Address by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr BE Nzimande during the Professional Development of TVET College Campus Managers workshop
The Deputy Director-General, Mr Firoz Patel
The Principal of False Bay TVET College, Mr Cassie Kruger
Participants of Phase One of the Professional Development of Campus Managers
Officials of the Department of Higher Education and Training
TVET College Principals, Deputy Principals and other College Managers
Invited Guests
Ladies and gentlemen and
Members of the media
Good afternoon
Firstly I want to congratulate all the Campus Managers who have been part of Phase One of the Professional Development of Campus Managers over the last year.
I would like to acknowledge that amongst you, are men and women who some are from the remotest parts of our country, you are managing campus sites in areas where infrastructure that many of us in urban areas take for granted, does not exist.
In spite of the severe challenges in funding TVET Colleges have been able to keep the system going. Campuses are the beating heart of our system and Campus Managers are required to manage a myriad of issues and challenges at the coalface, you are truly the work engine of our system.
As you are aware we are governed by the CET Act (2006) as amended and we must abide by it. Given that this is the case, the implementation of the policies must take into account the local conditions in which your campus is found.
The quality of the education a student receives in a rural based campus should not be different from the quality of education received by a student in an urban based campus.
The programmes that we offer may differ, but the quality of the teaching and learning must be the same. Regardless of whether a young person is a student in Nqutu, Lusikisiki or in Germiston, the quality of the teaching must be equally good.
It does not matter which TVET college or campus a student studies at, he or she must, for example, receive his or her learning materials such as textbooks, on the day lectures commence. All colleges receive resources to enable such a provision.
It cannot be that at a rural campus a student can expect to receive their text books at a later date. A Campus Manager in an area where there are no suppliers close by, has to plan differently to a Campus Manager located in large city, however both Campus Managers must have textbooks ready for distribution with the commencement of a course.
All students regardless of where they study, write the same examination. Your students should not be disadvantaged because you did not take the local conditions into account.
I am aware that amongst you are Campus Managers whose campuses are located in areas that do not always have running water. The Centane Campus, in Macibe in the Eastern Cape, for example, is located in an area that has not had regular running water since June last year.
This is not due to any fault of the Campus Manager, but due to the drought.
However a hardworking and committed Campus Manager, like many of you present here, did not use this as an excuse not to deliver quality education.
Instead Ms Koboka has put in place measures that are innovative during these difficult circumstances by ensuring that quality education is delivered at her campus. She did not sit back and siyakubonga lokhu kuzinikela okungaka and I am sure there are others who go an extra mile under challenging situations.
Our young people should not be disadvantaged because of where they were born or where they live. For many of the students in our colleges, they are the first generation in their families to be in a post school institution.
Their education and employment is their family’s only hope of getting out of poverty – particularly young people from rural areas. As Campus Managers you have a huge role to play in breaking the historical path curved out by colonialism and apartheid for young people, a path that condemns them to a life of poverty, as did their fathers and mothers before them.
Good management of your site of delivery can play a critical role in breaking the cycle, by giving the poorest of the poor an opportunity to better their lives. Our government has provided the resources and with good management by you, you can help end poverty in many families.
You have an opportunity to make a significant contribution in building the country. I see your role as the managers of institutions that have a major role in the economic transformation of our country. You are the people who are able to change the slogans into reality - so here is some simple advice:
Begin with a close examination of the area in which your campus in located.
- What are the opportunities for employment in the local area? You may find that there are no big industries in area. However this does not mean the end. Every community has needs.
- What are some of the basic services and goods needed by the community? Can these be offered by students graduating from your campus?
- Find out what the strengths are in your area – you will find that they exist even in the most remote areas. Build on them; be creative.
- Can your students do their work placement in the local community? Do not only rely on text books for the answers. Be innovative. My Department, through this Project will support you in developing links between your campus and the local community.
Take the needs of the local community into account when choosing programmes at your campus.
Programmes which may be new to your college and you may find that you have to motivate to your central office as to why your campus would like to offer certain courses. By doing this you will be creating opportunities for employment for students graduating from your campus.
You need to ask yourself why most of the students on your campus are doing ‘Office Management’, if there are few offices in your local area.
Also be creative about how you can encourage businesses to support your initiatives. One may ask how is it that some of campuses can afford to have world class workshops and facilities.
Do they get more money from the department? No, they do not. Speak to managers who are present here and they will tell you that many companies are willing to sponsor our sector. However they will also tell you that: “no sponsor is willing to fund a poorly managed institution”.
So managers, it is up you to show potential sponsors and partners that you manage a good campus and that if they partner with you both your campus and their businesses will benefit.
Some of our colleges have cultivated and built networks over many years. Whilst many amongst you may not have been fortunate in inheriting such networks, you can begin building those partnerships.
During a recent visit to Umgungundlovu TVET College in Pietermaritzburg, I was told by the Campus Manager of Midlands Campus, that she had been approached by the Campus Manager of Ntabozuko Campus - King Sabata Dalindyebo TVET College in the Eastern Cape Province. They had met through this project.
The Ntabozuko Campus Manager and his team travelled from his campus which is 50 km past Elliot in the Eastern Cape, to share and learn from the experiences of the KZN Campus in delivering the ‘Transport and Logistics’ programme.
This shows that you do not have to work in isolation, or invent processes from scratch. This sector has a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Let us work together.
I am told that one of the successes of this Project is that it has built a strong Community of Practice amongst you in this first phase of the Project. I am told that you have been sharing resources and experiences, and at times how to respond to challenges.
I suppose it sometimes helps to know that yours is not the only Campus to be shut down by students. It makes you realise that whether you are a Campus Manager of Seshego Campus in Limpopo or Bellville Campus in the Western Cape you have similar issues and that you can share strategies. You are not alone.
As part of the second phase 110 more Campus Managers will be added to the Project to make a total of 150 Campuses Managers. This will mean that there will be more opportunities to meet, share and work more closely with Campus Managers that are located closer to you.
I am not saying that Ntabozuko and Midlands should no longer work to together, if anything I am urging you to meet and support each other across regions and provincial boundaries.
For example a Campus Manager of East Cape Midlands TVET College may find it more accessible working with South Cape TVET College, than they may with a college in the northern part of the same province.
It might be that campuses from different provinces where they have a common employer such as a mining company may want to come together and share strategies and practices. The same may apply to campuses offering agriculture for example.
Use this Project to assist you in making those contacts and building Communities of Practice. In other words I am asking you not to restrict your ‘Communities of Practice’ to your province or regions.
Central to this project and what makes this project different from many others is that it is built on experts from within the TVET College sector.
I wish to thank all the Principals and Deputy Principals who have headed the different Task Teams and for hours spent working voluntarily in conceptualising and delivering the training. Your commitment to building a stronger TVET College Sector is acknowledged.
Siyanibonga kakhulu.
I would also like to thank the 15 Regional Officials who were part of this Project and the Project Team who have been supporting the Campus Managers in implementing their ‘Campus Improvement Plans’ (CIPs). I am told that the beneficiaries have not only been the Campus Managers, but also my officials.
Visiting and supporting you at your campus made them realise some of the challenging conditions that many of you, who manage particularly campuses in remote rural areas, are faced with. I would also like to thank Ms Patsy Garza the Project Manager of our turnaround strategy of which Campus Managers Training is a part.
Finally I want to reiterate my request to you:
Be innovative, while adhering to departmental policies, in providing our young people with opportunities to improve their economic conditions and break out of the cycle of poverty.
Let us be judged as the men and women who worked in different part of the country and who were instrumental in transforming our country’s economic and social landscape. As Campus Managers, you have the power to allow our young people to break from the historical path of apartheid that resulted in economic exclusion.
This exclusion condemned our people to a life of poverty. You can change this by managing your campus effectively and in ensuring that there is quality teaching and learning taking place.
It is you who through your commitment and hard work will ensure that our young people will no longer be seen as cheap, unskilled labour, but that they receive quality technical and vocational education that gives them the opportunity to acquire intermediate and advanced technical skills.
I wish you well as you enter into Phase Two of the Project. Make your Campuses centres that transform not only individual lives, but whole communities.
Thank you.
