ACT140711: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Budget Vote 17 and 2014/15 Annual Performance Plan of the Department of Higher Education and Training, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and Council on Higher Education (CHE), dated 09 July 2014
Higher Education, Science and Innovation
REPORT
OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING ON BUDGET VOTE 17
AND 2014/15 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND
TRAINING, NATIONAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID SCHEME (NSFAS) AND COUNCIL ON HIGHER
EDUCATION (CHE), DATED 09 JULY 2014
The
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, having considered the
Budgets and Annual Performance Plans of 2014/15 of the Department of Higher
Education and Training, National Student Financial Aid Scheme and Council on
Higher Education reports as follows:
1. Introduction
1.1 The Constitution
of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 Section 55(2) stipulates that
the National Assembly must provide for mechanisms (a) to ensure that all
executive organs of state in the national sphere of government are accountable
to it; and (b) to maintain oversight of (i) the exercise of the national
executive authority including the implementation of the legislation; and (ii)
any organ of state.
1.2 Public Finance Management
Act section 27 (1) states that the Minister must table the annual budget for a
financial year in the National Assembly before the start of that financial year,
it further provides in subsection 27 (4) that when annual budget is introduced
in the National Assembly or a provincial legislature, the accounting officer
for each department must submit to Parliament or provincial legislature, as may
be appropriate, measurable objectives for each main division within the
departments vote.
1.3 In terms of
section 10 (c) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act
(Act No 9 of 2009), Strategic Plans must be tabled in Parliament after the
adoption of the fiscal framework.
1.4 The Minister of
Higher Education and Training tabled the Medium Term Strategic Plans and Annual
Performance Plans of the department and its entities on 13 March 2014 in
accordance with the above legislative requirement.
1.5 On the same day,
the Speaker of the National Assembly referred these papers to the Committee for
consideration and report.
1.6 In executing its oversight
mandate, the Committee scheduled extended briefing sessions with the
department, NSFAS and CHE so as to present their plans and budgets for the
Medium Term Expenditure Framework Period (MTEF) on 02 and 03 July 2014.
1.7 The budget
briefings served to acquaint the Committee with the mandates and programmes of
each business unit in the department and its entities.
1.8 This report gives
a brief summary of the presentations made to the Committee, focusing mainly on
2014/15 Annual Performance Plans and Budget, 2014 MTEF allocations and an
overview of allocations per programmes. The report also provides the
Committees recommendations relating to the vote.
2. Method
In engaging with the
above mentioned organs of state the Committee consulted the following
documents:
·
2014/15 Estimates of
National Expenditure (ENE);
·
2014 State of the Nation
Address (SONA) pertaining to the sector priorities;
·
Strategic Plans of the
department and its entities;
·
2014/15 Annual Performance Plans;
·
2013/14 Budgetary Review and
Recommendations Report (BRRR) of the Committee;
·
Reference was also made to
2013/14 strategic objectives to check if the department has kept its promises
of the previous financial year; and
·
The National Development
Plan (NDP) on the recommendations for the post-school education and training
sector.
·
In addition to the above
documents, the Committee held a meeting on 02 July 2014 with the
Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) regarding the audit outcomes of the
2013/14 financial year of the department and its entities.
3. Terms of Reference
The Committees terms
of reference in so far as the process was concerned were to:
·
Scrutinise the budgets and
annual performance plans of the departments and its entities;
·
Ensure that
policies announced by the government and
authorised by Parliament will be delivered with the allocated resources, this
further needs continuous monitoring through various ways of oversights;
·
Assist the department and
its entities with cost containment measures in terms of the National Treasury
Instructions 01 of 2013/14;
·
Recommend shifts within programmes and
sub-programmes where possible to mitigate the shortfall in certain line items,
and
·
Report the conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee to the National Assembly.
4. Summary of presentations
4.1 Department of Higher Education and Training
a) Overview
by the Minister
Dr B Nzimande, MP: Minister made the following
remarks:
·
The
passing of the late Prof R Botman: Vice Chancellor of University of
Stellenbosch and Prof F de Villiers: Dean Faculty of Law university of Zululand
were a great loss to the higher education sector.
·
The
post school education and training sector was the core-mandate of the
department. The key challenge of the department was to cater for the needs of
the 3.2 million young people between the age of 15-24 who were neither in
education, employment nor training and those who still want to go back to
school. This group of young people are a key focus of the department to assist
them in breaking the challenge of high unemployment and poverty rate.
·
The
Annual Performance Plan 2014/15 targets of the department were consistent with
the White Paper on Post School Education and Training and government
priorities.
·
The
scope of the higher education sector comprises of 25 public universities with
11 general universities, six Universities of Technology (UoTs), six comprehensive
universities including the two new universities established last year namely
University of Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatjie University.
·
The Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) college sector was steadily increasing with an
enrolment target of 800 000 students for the current financial year and a
target to reach 1 million students by 2016. The target of the department was to
have four TVET college students per one university student as this was the norm
in developed economies.
·
Community Education and
Training Colleges (CETC) would be merged with Adult Education and Training
(AET) centres to broaden their mandate and focus specifically in offering
qualifications to people with trades experience or prior learning but no formal
qualification.
·
2013 was declared a year of
artisans and the target to enrol 26 000 artisan trainees per annum was
reached while 2014-2024 is declared as a decade of artisans.
·
Absorption of TVET colleges
and UoTs students in industries for work integrated learning to complete their
qualification remained a challenge for the department. There was a need for
engagement with industries, municipalities and government departments to open
up more spaces for training of these students.
·
Articulation of TVET college
graduates to higher education remained a challenge for the department as well
recognition of credits between institutions of higher learning.
·
The end of June 2014 the
department published a policy on distance learning which aims to increase
access to higher education since contact universities have limited capacity to
enrol all qualifying students.
b) Strategic Overview
Mr
G Qonde: Director-General led this part of the presentation and highlighted the
following:
·
The department was
established in May 2009 and was responsible for all post-school education and
training and particularly Outcome 5 of governments 12 outcomes (
A skilled and capable workforce to support
an inclusive growth path).
·
The mission of the
department was to develop capable, well-educated and skilled citizens that are
able to compete in a sustainable, diversified and knowledge intensive
international economy, which meets the developmental goals of the country.
·
The department has seven
strategic goals which guided its strategic plan.
c) Budget and Expenditure Trends
Mr T
Tredoux: Chief Financial Officer led this part of the presentation and
highlighted the following:
·
The budget of the department
included direct charges which are the Skills Development Levies collected by
the South African Revenue Services (SARS). For the 2014 Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF) period, the departments budget excluding direct charges
increased at an annual rate of 6.8 percent from R34.3 billion in 2013/14 to R42
billion in 2016/17.
·
Direct charges increased at
annual average rate of 9.5 percent from R12.3 billion in 2013/14 to R16.1
billion in 2016/17.
·
The departments budget is
dominated by Programme 3: University Education, which represents 83 percent of
the budget in 2014/15. Normal departmental operational services represent only
1.5 percent of the budget.
·
The department received
additional allocations over the MTEF period of R76.3 million, R153 million and
R730 million. These additional funds are mainly for improvement of conditions
of service for staff in the department and TVET colleges as well as the
piloting and roll out of the new student-centred loan administration model at
NSFAS.
·
NSFAS remained one of the
biggest growth items in the budget in the MTEF period from R6.1 billion in
2014/15 to R6.8 billion in 2016/17.
·
The function shift of TVET
colleges from provinces to national would be implemented on 1 April 2015. While
the function shift was still in process, the funding of TVET colleges consisted
of college subsidies (R3.1 billion in 2014/15) and conditional grant (R2.6
billion in 2014/15).
Table 1: Financial Information
Programme
|
Adjusted Appropriation
R000
|
Medium-Term Expenditure Estimate
R000
|
||
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
2016/17
|
|
Administration
|
189 659
|
217 101
|
225 676
|
238 932
|
Human Resource Development, Planning and Monitoring Coordination
|
47 440
|
48 785
|
51 482
|
54 916
|
University Education
|
28 300 740
|
30 448 037
|
32 854 207
|
34 616 792
|
Vocational and Continuing Education and Training
|
5 691 008
|
6 042 177
|
6 401 915
|
6 748 325
|
Skills Development
|
105 053
|
110 581
|
116
677
|
124 236
|
Sub-Total
|
34 333 900
|
36 866 681
|
39 649 957
|
41 783 201
|
Direct charge against the National Revenue Fund
|
12 300 000
|
13
440 000
|
14 690 000
|
16 140 000
|
Total
|
46 633 900
|
50 306 681
|
54 339 957
|
57 923 201
|
Source
DHET Annual Performance Plan and Budget 2014/15
·
The department acknowledged
the current fiscal constraints of government in relation to the budget
pressures, capping of compensation of employees, reliance on funding from the National
Skills Fund (NSF) and donors and pressure in the management of TVET and AET
function shifts.
·
The department also reported
the under-spending on voted funds in 2013/14 was R1.9 million which
was as a result of outstanding payment claims
for examiners and moderators
·
The department received
unqualified audits to date.
d) Programme 1: Administration
Ms L
Mbobo: Deputy Director-General Corporate Services led this part of the
presentation and highlighted the following key issues:
·
Priorities for 2014/15
include; the finalisation of the departments communication strategy, reduction
of the vacancy rate on funded posts by 10%, ensuring good governance through
implementation of risk management strategies, ensuring adherence to policies
and provision of effective and efficient human resource planning and management
services.
e) Programme 2: Human Resource Development, Planning and
Monitoring Coordination
Mr F
Patel: Deputy Director-General HRD Planning and Monitoring Coordination led
this part of the presentation which highlighted the following key issues:
·
Priorities for 2014/15
include; management and maintenance of credible planning and budgeting process
for the department by developing APP and producing quarterly reports, provision
of accurate data on skills supply and demand
in the country, maintaining the higher education and training information management
system, pursuance of bilateral relations with priority countries, establishment
of a well-functioning social inclusion and transformation service within the
department and its entities and establishment of a coherent career management
and information service by March 2015.
·
Cabinet gave the Minister a
responsibility to develop a policy on career development and it would be communicated
with stakeholders by 31 March 2015.This programme would assist the Minister
with management of the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa
(HRDSA) which was chaired by the Deputy President.
·
The function shift of TVET
colleges and AET staff from provinces to the department would comprise of
additional approximately 38000 staff personnel and the department does not have
adequate resources to manage this function shift.
f) Programme 3: University Education
Dr E
van Staden:
Chief Director University
Academic Planning and Management Support led this part of the presentation
which highlighted the following key issues:
·
Priorities for 2014/15
include; support to universities in expansion of equitable access and success
in higher education which is the key focus of the department, monitoring of all
26 universities annually, support to NSFAS by providing earmarked grants and
ensuring effective oversight, enhancement and support to expand university
research capacity, expansion of health sciences education by developing a new
Health and Allied Sciences University incorporating the MEDUNSA campus of the
University of Limpopo and supporting the development of the new medical faculty
at the University of Limpopo and expanding the provision of initial teacher
education.
·
The department planned to
have a central applications system where students would pay a fee of R100 for
one application which would assist in gaining access to higher education and
training institutions.
·
A comprehensive plan was developed
to assist the sector with production of new generation of academics as it is largely
dominated by ageing academics.
·
A draft policy on
Professional Qualifications for Educators in Community and Adult Education and
Training was approved by the Minister and published for public comment.
·
The department would be
responsible for the Agricultural colleges which are currently under
jurisdiction of provinces. The department established a task team in
partnership with Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to oversee
the transitional arrangements and model transfer of the function shift.
·
The department experienced a
growth of 4.7 per cent of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) students per annum and 57
percent of enrolments in higher education were females. The new Health and
Allied Sciences University would be opened in 2015.
e) Programme 4: Vocational and Continuing Education and
Training
Ms G Magnus: Chief Director Vocational and
Continuing Education and Training led this part of the presentation which highlighted
the following key issues:
·
Priorities for 2014/15
include; facilitation of collaboration between Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) and TVET colleges towards delivery of learning programmes at level five
and six of the National Qualifications
Framework (NQF), registration of new private education institutions, monitoring
and supporting AET centres, development of the National Senior Certificates for
Adults (NASCA) for implementation in 2016/17, increasing access to programmes leading
to intermediate and high level learning, improving the vocational certification
rate of TVET college students, improve financial management of TVET colleges
through partnership with the South African Institute of Charted Accountants
(SAICA) and conclusion of the function shift process of migrating TVET colleges
and AET from provincial to national competence.
·
The target for total headcount
enrolment in TVET colleges by 31 December 2014 is 800 000 students.
·
The department would require
R1 billion for implementation of NASCA by 2016.
f) Programme 5: Skills Development
Mr Z Mvalo: Acting Deputy Director-General Skills
Development led this part of the presentation which highlighted the following
key issues:
·
The priorities for 2014/15
include; promotion of quality learning at work and for work, alignment of
skills development outputs with the needs of the workplace and the broader
growth needs of the countrys economy, approving the strategic plans of Sector
Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and ensuring they were in line with
the national skills planning priorities.
4.2 National Student Financial Aid Scheme
Mr M
Daca: Chief Executive Officer led the presentation which highlighted the
following key issues:
·
Since its inception in 1991,
NSFAS has disbursed more than R41.5 billion in loans and bursaries to 1.4
million students to date.
·
In 2013, NSFAS disbursed
R8.7 billion to 416 000 students at the 23 public universities and 50 TVET
colleges throughout the country.
·
NSFAS derives its mandate
from the NSFAS Act 56 of 1999.
·
The core mandate of NSFAS is
to provide financial aid to eligible students at public TVET colleges and
public universities in order to improve access and success in higher education
and training in particular for students from poor and working class families.
·
The new student centred
model was approved by Parliament in 2012 and this model would assist NSFAS to
have a direct relationship with the students unlike in the past where bursary
administration was managed by universities or TVET colleges on behalf of NSFAS.
Funding would be provided for a qualification, not one year of study at time.
·
NSFAS was concerned that despite
the increase in funds for financial aid during the previous Parliament, it
could only fund 50 percent of the students eligible for study loans and
bursaries.
·
Programme
1 Administration:
The total budget for this
programme is R102 million and its purpose is to conduct overall management of
the entity.
NSFAS is fully compliant
with relevant legislation and all prioritised policies and procedures were
approved. An improved audit outcome was as a result of good governance
principle in place. Employee performance management system would be
implemented. NSFAS targeted 60 percent of students to migrate to the new
centred model and 30 percent of students at migrated institutions applied online
in this current financial year.
Programme 2 Student
centred-financial aid:
The total budget for this
programme is R49 million and its purpose is to achieve the vision and mission
of the entity by creating a centralised student financial aid system and to
provide funding to eligible students whilst maximising recoveries to R467
million and secure two new sources of funding. NSFAS aimed to process 90
percent of claims to be paid within 30 days, reaching out to 36 no-fee schools,
to achieve improved student satisfaction.
Mr L
Nage: Chief Financial Officer led this part of the presentation which
highlighted the following key issues:
·
Budget:
The total budget for NSFAS for the 2014/15
financial year is R8.9 billion with administration (R151 million) accounting to
just 1 percent of the total budget. The DHET general allocation was R2.9
billion and other funding was sourced from different partnerships.
4.3 Council on Higher Education
Prof
T Mosia: Chairperson led the presentation which highlighted the following key
issues:
·
In terms of its policy
analysis imperative, the CHE provides advice to the Minister of Higher
Education and Training on request and proactively.
·
For the current financial
year, CHE would advise the Minister on; undergraduate degree / diploma
structure, governance challenges, including the role of independent assessors
and administrators as intervention mechanisms.
·
The publications planned for
2014/15 financial year included; Vital Stats Public Higher Education 2012 &
2013, Distance Education in the Digital Age, Twenty Year Review of Higher
Education and the State of Provision of Social Work.
·
The colloquia and workshops
planned for 2014/15 included; the Role of the Higher Education Qualifications
Council (HEQF) and Colloquium on Standards and Development.
Prof
B Thaver: Council Member led this part of the presentation which highlighted
the following key issues:
·
In terms of managing the
HEQSF and standards in higher education, CHE would continue with its pilot
projects in 2014/15. CHE was currently in discussion with pharmacy, nursing and
the built environment. The release of the pilot standards for public comment
would be implemented.
·
In terms of auditing the
quality assurance mechanisms of HEIs, CHE continued with assessment and
approval of institutional improvement plans.
·
Routine accreditation and
re-accreditation of programmes would continue during the 2014/15 financial
year. CHE has been collecting data from private and public higher education
institutions and certain programmes were not approved while others were
approved on condition.
·
The national review of
Bachelor of Social Work would be completed during the current financial year.
Preparations for national review of the LLB programme were under discussion.
Mr T
Mothusi: Chief Financial Officer led this part of the presentation which
highlighted the following key issues:
·
Budget:
The MTEF allocation of CHE was R42.6 million,
while the actual budget is R51.1 million leaving a shortfall of R8.4 million
(20%). The total budget shortfall would be R5.8 million when the standard
directorate grant budget was subtracted from the R8.4 million. The budget
shortfall would be funded from personnel savings, interest received and
accreditation revenue which amounted to R5.8 million. The CHE was seriously
concerned that MTEF allocations could no longer sustain the entity without
rollover of funds.
5. Observations
The Committee made
the following observations:
5.1 Department of Higher Education and Training
a) Overview by the Minister
·
It was noted with concern
that universities experience a serious challenge of shortage of student
accommodation and inadequate funding.
·
In relation to the remarks
by the Minister; the Committee recommended the alignment of the Departments
APP with the White Paper and further raised concerns
on inadequate accommodation in higher
education institutions, delays in issuing of outstanding NC(V) certificates in
TVET colleges and slow progress of differentiation in higher education
·
The Committee was concerned
with perceptions of TVET colleges as inferior to universities by the general
public and requested the department to develop mechanisms to make TVET
colleges attractive places of learning.
·
It was not noted with
concern that differentiation in higher education remained a challenge and the department
should intervene in this matter.
·
The Committee was seriously
concerned with the two acting positions of the Deputy Director-General (Skills
Development & University Education Branch).
b) Budget
·
The Committee requested for
a breakdown of the infrastructure allocation to universities.
·
The Committee was concerned
that the targeted growth of 150 000 in students enrolment for 2015 in TVET
colleges is not aligned to the current MTEF allocation.
·
It was noted that previously
disadvantaged universities require more allocation to address their
infrastructure backlog.
·
The department was requested
to allocate more funding for the training and development of artisans given the
fact that the economy was in short supply of their skills.
·
The department was commended
for receiving unqualified audit since its inception and it was requested to
improve to a clean audit.
c) Programme 1: Administration &
Programme 2: Human Resource Development, Planning and Monitoring Coordination
·
The Committee was concerned
that the department did not have adequate capacity to manage the migration of
approximately 38000 employees from TVET colleges and AET centres.
·
It was questioned as to
whether data integration of higher education institutions was achieved.
·
The department was requested
to explain its risk management strategy and whether it had an approved
organogram.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the number of unfilled funded critical posts as this might affect
implementation of the plan.
d) University Education
·
It was noted with concern
that growth in higher education was not commensurate with funding and this has
contributed to overcrowding in lecture rooms and staff demoralisation.
·
The department was informed
that it required more funding and staff personnel to execute its monitoring and
evaluation function effectively.
·
It was noted with concern
that more funding was allocated to previously disadvantaged universities and
research intensive institutions were inadequately funded.
·
The Committee was concerned
that enrolment targets set for Science Engineering and Technology (SET)
programmes were not achieved by the department.
·
The department was requested
to allocate more funding for postgraduates studies to develop a new generation
of academics.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the future role of the National Institutes for Higher Education (NIHEs) in
Mpumalanga and Northern Cape given the fact that the two new universities had
been opened in these provinces.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the exorbitant amounts spent on consultants by universities.
·
The department was requested
to review remuneration of academics especially the gaps in salaries between
lecturers and senior managers.
·
It was noted that funding for research
initiatives should be linked with community development as universities had
important role to play in nation building.
e) Programme 4: Vocational and Continuing
Education and Training
·
It was noted with concern
that TVET college students experienced challenges in accessing workplace for
work integrated learning to complete their qualifications.
·
The Committee requested for
a list of TVET colleges placed under administration.
·
The department was requested
to explain the role of CETCs in communities and timeframe for their
establishment.
·
The department was requested
to explain whether all college councils were fully functional and whether it
had funding for the construction of the 12 new TVET colleges campuses.
f) Programme 5: Skills Development
·
The department was requested
to explain whether it had met targets on training of artisans.
·
The department was requested
to explain monitoring and evaluation of SETAs.
5.2 National Student Financial Aid Scheme
·
The Committee was concerned
with the NSFAS budget shortfall in the short and medium term and the fact that
only half of the eligible students may be assisted with bursaries and loans.
·
It was noted with concern
that NSFAS did not assist students whose parents earned above the threshold
limit (R122 000 per annum) and yet they did not afford to pay tuition fees.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the new student centred model in particular; inadequate response to
student queries and centralisation of the application process.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the daily living allowances for off-campus students.
·
NSFAS was requested to
explain its student debt recovery rate and whether the partnership with other
government departments would assist in tracking of students profiles.
·
It was noted that the target
of reaching 36 no-fee schools for 2014/15 was inadequate given the fact that
learners in rural areas were not aware of NSFAS funding opportunities.
·
NSFAS was requested to
explain whether it had an approved organogram and whether there were penalties
imposed on students who failed their subjects.
·
The Committee was concerned
with student indebtedness as a barrier to access to higher education.
·
The Committee noted with
concern that it had become a norm that students protests at the beginning of
each academic year in HEIs on NSFAS related queries.
·
NSFAS was requested to
explain whether it had data of the students assisted since 1991 with over R41
billion.
·
NSFAS was requested to
explain the phasing out of the funding for B Tech students and whether
institutions which offered these programmes were consulted.
·
The Committee wanted to know
the timeframe for implementation of the one student one laptop campaign.
·
The Committee questioned whether
NSFAS had a risk management strategy in place and a risk manager.
·
The Committee was concerned
with how student satisfaction would be measured.
·
The Committee wanted to know
whether Financial Aid Offices would be retained when the new student centred
model was implemented.
·
The Committee was concerned
with how student financial appeals process would be accommodated in the new
student centred model.
·
The Committee took note of
differentiated fee structures which could disadvantage NSFAS beneficiaries.
·
The Committee was seriously
concerned with the allegations of corruption in administration of NSFAS
bursaries at HEIs level.
5.3 Council on Higher Education
·
The Committee requested for
copies of the latest CHE publications.
·
The Committee expressed
concern for what appeared to be a deficit budget in the presentation by CHE.
·
The Committee was seriously
concerned that some Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) offered programmes
that were unaccredited.
·
CHE was requested to explain
its vacancy rate and whether there were programmes where re-accreditation was
withdrawn.
·
The Committee was concerned
with the money spent on workshops and consultants by CHE.
6. Responses
The
department and its entities responded as follows:
6.1 Department of Higher Education and
Training
a) Overview
by the Minister
·
The Minister launched a Career
Guidance programme that would assist learners in getting more insight on
programmes offered at TVET colleges so that they could apply to study at these
colleges than universities. Negative perceptions of TVET colleges would
certainly change when TVET college graduates got permanent employment.
·
The department launched the
Apply Now campaign which targeted learners in Grade 10 -12 to apply on time. As
a result of this campaign, there were no stampedes reported in HEIs in
2013/14. Increased enrolment in TVET colleges was as a result of the successful
implementation of the Apply Now campaign. The central applications system would
be launched in future where students would pay one application fee for
admission at different institutions of higher learning.
·
The backlog in issuing outstanding
NC(V) certificates was caused by inadequate functioning of ICT system and the
challenge had since been addressed.
·
Differentiation in higher
education was a serious matter and the department would share with the
Committee its report on this matter.
·
Teacher training was now a responsibility
of the department and the training sites were linked to the universities.
·
The department would take
over the function of Agricultural Colleges from provinces shortly.
·
NSFAS beneficiaries were not
required to pay upfront fees required during registration, and any institution found
to be non-compliant should be reported to the department.
·
The Minister committed to
fill the vacant DDG posts before the end of the current financial year.
b)
Budget
·
The department had costs
containment and it would reprioritise its programmes owing to inadequate
funding received from Treasury.
·
The department established a
solid framework to prioritise TVET colleges and the investments made in TVET
colleges improved the quality of teaching and learning.
c)
Programme
1: Administration & Programme 2: Human Resource Development, Planning and
Monitoring Coordination
·
The department achieved the
target of integration of data of all its entities.
·
The Minister would consult
with the President on migration of employees from TVET colleges and AET sector
to the department. Currently, the department did not have adequate funding and
capacity to manage this function shift. The department requested the Committee
to recommend to the House in terms of the Money Bills for the department to get
more funding to manage the migration process.
·
The organogram of the
department was submitted to the Department of Public Service and Administration
(DPSA) for approval. According to the DPSA, the current composition of the
organogram would not assist the department in executing its mandate
effectively; hence the organogram had not yet been approved.
·
The department had a total
of 1039 posts, out of which 937 were filled and 72 were vacant (8%). An
additional 55 posts for career development service which was previously managed
by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) were advertised.
·
The department had a manager
for risk management at a Deputy Director level and risk assessments were
conducted. In addition, the department had a whistle blowing policy and fraud
prevention plan as part of its risk management strategy.
·
The department was compliant
with the 90 days period to conclude the disciplinary cases and in other
instances cases were delayed owing to unavailability of witnesses. The
Committee would be furnished with report on outstanding disciplinary cases.
With the function shift of the TVET colleges from the provincial to national
competence, the department inherited over 400 cases from TVET colleges to
resolve.
d)
Programme 3:
University Education
·
Universities were juristic
persons governed by Councils and enjoyed institutional autonomy in terms of
legislation. The department allocates funding to all universities and their
Councils decide on how that allocation would be spent.
·
The duration for the period
of administrators is regulated by law and their remuneration comes from the
universitys budget. Remuneration and conditions of service of employees of
universities were determined by Councils. The Minister was considering the
remuneration gap of academics in higher education.
·
The department achieved the
target of producing 9000 Engineers and it was working with the Engineering
Council of South Africa (ECSA) in improving this number.
·
Research intensive
institutions were not neglected by the department and received funding like
other universities. Furthermore, they receive part of their funding from the
Department of Science and Technology for research purposes.
·
The contents of the White
Paper on Post School Education and Training made provision for articulation
between TVET colleges and universities.
·
The role of the NIHEs was to
coordinate provision of higher education in the two provinces which previously
did not have universities (Mpumalanga and Northern Cape). Since the establishment
of the new universities, the functions of the NIHEs would come to an end. The
department was considering their dis-establishment in accordance with the
Higher Education Act. The NIHEs have submitted their phasing out plans; the
department established a Task Team to assist with the process.
·
Nation building through
research was being reviewed by the department. A study conducted by Brazil
ranked South African research at number one among BRICS countries in terms of
community impact. Impact of research to community development remained a
challenge since most of this funding came from international donors and had
specific terms of reference.
·
On the policy on
internationalisation, the department alluded that it does not have its own
policy and was guided by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol
on Education and Training. However, the process of developing such a policy is
underway.
e)
Programme 4: Vocational and Continuing Education and Training
·
The department placed eight TVET
colleges under administration and 13 TVET colleges were currently under forensic
investigation. Sanctions and dismissals had been imposed upon employees found
guilty.
·
The SAICA Support CFO partnership
was implemented to sustain good financial management at TVET colleges. The term
of the SAICA Support CFO was coming to an end and the department would decide
on the plan.
·
The Auditor-General would
audit 15 TVET colleges in the 2014/15 financial year.
·
Resistance by employers to
open up space for work integrated learning for TVET colleges and universities
of technology students remained a challenge for the department.
·
The management of these new
12 TVET college campuses will be the responsibility of the currently existing
colleges.
·
The department announced
that all 50 TVET colleges councils had been appointed.
·
The department requested
Treasury for additional funding for the construction of the 12 new TVET college
campuses.
f)
Programme 5: Skills Development
·
The department met its
target of enrolling 26 000 artisan trainees per year.
·
The National Skills Accord
signed by the department required employers to open up their workplace for work
integrated learning, internships, learnerships and employment for students.
·
The department monitored
SETAs on quarterly basis and it had signed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with
them.
5.2 National Student Financial Aid Scheme
·
The NSFAS board and the
department were seriously concerned with the missing middle and NSFAS was
currently developing a plan to assist these students and it would be submitted
to the Minister within six months.
·
The new student centred
model would have a profile of all students assisted by NSFAS unlike the old
model which did not have such details and it was piloted in eight universities
(Durban University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Sol
Plaatjie University, University of Mpumalanga, University of South Africa and
University of Venda) and five TVET colleges (Ekurhuleni East, King Hintsa,
Motheo, Umfolozi and South Cape).
·
The research on the one
student one laptop campaign was completed and the recommendations were
discussed with the Minister. However, there was no funding for the project
though discussions were still on-going.
·
The partnership between
NSFAS and government departments (Department of Home Affairs, Social
Development and South African Revenue Services) would assist in detecting fraudulent
information submitted by students during application for NSFAS bursaries.
·
The sBux voucher system
allocated different allowances to students and each allowance was linked to a
service provider. Students were not directly paid cash by NSFAS and they did
not require airtime to make transactions but only incurred cellphone charges to
view balances.
·
The Social Workers bursary
was administered by NSFAS on behalf of the Department of Social Development
which determined selection criteria of candidates for this programme.
·
The NSFAS budget shortfall
was a concern because applications for funding exceeded the available resources,
thus NSFAS could only fund 50 percent of the eligible students in the undergraduate
programmes.
·
NSFAS will only consider
funding only B Tech students in scarce skills programmes.
·
Research on private sector
bursaries had not yet been conducted, and NSFAS administers private bursary
funding on behalf of Nedbank.
·
The organogram structure of
NSFAS was approved by the board in August 2013 and with the new student centred
model, NSFAS would have to employ more people. NSFAS currently operated on one
percent for administration out of its total budget and this was not realistic
compared with other state agencies which utilised five percent of their total
budget on administration.
·
Students were required to
pay back their debt only after they had been permanently employed and earned a
minimum of R30 000 per annum. The interest rate charged by NSFAS on its loans
was four percent which was way below the 12 percent charged by commercial
banks, and40% of the loan was converted into a bursary if a student passed all
modules in the academic year.
·
A loan for the final year of
study is converted into bursary if a student passed all modules. NSFAS does not
fund failed and repeated subject.
·
The maximum amount that NSFAS
could allocate per student was R64 000 per academic year.
·
TVET college students were
given full bursaries by NSFAS which they were not required to pay back upon
completion of their studies.
·
Since 2010, NSFAS had been
receiving unqualified audit opinions and there were no allegations of
corruption reported to the board. However, at institutions level, there were
reported cases of corruption especially by students who submitted fraudulent
information.
·
The Financial Aid Offices in
universities would not be closed as a result of the new student centred model.
·
It was noted that based on
the findings of the Ministerial Working Group on Fee Free University Education
report, NSFAS would require
R30 billion
to fund all eligible students based on the inclusive set of criteria.
·
The current NSFAS budget
shortfall for eligible students was not provided to the Committee.
·
The Board sub-committee
approved the risk management policy of NSFAS and the CFO was the risk officer.
6.3 Council on Higher Education
·
The CHE would furnish the
Committee with its latest publications.
·
The vacancy rate at CHE was
9 percent and the total posts were 53 out of which 49 were filled with staff
personnel and four vacant posts had been advertised. Remuneration offered by
CHE did not compete with what universities offered hence it took long to fill
vacant posts.
·
CHE heavily relies on peers
in higher education to conduct its work hence a larger allocation for consultants.
·
CHE accredits full
qualification unlike SAQA which specifically accredited unit standards.
·
Spending on goods and
services covered the costs of the workshops that CHE conducts as part of its
work.
·
The department noted that
restrictions imposed on virements of funds by Treasury did not apply to public
entities.
·
The budget deficit for the
entity would be covered from other additional sources of income which were not
highlighted in its budget presentation to the Committee. Treasury had approved
rollover of unspent funds from the previous financial year so that CHE can
address the budget shortfall.
7. Recommendations
The
Committee having considered the APP 2014/15 and Budget of the department, NSFAS
and CHE recommends to the Minister as follows:
·
Additional funding is required
overall for the department to execute its mandate effectively; specifically for
migration of TVET colleges and Adult Education and Training (AET) employees to
national competence, establishment of regional offices for access and
monitoring of TVET colleges, construction of 12 new TVET college campuses, filling
of outstanding posts and taking over of Agricultural colleges and their
employees and for funding of SAQA budget shortfall.
·
Additional funding should be
allocated to address the challenge of infrastructure backlogs in universities.
·
The department should
prioritise the finalisation of over 400 Labour Relations cases inherited from
TVET colleges.
·
Finalisation of the
departments organogram should be prioritised, including the filling of two DDG
posts.
·
The department should enrol
a realistic number of students at TVET colleges for quality teaching and
learning, given the current budget and infrastructure constraints.
·
The Minister should ensure
that implementation of articulation of TVET college graduates for both the National
Certificate Vocational NC(V) and Report 191 programmes is realised.
·
The Minister should ensure
that the department develops its own policy to regulate internationalisation at
universities and also to monitor that universities adhere to the SADC Protocol
on Education and Training Article 7 (A) 1.
·
Academic research by
universities should ideally consider community engagement where appropriate.
·
For NSFAS to execute its
mandate effectively; more funding was required specifically for funding for
total cost of study for all needy students both in the short and medium term and
for the one student one laptop campaign.
·
NSFAS should develop a plan
within six months to assist the students whose parents earned above the
threshold limit but cannot afford the cost of higher education.
·
NSFAS target to reach out to
36 no-fee schools should be extended to all rural schools.
·
A student satisfaction
mechanism for a student-centred model should be developed and fast-tracked.
·
The cellphone charges
incurred by students to view the sBux balances
should be
addressed by NSFAS.
·
NSFAS should review and
strengthen fraud prevention strategy to take necessary measures in preventing
recurrence of fraudulent activities.
·
The NSFAS turn-around time
for appeals processes should be expedited.
·
The current MTEF budget was
not adequate for the CHE to carry out its mandate effectively and there is a
need for additional funding for the entity to effectively execute its mandate.
·
CHE should embark on cost
containment measures in particular on catering and workshops.
The majority
of the Committee accepted the Annual Performance Plans 2014/15 of the
Department of Higher Education and Training, National Student Financial Aid
Scheme and Council on Higher Education with the above-mentioned
recommendations.
Report to be considered.
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