance practices.

Mr  Qonde highlighted the progress since 2009 regarding student head count enrolments at universities. These had increased by 12%, from 83 779 to 97 455. The highlights were that graduates from universities increased by 11%, from 144 810 to 160 299. Initial teacher education graduates increased by 60% from 6 315 to 10 133. Students awarded bursaries at Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges increased by 183%. Headcount enrolments at FET Colleges increased by 24%, from 345 566 in 2010 to 427 423 in 2011. Mr Qonde also noted that artisan trade test pass rates had improved from 41% to 43% in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

The Department had entered into numerous international scholarships offered to South African students and that a dual system of apprenticeship training used in Switzerland, Germany and Austria was being piloted.

The specifics of the programmes were then described.

Programme 1
Ms Lulama Mbobo, Deputy Director General: Corporate Services, DHET, presented the estimated performance of six selected indicators for Programme 1: Administration, for 2012/2013, against their targets for that period. The more important indicators were that the vacancy rate in the Department was reduced from 15% to 10%, and it currently took four months to fill a vacancy. In terms of ICT governance, the DHET had achieved Maturity Level 2. The DHET was now taking, on average, 28 days to pay service providers. It had responded to 100% of queries via the call centre. It was taking, on average, 90 days to resolve disciplinary cases.
 
Discussion
The Chairperson welcomed the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training to the Committee.

The Deputy Minister noted that the presentation of the Annual Performance Plan and budget was required by law, and this presentation gave an account of the moneys appropriated by the Department.

The Chairperson stated that although the Department may have responded to 100% of the queries, that did not mean they were resolved. The Department needed to distinguish between responding to a query and resolving that query, with the emphasis always on resolution. The DHET furthermore needed to sustain the improvement on the six indicators outlined in the presentation.
 
Prof A Lotriet (DA) asked what the cost implications were of the appointment of an external service provider to provide network and desktop support for a period of three years.

Mr Qonde replied that there would be an improvement of 60% in cost savings initially.

Mr A Mpontshane (IFP) asked if the pass rate of 43% for the artisan trade test was going to be improved upon because it was still too low. He asked why funding was an issue when it came to the filling of posts.
 
Dr L Bosman (DA) wanted clarity for the different sectors, and he wanted to know what the plans were to train more medical doctors in South Africa. He stated that four months was too long to fill a vacancy, and he asked for clarity as to the levels at which the outstanding vacancies occurred.

Mr A Mpontshane (IFP) stated that learners complained that they were poorly taught by teacher education graduates, and since the Department itself was responsible for the graduates’ training, this indicated that there was much still to be desired.  He was very concerned about the three to four years learning that these students would undergo, without any contact with lecturers. He asked if the Department shared his concerns about non-contact training.

Mr Mpontshane referred to Ntshasa FET College in his constituency as an example of an old and poorly resourced FET College, and asked why this institution was in such a poor state. This did not live up to the mandate of providing adequate capacity for all institutions.

Mr Mpontshane also questioned why the vacancy rate was 10% and asked for more details of what the Department’s response to filling these vacancies.

Ms. N Gina (ANC) asked where exactly were the vacancies in the Department, and what was being done to fill them. She was happy with the dual system but wanted to know where and when it had been piloted.
 
Mr Mpontshane felt that the improvements and progress should be consolidated.

Mr Mpontshane asked Mr Qonde how the DHET had managed, unlike other government departments, to get the disciplinary cases resolved within a 90 day period.

Mr S Makhubele (ANC) asked if the Department was in total control of the 90 days to complete the disciplinary procedures. 

Mr Mpontshane asked if the Department would provide a full report on all unsuitable and inadequate offices, before decisions to lease new properties were entered into.

Lastly he questioned whether an unstable IT system would affect the capacity to monitor central registration.

Mr. Qonde replied that many of the Members’ questions overlapped and he would attempt to give a general response. In respect of quality of teaching, he said that all teaching programmes were offered had been quality-assured by the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC). All teachers had been quality assured, making them better teachers. Monitoring and evaluation of teachers was done by management, and their training was also quality-assured. The DHET had collaborations with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants, in regard to quality.

In relation to schools facilities, and the DHET’s mandate, he noted that the Ministerial Committee had approved the spending of R2.5 billion on FET colleges. The problem was one of governance and management, but this had since improved. He said the growth in student numbers and enrolment targets was based on the capacity of each institution. At the University of Pretoria, it would cost R300 million to accommodate the growth of students, and the Faculty of  Veterinary Science had asked for R50 million to accommodate its student growth.

Mr Qonde noted that anything to do with disciplinary issues must be handled professionally and DHET must not be self-serving. When the decision was made to charge someone, then the charges must be clear and solid, and must be watertight. Delays caused in the disciplinary procedure were due to officials being unavailable.

Mr Qonde confirmed that students awarded bursaries at FET Colleges increased by 183%, which translated into a growth of R1.89 billion.

In regard to the question around the cost implications of the network, Mr Qonde noted that it was cheaper for the DHET to pay the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) the amount of R120 750 per month than outsourcing it to private bodies.

Mr Qonde noted that currently, the DHET had 1077 posts, of which 930 were funded and 162 were unfunded and for which the DHET still had to find funding. The vacancies had been reduced down to 10%, from 26% in 2011, and this was below the projected performance of 15%, with the target being to keep the reduction down to 10%. Funding was an issue in relation to the non-funded posts and the DHET would provide a breakdown at a later stage to the Committee. Critical vacancies were prioritised by the branches and were filled according to the priority list.

Mr Qonde noted, in relation to the offices, that a decision was made in 2005 to move from the old offices at 123 Schoemann Street to better offices, and no maintenance had been carried out as a result of this. The size of the new offices was much larger.

The Chairperson noted that work must be done on all the areas of noncompliance and the Department must plan on the basis of the current staff complement.

Continuation of briefing
Programme 2
Mr Firoz Patel, Deputy Director General: Planning and Monitoring, DHET presented the broad strategic direction for Programme 2: Human Resources Development, Planning and Monitoring Coordination. Mr Patel highlighted 12 estimated performance indicators against their targets for 2013/2014.

He noted that the most important indicators were as follows:
- an increase from 80% to 100% of public institutional data to be integrated into the education and training management information system.
- Two modules of a career management and information system were to be developed and implemented
- Monitoring and evaluation reports on the mandatory role of the Quality Councils and SAQA must be compiled
- There should be an increase of total users reached by career guidance services, as per the report.
- A research bulletin on cutting edge issues in the post school system would be published
- Annual DHET Performance Plans would be developed and approved, with performance indicators
- An international relations operational framework report must be compiled
- A publication on international cooperation would be compiled
- The database of all international engagements of all public post schools institutions would be updated
- Implementation plans with priority countries and multi-lateral agencies would be compiled
- The DHET would deal with all litigation against the DHET or Minister
- DHET would be monitoring the report on the Social Inclusion Policy Framework

Discussion   
The Chairperson noted that the performance indicator for “implementation of a report on international relations” was not a target, and this must be reviewed, with specific countries being stated as targets.
  
Professor Lotriet noted that dealing with each programme on its own was better because of time constraints.

The Chairperson emphasised that the Portfolio Committee must focus on key matters and give the Department any help that it needed.
 
Mr M Nhanha (COPE) noted that any targets set should help in understand how the funding was being allocated and used.

Ms Gina was confused about how the 183% increase in students awarded bursaries at FET Colleges came about.
 
The Chairperson stated this was not a problem, and it emphasised the quantitative nature of the report.

Mr Mpontshane asked what were the challenges coming out of the Social Inclusion Policy Framework.

Ms Gina (ANC) noted that good work was being done on reaching people on career guidance, and requested more feedback on this.

Ms C Dudley (ACDP) had a concern with career guidance and the integration of the IT system and the different ways of reporting.

The Chairperson explained that a quota was set for employing people with disabilities, and he wanted to know if the Department was achieving these targets and was ensuring that its infrastructure was suitable for people with disabilities.

Mr J Dikobo (AZAPO) requested the Department to explain more about the social inclusion issue.

Mr Patel responded to the question that the International Relations target had all the details in it, including resources in people-power. He added the report itself contained a portfolio of evidence, but the DHET was happy to look at the way that this had been phrased as a deliverable.

In relation to the Social Inclusion Policy, Mr Patel noted that the employment equity targets were managed by Corporate Services of DHET which dealt with seven objectives in a three-year policy. Mr Patel noted that the DHET was aware of the racial background, but not of the class origins, such as how many learners who came from rural or urban areas were getting into university. Nothing was forthcoming from institutions for assessing the social inclusion policy framework.

Mr Patel noted that career guidance was part of a five-year plan which, up to this stage, had been largely forgotten. Currently evaluation was being done on career guidance, and the results would be furnished in August 2103.

Programme 3
Dr Diane Parker, Acting Deputy Director General: University Education, DHET, presented a broad overview of the five strategic objectives of the programme. The first strategic objective was to expand the higher education sector in order to increase equitable access with success. Nine performance indicators were highlighted as targets for 2013/2014. These were the following -
- An increase from 909 716 students enrolled in at universities, to 935 710 students enrolled.
- An increase from 179 793 first time enrolments at university, to 183 893 students enrolled.
- 20 public higher education institutions should be involved in Foundation Phase teacher education
- An increase from 14 600 students in foundation provisioning programmes, to 15 200 students
- An increase from 593 596 African students at universities, to 610 357 African students  
- An increase from 539 596 female students at universities,  to 563 509 female students  
- 10 universities would be identified and supported to offer programmes for FET lecturers, in line with new FET qualification policy  
- A policy document on Adult Educator Qualifications would be developed
- There would be an increase in spending, from R1.6 billion on infrastructure, to R1.8 billion on infrastructure.

Dr Parker highlighted the second strategic objective, which was to improve success rates in higher education studies at public institutions, and therefore increase graduate outputs by 2014. To achieve this she discussed nine performance indicators for this programme (see attached presentation for full details), noting that, overall there should be a report on effectiveness of teaching development funds at universities, and an 80% success rate of students on foundation provisioning, leading to 77% success rate in higher education studies at public institutions by 2015/16. the increases of engineering, human health, veterinary sciences, natural and physical science were set out.

Dr Parker highlighted the third strategic objective which was the monitoring of good governance and management of the Higher Education system in order to build capacity and efficiency. Three criteria for performance indicator targets were set. It was hoped that there would be an increase from 78% to 83% of public higher institutions with good governance and management, that 100% of the registered Private Higher Education Institutions would comply with regulatory criteria. It was intended that the DHET offer one governance training workshop for Ministerial appointees on Councils.
 
Discussion
The Chairperson noted the serious attrition of experienced academicians and researchers and asked what was being done about research and teaching.

Mr Dikobo asked why less was budgeted in this year for foundation provisioning of under graduate students. He felt that the targets were not ambitious enough, asking, for instance, why the DHET opted for 80% and not 100% achievement.

Mr Qonde assured the members that the DHET had put in for the foundation provision funding. He noted that bridging programmes were not funded but the Ministerial Committee was looking at this issue.

Mr Dikobo noted that not all the graduates were being placed, and that some had been released from their commitments and allowed to leave South Africa.

Mr Nhanha wanted to know which ten universities had been identified to offer programs for FET College lecturers. He noted that Higher Education South Africa (HESA) had raised a number of problems around funding and asked whether the Department had put up a programme, and where funds were going to be sourced for this.

Mr Qonde responded that the main problem with teacher education lay in trying to use an excess number of teachers who had not moved out of Department of Basic Education and who were presently working on the demand side. In response to questions on the FET Colleges, he said teachers were not being placed or were being pushed out by the unions, who did not want a temporary teacher displaced. He noted, however, that 66% of teacher graduates were now being employed and placed.

Mr Dikobo enquired why there was only one training workshop for Ministerial appointees on Councils.
 
Mr Qonde explained that in terms of governance training workshops, DHET was implementing training workshops, and new members in Council must be inducted and trained.

The Chairperson requested a detailed document on the budget for the two new universities in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. 

Mr S Radebe (ANC) asked why the two new universities in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga were not discussed, noting that they were a key priority, and that DHET did not appear to have responded to the call from the President in this regard.

Mr Nhanha wanted to know if the people of the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga were involved with and consulted on in the development of the two new universities.

Mr. Qonde asked the Chairperson for the opportunity for DHET to meet separately with the Portfolio Committee to answer questions on the retention of academics and new academics, as well as the proposed two new universities. He admitted that communication between DHET and the Committee over the two new universities had been a problem. Mr Qonde noted that two new universities were being established in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga,  as well as a new medical university, but the DHET needed to engage with the public sector on these. He assured the Committee that DHET was working on the issues. The DHET was also working with all the stake holders and would include more groups as it expanded on the projects. 

Mr Radebe asked what target had been set for improving access to education.

Mr Qonde replied that the Department had set targets for PhDs and programmes were linked to achieving this, which were included in a framework for academics.

Mr Nhanha asked to what extent student housing was been addressed and if there was one standardised student housing programme currently.

Mr Qonde told Members that in the last week the programme for student housing was gazetted, and a lot of money had been set aside for student housing. The funding review document had been finalised by the Minister.

Mr Makhubele repeated the question as to which ten universities that would offer the programme for the FET.

Mr Makhubele noted that the construction on the new universities would commence in September 2103 and hoped that they would be ready for an intake in 2014.

Mr Nhanha complained that his questions were not answered and suggested that the Committee needed a further report back in the dedicated session between the Department and the Committee.  

The Chairperson agreed with Mr Qonde’s request for a separate meeting with the portfolio committee to discuss the new universities. However, he asked Mr Qonde to explain how, when contractors were not on site, the DHET thought that the project plan would be done by September.

Mr Qonde assured the Chairperson that the contractor would be on site and that the Department’s major challenge was with the land.

Continuation of briefing
Programme 4
Ms Leobogang Mokwena, Acting Chief Director: Vocation and Continuing Education and Training, DHET, gave an overview of the programme for FET Colleges and Adult Education Training Centres, and noted the four strategic objectives. The first strategic objective was to increase access to and improve success in programmes leading to intermediate and high level learning, by 2014. Three performance indicators were highlighted for 2013/14; namely to increase the number of learners in Adult Education Training Centres (AET) from 255 000 to 278 000, to increase the headcount of enrolments to the FET Colleges to 650 000 enrolments, and to increase the number of FET College students awarded bursaries to 222 817.

Other strategic indicators related to the increase of two more FET Colleges, to make ten colleges by 2013/14. 130 lecturers, managers and regional office officials would be trained to implement the student support services. 600 lecturers were to be trained to support curriculum delivery in FET Colleges. 60 Provincial Education Department officials would be trained to support the new NASCA and GETC curriculum delivery. Targets were also set to improve certification rates in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification and the pass rate in Maths and Math’s literacy. (See attached presentation for full details.) Targets were also set for increasing certification rates of bursary recipients.  

The second strategic objective in this programme was to strengthen the institutional capacity of VCET institutions to improve their performance and efficiency. She highlighted that 50 College Councils should be trained in corporate governance, nine public institutions were identified for declaration as colleges and six new FET college campuses were to be built.

The third strategic objective was to manage and administer a credible and efficient examinations and assessment system for VCET institutions. The three performance indicators were that all registered candidates would be resulted and certificated, that all FET Colleges were conducting improved assessments, and that 100% of all AET centres would be conducting improved assessments.

The fourth strategic objective was to provide support for the implementation of a monitoring, evaluation, and research system, for the improvement of the vocational education and training subsystem. Four performance indicators with targets were set. There should be an expansion from eight to 50 public FET Colleges, an increased number of AET Centres should respond to DHET’s annual survey, and a model would be implemented for all new FET College projects.

Finally, it was projected that all private colleges should be complying with applicable regulations

Discussion
Ms Dudley asked if 100% of registered candidates were certificated.

Ms Nadine Pote, Director: Examinations: DHET responded that certification excluded any candidates that had dropped out.

Mr Mpontshane (IFP) asked about the recapitalisation program instituted to renovate FET Colleges that had shown poor standards.

Mr Qonde replied that there were some physical structures that only needed to have minor renovations done, and that not in all instances were new structures needed.

Mr Dikobo asked whether there was any backlog of students who had completed and had not yet received their certificates.
  
Mr Qonde noted that the conceptualisation of the community colleges was in the report that the Minister had gazetted.
 
Programme 5
Mr Maliviwe Lumka, Chief Director: Skills Development, DHET, highlighted the three strategic objectives and performance indicators for the Skills Development Programme. The first was to provide a dynamic interface between the workplace and learning institutions and to promote quality learning at work by 2016. He focused on six performance indicators and targets for 2013/14, which set out the numbers of artisan candidates entering, nationally, which was to increase to 26 000, of whom 12 000 must be found competent. There should be an increase from 8 500 graduates to 27 279 graduates receiving work integrated learning, an increase from 45% to 48% of national artisan learners passing trade tests. A scarce and critical skills list should be published. There should be 21 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) with at least 4 partnership agreements.
 
The second strategic objective was to promote the alignment of skills development outputs to the needs of the workplace and to broaden growth needs of the country’s economy. He highlighted two performance indicators and targets for 2013/14. All of the SETA strategic plans should be analysed and approved by the Minister. There should be four engagements in the SETA Forum.

The third strategic objective was provision of funding to support projects that were national priorities in the National Skills Development Strategy, the Human Resource Development Strategy, and support to the National Skills Authority. Three performance indicators and targets were highlighted -
- R2.4 billion was earmarked to be spent on projects of national priority
- 350 projects must be supported by the National Skills Fund (NSF)
- 40 000 learners should be receiving training in NSF projects.

Discussion
Mr Dikobo asked whether it was possible to offer any assistance to those who walked in to do trade tests, as the failure rate was presently very high.

Prof S Mayatula (ANC) asked what could be done to help to place the graduates that were unemployed.

Mr Makhubele noted that institutes approached this differently, but the work force was saying that the people had already got the skills. He asked how the DHET could certificate people who had, for instance, worked for years in the automotive business without any formal papers.

The Chairperson informed Mr Qonde that the Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) programme was supposed to ensure that the person was prepared and would pass the trade test.

Budget
Mr Theuns Tredoux, Chief Financial Officer, DHET, gave an overview of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Estimate covering the periods 2012/13 to 2015/16. He highlighted that, for the 2013 MTEF, the Department's budget (excluding direct charges) would increase at an annual average rate of 7.8%, from R31.6 billion in 2012/13 to R39.5 billion in 2015/16. University Education dominated expenditure on the budget, mainly as a result of the transfers to Universities and National Student Financial Aid Scheme. These expenditure items represented 82.5% of the total budget (excluding direct charges) for 2013/14.  

Discussion
The Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training stated that he could not engage with the administrative issues, as a member of the Executive. He noted that the discussions helped enrich the plan, that a lot of hard work was done in the planning and assured the Committee that the DHET would work to implement what was set out. It was already on course.

The meeting was adjourned.