Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr BE Nzimande, MP on the publication of the Draft Social Inclusion Policy Framework in the Government Gazette for public comment
The Department of Higher Education and Training has, since its inception after the 2009 democratic elections in South Africa, prioritised the strengthening of transformation in the Post-School Education and Training System (PSET). The transformation agenda of the department is articulated in all our Strategic Plans, the Green Paper on Post-School Education and Training (2012), the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training (2013) and relevant legislation.
It is based on the following priorities;
- Race;
- Class;
- Disability;
- Gender;
- HIV and AIDS;
- Age;
- Geography and
- Citizenship.
The mandate of the department is based on the Constitution of the Republic (Act 108 of 1996), which enshrines the Bill of Rights in Chapter 2 and commits all South Africans to work for an inclusive, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa.
It is therefore the policy position of the department that a legitimate Post-School Education and Training System should address the inequalities of the past in a proactive and inclusive manner; hence the department has decided to develop a Social Inclusion Policy Framework that will serve as a guide for all public educational institutions reporting to the department. This Draft Social Inclusion Policy Framework is based on lived experiences of South Africans and aims to cut across group identities in empowering citizens for a constructive role in the development of a new society based on anti-racism and anti-discrimination.
In my budget vote speech of July 2014, I pointed out that there was no room for ethnicity and racism in the Post-School Education and Training System. The intention of this policy framework is to ensure that educational institutions recognise and promote integration, a culture of human rights, unity in diversity as well as human dignity. This, however, cannot be achieved without the commitment of individual South Africans and relevant civil society organisations to the values of a non-racial society and an inclusive Post-School Education and Training System as articulated in the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training (2013).
This Draft Policy Framework recognises the complex and dynamic challenges facing the Post-School Education and Training System and young South Africans. Well-planned career guidance intervention strategies and properly resourced institutions of learning would go a long way in reducing student dropout, lack of skills and general alienation. Deliberate and interventionist steps should be taken in improving educational opportunities in rural areas in order to address the geographical inequalities in the provision of Post-School Education and Training. This social inclusion policy framework maintains that the educational system should adequately respond to the National Development Plan –Vision 2030, the human resource development strategy, the national skills development strategy and the industrial policy of government.
Institutions should equally focus on the nurturing of student experiences on campuses in preparation for a positive role in a democratic South Africa. That is why our student bodies and the broader student community should be trained in democratic forms of student leadership. We also call for better student-student interaction and lecturer-student interaction. This Social Inclusion Policy Framework calls on Technical Vocational Education and Training Colleges and Universities to introduce Foundational programmes that enhance Constitutional values and diversity.
We also call on institutions to introduce concrete progressive changes in the administration of students’ hostels. It has been observed that certain institutions implement policies that exclude students from specific racial groups. These exclusionary practices cannot be allowed to continue as they are a manifestation of discriminatory practices and have a negative impact on students’ academic performance and integration.
The department has developed a Calendar of Significant Days and sent it to institutions in order to ensure that our institutions promote social cohesion on Significant Days such as Human Rights Day, Youth Day, Freedom Day and Women’s Day. We are of the view that an understanding of our shared past is critical in the building of a new South Africa. In the same vein, this policy framework endorses the development of African languages as languages of the academia and identifies the Human and Social Sciences (HSS) Report of the department as an important contribution to the democratisation of knowledge production in our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as it links South Africa with the entire world and other knowledge systems- including those of Africans in the Diaspora.
As Minister of Higher Education and Training, I have a constitutional obligation to report to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Commission for the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission).We will also work with all sister departments and like-minded social partners in developing social cohesion and inclusion in the country. Under this policy framework, we will further strive to domesticate regional and international instruments aimed at building a better world based on human dignity and social justice.
This Social Inclusion Policy Framework calls for the strengthening of Disability Units, the development of institutional disability policies, functional Transformation Offices with clear mandates, programmes, monitoring and reporting systems. The department will work closely with institutions in ensuring that gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination are eradicated in our public educational institutions. This framework advocates the training of both academic and administrative staff in human rights, gender and disability issues in order to ensure inclusion.
It is a proven view that an educational system that excludes the majority of its citizens will not serve the aspirations of a democratic society and could only perpetuate inequality and strife. The Social Inclusion Policy Framework calls for access to Post-School Education and Training and the effective implementation and monitoring of empowering instruments such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), NSFAS funding for students with Disability and National Skills Fund (NSF) with the aim of ensuring that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are not excluded from the education system.
This Social Inclusion Policy Framework stands for an honest and constructive dialogue on issues such as the admission policies and the points system at Universities. It is the considered view of this policy framework that the points system should not be used to hinder access to Post-School Education and Training institutions.
The entire draft Social Inclusion Policy Framework will be published soon in the Government Gazette and all South Africans are encouraged to send public comments to the department as education is a societal issue and one of the national priorities of Government.
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E-mail: Nkwanyana.K@dhet.gov.za
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