Honourable Speaker
Cabinet Colleagues
Chairperson of Portfolio Committee
Honourable members
I believe that the Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Bill is an important piece of legislation towards strengthening and re-positioning the Further Education and Training (FET) College sector to be at the centre of skills development in our country, especially to absorb the millions of our youth which is out of school or has completed a certain number of minimum years at school.
This legislation must be seen within the context of many other measures being undertaken by my department to strengthen and re-align institutions in the post-school education and training landscape, especially the closer alignment of FET colleges with employers, both in the public and private sector, the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), Universities and the labour movement.
Function shift
Honourable members, you are well aware that the establishment of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) following the proclamation by the President of the Republic in 2009 necessitated the shifting of the Adult Education and Training (AET) as well as the FET Colleges functions from Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to the DHET.
The shift in the functions is proceeding and will go hand in hand with the implementation of the Amendments to the Bill. The Director-General has established the necessary mechanisms, assisted by the National Treasury, to ensure a smooth transition.
Honourable members, I also wish to inform you that this bill has been preceded by unanimous support to the Presidential Proclamation by all the MECs of Education, as well as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between myself and the 9 MECs. The national FET Summit, held last year representing all the key stakeholders, as well as the representatives from the 9 provincial governments, unanimously endorsed the shift of responsibility for colleges to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
The second objective of this legislation is regularise the employment of college staff in order to provide stability and enhance retention of staff employed in the Further Education and Training College Sector. This will be a major improvement in our work towards the development and expansion of a vibrant college sector. To date the sector has not been able to effectively retain its skilled work-force, as jobs in colleges are seen as not secure. The exodus of experienced and qualified staff from the sector, mainly as a result of changes in employment conditions when the current FET Colleges landscape was crafted, have made it difficult to achieve the important goal of building a skilled workforce in the country.
The amendments to the Bill therefore provide the opportunity for the majority of staff in the college sector to be employees of the state. Their conditions of service will be regulated in terms of the Public Service Act in the same way as is provided for other professionals working for the state.
It is worth reflecting on the dual role of the department and colleges as employers. This existed before the current legislation and it is desirable to have that status retained enabling colleges to create additional posts and act as an employer where necessary. However, the majority of staff in a college will be employed by the state. Even college-employed staff cannot have unfavourable conditions of service when compared to their counter-parts in the public service.
Bargaining processes
Honourable members, the bill also resolves the current complexity of the bargaining processes.
The current arrangements make it difficult to deal with bargaining processes and the amendments seek to intervene in this regard. The new legislation will ensure that only the Minister may provide a mandate on issues of mutual interest.
Implementation of the FETC Amendments Bill
Honourable members, the implementation of the Bill will be phased in, and a number of clauses in the Bill which will come into effect on a date still to be determined and published at an appropriate time. This will allow all relevant stakeholders to participate in the processes leading to the full implementation of all provisions of the Act especially relating to staffing issues.
I would like to end with a word of thanks to all stakeholders who made presentations on the features of the two Bills.
Thank you.
