Meeting with Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the delegation from Azerbaijan. He explained that the South African Parliament was divided into Committees in terms of its work. The work of the Higher Education Portfolio Committee was to initiate legislation that related to Higher Education and Training in the country. It was also responsible for exercising oversight on the Executive for that portfolio. The Portfolio Committee was composed of more than 10 Members of Parliament, who also served on other Committees with different tasks.

The Chairperson said he would allow the leader of the Azerbaijan delegation to brief the Committee on the purpose of their visit. They knew that there were very energetic students in the delegation who were interested on the issues of education in South Africa, and that they were coming from a country which had 99.5% literacy levels. It was a great achievement, because South Africa as a country was still struggling in terms of literacy, so they could learn a lot on how to obtain an almost 100% literacy level.  This would place the country in a position to meet its challenges and create opportunities for success.

Mr Anwi Valizev, Dean of International Affairs: Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA), thanked the Committee for hosting them. The academy had been established six years ago as an institution for training diplomats and civil servants in their country.  Later on it had become a full-fledged university and was offering many degrees, from business administration to public policy and international affairs. They were still considered as a School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this was why that the members of the delegation included Azerbaijan diplomats working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The purpose of their visit was both educational and business. In the last semester of the class, the students were required to take a course called "Cap Stone". The Cap Stone course this year was titled "Go to Africa", where they would try to initiate an interest by the Azerbaijan business and government sectors in African affairs. So their purpose was to prepare a detailed report on business and investment opportunities in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Angola. They had divided the class into four teams to go to these different countries. Technically they were on a fact finding mission, and 60% to 70% of their meetings were dedicated to business-related matters. They had visited various companies, meeting with decision makers, as well as with people from universities who could give them first-hand information.  For instance, they were going to Stellenbosch University to get a perspective on African politics. The report would therefore include recommendations about business, health care, education, and other issues.  This was the reason for coming to Parliament to obtain authoritative information.

The second purpose of the Academy’s visit was to try to build partnerships with various universities in South Africa. So far they had met with the Johannesburg University and the University of Cape Town, as well as with several “think tanks” in Johannesburg. They were on their way to Stellenbosch University to strengthen partnerships and build an exchange programme. The Academy was offering scholarships for students from Africa to come and study with them for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. When they left, they would provide enough information and would highly appreciate it if South Africa sent students to their country. This year their intake cycle was over, but next year the cycle would start in October and if South African students came they would start in September 2014 for both the Master’s degree and the Bachelor degree. The Academy was offering four degrees covering public policy, international studies, economics and communication. They had also started an engineering and medical school.

Mr Valizev said that they had been requested by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask about the needs of education in South Africa, as well as the health care system of the country.  This was because the Azerbaijan Development Agency went all over the world constructing buildings, mostly schools and hospitals, so the Academy’s recommendations would also be sent to that Agency for action in Southern Africa. The students who were part of their delegation would ask the Committee various questions on different topics. They were in South Africa for only one week and wanted to avoid any wrong perceptions or wrong information about South Africa.

The Chairperson said he appreciated the interest of Azerbaijan in exploring relations with South Africa, and also for creating opportunities to enable South African students to be able to study in Azerbaijan. Nations of the world had come together as common citizens of the global village, and they would take an interest in having South African students studying in Azerbaijan. South Africa had 23 Government universities and 50 Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. These institutions were not enough to be able to respond to the challenge of educating South African youth, which meant that they should take advantage of new study opportunities.  In South Africa there were about 60 000 foreign students who were studying in various institutions, and many universities would really appreciate having student extension programmes with Azerbaijan so they could learn about Azerbaijan culture and create relations to improve the world.

Mr Ghaleeb Jeppie, Chief Director: Department of Higher Education, said that obviously it was a great opportunity for engagement and reflection because the two countries were quite far from each other geographically and culturally.  They would find to the Western Cape more convenient and similar to Azerbaijan in terms of the cuisine that was offered in the Western Cape, and the fact that a large part of the population of the province was Muslim, similar to the religion of Azerbaijan.

It was appreciated that Azerbaijan had identified Africa as a new area that they could engage with economically and socially.  South Africa was currently the seventh most popular destination in the world for hosting foreign students after major countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The system of education was fairly new, because the Department of Higher Education had been established in 2009. The system was in line with the National Education Framework in terms of structures of general education. What was important, looking at the issues raised by Mr Valizev, was that there were 23 public universities, which was the hallmark of society -- where intellectual property started. There was also the process of vocational training through FET colleges. Currently, there was a challenge, as more students were going to universities than attending colleges.  Government was trying hard to change this by campaigning for students to enrol at FET colleges.

There were two ministries of education in South Africa. One ministry was responsible for Basic Education, from primary school to secondary school. Then there was the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), which represented universities and colleges. The DHET had close links with the Department of Science and Technology (DST). There was a system in place that administered the running of the DHET throughout the country.  At the public universities there was a distinction between the universities of technology and the traditional universities.  Some South African schools were ranked in the top 100 globally. But historically disadvantaged black institutions faced challenges which Government was currently taking steps to redress.   It was important to note that policies were in place to encourage skills development through the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), which was a qualifying authority in the country.

Ms Kamila Mustafayena, an Academy Master’s student, asked why there was so much high immigration into South Africa when there was high youth unemployment.  
The Chairperson responded that South Africa was a market for people seeking job opportunities because it was the largest economy in Africa. Every African aspired to come to the country to obtain a sustainable livelihood. South Africa was aware that international migration was universal, which is why they gave permits to people with the required skills that would help to enhance the country’s economy so it could reach the  same level as other developed economies
The Chairperson said that 60% of those who were unemployed were those that had had no access to education. Therefore, it became an imperative for the Government to expand educational opportunities for the youth to acquire skills that would enable them to partake in the economy. For instance, the Government was going to out roll a huge infrastructure programme which would need technicians, engineers and many other skills, but the challenge was that the unemployed lacked those skills. That was why the emphasis was on improving technical and personal skills. The 50 FET Colleges were attracting young people to study there and become skilled. There were 21 SETAs that were responsible for cultivating opportunities in the private sector so that students could gain skills.

Dr L Bosman (DA) said that more than 60% of unemployed youth in the country did not have Matric, while 6% of the unemployed had a tertiary education. What was lacking in the country were specialized skills in certain areas, and this was where they employed people from outside the country. They were also head hunting doctors, for example, as medical practitioners in South Africa were in very short supply.  There were no facilities in the country to produce enough doctors per year. The country was in a situation where there were many middle-class, educated people, but insufficient skills to meet the demand. They got a huge area that of insufficient skills which meant that they needed to employed skilled people from outside the country.

Mr Tucal Mustefager, an ADA student, asked that as a Committee which dealt with Higher Education, what its role was in trying to attract investment into the country so as to curb unemployment.  What plans did they have to relax labour laws in order to encourage foreign investment?

The Chairperson responded that the Department of Labour was best placed to answer that question. South Africa needed foreign direct investment so that companies would be able to establish plants in the country,employ people and transfer skills to local communities.  This would contribute towards the reduction of unemployment and improved economic development.

There were programmes where companies were offered incentives to take in young people and give them skills and experience. The incentives reduced the employer’s liability for paying the salary of the student, because the student received a state stipend.  South Africa promoted foreign direct investment  as a means to attract investors to bring in skills.

Mr S Makhubele (ANC) said that part of the problem of unemployment was historical, and the issues that the Chairperson had referred to were being dealt with.  The problem was not at a policy level, in terms of enabling companies to come and invest in the country, but rather the mismatch of the skills that the market economy required at the current moment. It could be that some unemployed people had qualifications which, at the time, might not be easy to be absorbed by the economy.  The recent global recession had played a major role, because many companies had shed jobs, although  most of those would be have been at the lower level of workers, and not those who had the kind of skills which the economy required.

One could not dictate who should invest and who should not.   Those looking to invest would shop around in various countries to find what was best suited to their own interests. The appeal would always be to attract as much investment as possible to South Africa. There were countries that were related historically to South Africa and whose companies were doing business in the country.  These companies practised social responsibility and put more resources into the country, creating work opportunities.

Mr Valizer thanked the Committee for the information it given to their delegation. It had been a great pleasure to be there and if they could have stayed longer they would, because it had been a very interesting discussion, but unfortunately they had rush to another meeting. They hoped to see more students from South Africa going to study and share experiences in Azerbaijan. He presented a book about Azerbaijan to the Chairperson.

The Chairperson also thanked the delegation from Azerbaijan. He also gave Mr Valizer a present as a token of appreciation of their visit and said South African students would be encouraged to go and study in Azerbaijan.

The meeting was adjourned.