The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande address on the occasion of the KwaZulu-Natal launch of the 2023 Tertiary Institutions Youth Campaign held at Umfolozi TVET College, Eshowe Campus
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, Commissioner Glen Mashinini;
KZN Provincial Electoral Officer, Mrs Ntombifuthi Masinga; uMfolozi TVET College, Council Chairperson, Mr Sanele Zondi; uMfolozi TVET College Rector, Mr B.M. Jacobs;
uMfolozi TVET College, eShowe Campus SRC President, Mr L. Mthethwa; Distinguished guests;
Members of the media Good morning!
It is my pleasure and honour to be joining you today on the occasion of the KwaZulu Natal launch of the 2023 Tertiary Institutions Youth Campaign held here at uMfolozi TVET College, Eshowe campus.
This provincial launch follows the national launch which was held at Rhodes University, in the Eastern Cape on 7 March 2023.
I must say as a Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation I am grateful to be associated with a campaign whose objectives are to:
- Promote a civic culture of ongoing engagements and exchange of ideas within institutions of higher learning through targeted CDE programmes;
- Engage students’ views about electoral democracy and impact of participation thereof through debates;
- Promote Online Voter Registration to students within institutions of higher learning across the Republic;
- Conduct on-campus voter registration using the Voter Management Device and;
- Empower the students’ electorate with information to participate meaningfully in democratic & electoral processes.
Ladies and gentlemen
The Department of Higher Education and Training seeks to improve the capacity of the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system to meet the skills needs and development of the country.
The Department has oversight over four main categories of PSET institutions, namely: public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges; Community Education and Training (CET) colleges and private colleges.
In 2020, our Post-School Education and Training system had 343 institutions namely: 26 public Higher Education Institutions, 132 private Higher Education Institutions, 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, 126 registered private colleges and 9 Community Education and Training (CET) colleges.
Tomorrow, we will be publicly releasing the 2021 statistics on the Post School Education and Training in our country. However for the purposes of our engagement today, the 2020 statistics is of relevance.
By 2022, our enrolment in Post-School Education and Training Institutions stands as follows:
a) Over 1.3 million students enrolled at public and private HEIs in 2020, with the majority of enrolments in public HEIs (1 094 808) while private HEIs enrolled 219 031 students. The target in the National Development Plan (NDP) is 1.6 million enrolments by 2030.
b) The majority of students in public HEIs enrolled through the contact mode (682 440 or 62.3%), while 412 368 or 37.7% enrolled through the distance mode of learning.
c) Enrolment in TVET colleges reached 452 277 in 2020, reflecting a 32.8%
or 221 213 decrease when compared with 2019 (673 490). This number reflects a count of students enrolled in each enrolment cycle (there are six
enrolment cycles at TVET colleges). The NDP indicates that headcount enrolment in TVET colleges should reach 2.5 million by 2030.
d) There were 142 538 students enrolled in CET colleges in 2020. The NDP target for enrolment in this sector is 1 million students by 2030.
e) Students enrolled in private colleges were 96 754 in 2020, and this figure represents enrolment in 107 out of 126 private colleges registered with the Department in 2020.
Through our Community Colleges this year we have introduced a new programme on Civic Education which teach the importance of protecting and supporting South Africa’s democracy and fostering better understanding of citizens roles and responsibilities.
Some of the topics covered will include: Human rights, Constitutional rights, Voting as a Right and Responsibility, Countering Racism, Stigma and Discrimination.
My other entity, Higher Health will is currently rolling out new digital National HIGHER HEALTH Civic and Health Skills Co-Curriculum which is an NQF level-5 accredited qualification through a tripartite partnership between HIGHER HEALTH, the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) – with dedicated gender studies module of five (5) credits as well as mental health, disability.
Commissioner Mashinini, I am giving you these statistics and information to indicate that our Post School Education and Training (PSET) is more than ready and available to work with the IEC on this campaign.
Let me preface my speech today by a quote by Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1884 at the height of the American Civil War. Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he called government of the people, by the people, for the people’. Indeed, over many decades, this concept has been regarded as the genesis of the democratic concept.
In South Africa, the Bill of Rights in our Constitution grants all citizens aged 18 and older the right to vote.
The reality is that young people need to take a stand and constructively engage on socio-political issues. No country can succeed if it does not invest in the future of young people to become tomorrow’s leaders.
Our Bill of Rights is a fundamental tenet in our Constitution to ensure that all South Africans enjoys their freedoms.
Section 19 (3) of the Bill of Rights states that “every adult citizen has the right to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution and do so in secret”.
Section 19(3) provides that every adult citizen has the right:
- To vote in elections for any legislative body... and to do so in secret; and
- To stand for public office and, if elected to hold office.
In order to ensure universal adult suffrage guaranteed by the Constitution, and the enjoyment of the full spectrum of political life essential to democracy, the Preamble and the Founding Provisions must be read together with other constitutionally entrenched rights. These rights include:
- Freedom of conscience and opinion (s 15).
- Freedom of expression (s 16).
- Freedom of assembly (s 17).
- Freedom of association (18).
- Freedom of movement (s 21).
Ladies and gentlemen
Our gathering today comes in a month in which we celebrate Human Rights. This is the month in which as South Africa we pay tribute to those men and women who had the foresight to proclaim that all people in this country have inalienable human rights.
The theme for Human Rights month this year is: ‘Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future.’
Since the advent of democracy, successive administrations have done much to ensure the progressive realisation of these rights for all South Africans.
The expanding provision of basic services to households has been one of the most important interventions to improve the lives of all South Africans.
According to Statistics South Africa, access to water and sanitation, electricity, housing and other services like waste removal has increased steadily over the last three decades.
Around two million indigent households receive free basic water, free basic electricity and free solid waste removal.
Yet, despite this progress, there are still many people who do not have access to all of these services. Many people live in informal settlements without adequate housing, water or sanitation.
In some municipalities, the provision of these services is unreliable. There are times when water is not provided or is of poor quality, or where refuse is not collected.
The failure to provide adequate services consistently is a human rights issue.
That is why our government is working to improve the functioning of local government, which carries the greatest responsibility for the provision of these services.
Another significant intervention against poverty is the provision of social grants, which are the main source of income for about a quarter of households.
Just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants in 1999. Today, over 18 million people are receiving these grants.
To relieve the pressure on poor households during COVID-19, government introduced the special R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. While this grant has been extended to the end of March 2024, work is underway to provide basic income support for the most vulnerable within the country’s fiscal constraints.
As part of a commitment to expand access to higher education for students from poor and working class backgrounds the number of students funded by NSFAS increased from 580,000 in 2018 to 770,000 in 2021 and for the current financial year, NSFAS has approved the provisional funding of a record of 1,083,055 students. Our budget is projected to be around 47.6 billion.
This illustrates the strong commitment by the ANC government to expand access to the PSET.
Furthermore, to improve the student access to their allowances, NSFAS has introduced a NSFAS Bank account to ensure that beneficiaries are paid directly and on time by eliminating third party dependencies.
Despite this, as we saw in the last few weeks, many students are still experiencing difficulties in funding their studies, accommodation and living expenses.
This is the reason that this year, government plans to finalise the Comprehensive Student Funding Model for post school education and training. This model will ensure that funding is mobilised to reach those who don’t meet the NSFAS criteria.
It is indeed undeniable that if we are to advance and secure these social and economic rights into the future then we need to tackle poverty and inequality. We need to create employment and economic opportunity.
To achieve this, we need to grow our economy and achieve far greater levels of investment.
Youth at the front
Programme Director
Frantz Fanon, in his seminal work titled “The Wretched of the Earth”, argued that every generation has a responsibility to take a stand against social injustice.
The youth of the 1970s critique the apartheid government in South Africa. Black Consciousness motivated the youth of 1976 to engage in mass action. The youth of 1976 were inspired by, amongst others, the youth of the 1940s who established the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), whose leaders included Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Robert Sobukwe, Walter Sisulu and Anton Lembede.
Forty-seven years ago, on June 16 1976, thousands of Soweto high school learners took to the streets to protest against the government’s intention to impose Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black schools.
After 1976, many young people left the country to go into exile. Since their aim was to take South Africa by means of an armed struggle, they received military training. Some of them died in exile and others were hanged in South Africa.
Young people in post-apartheid South Africa need to honour these heroes by participating in politics. If young people today do not participate in politics, it would mean that they do not acknowledge the contribution and sacrifices made by the youth of 1976.
More importantly, our youth must pursue education. As our former President Nelson Mandela says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Education is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace.
For our youth to take over this country and its economy, they first need to be educated then we will be certain that they will be taking this country to prosperity.
Ladies and gentlemen
Post-Apartheid South Africa
The advent of democracy in post-apartheid South Africa has fundamentally changed the political landscape. Firstly, at this juncture young people in South Africa have rights; they can decide whether or not to participate in politics, unlike in the past where the political environment required people to be active.
Secondly, some aspects of globalisation have influenced the thinking of many young people in South Africa in relation to politics. By and large, most young people in the post-apartheid era idolise the American lifestyle informed by neo-liberalism, consumerism and globalisation.
However I must indicate that, in approaching the subject, there is a need to understand the complex interplay of race, class and the imperial project.
In this regard, the conceptual suggestiveness of Marxian political economic extraction is of distinct use, or otherwise, the debate is grounded in a structured set of factors, overdetermined by the construction of race. For the purpose of our gathering today, I will not go deeper in into the Marxian political economic extraction.
The effects and abnormalities of racism have also be naturalised and normalised by some in society. For instance, there is a tendency to presuppose that a black person is no good but to work for a white person.
This line of thinking is informed by the racist thinking that black people were made to work for white people only.
Even though some of the black people who are bearing the brunt of economic exploitation have accepted their exploitation as a natural phenomenon as opposed to challenging the status quo. This demonstrates how sophisticated racism can be in society.
The fundamental question that we have to ask today, is how do we ensure that we lead the changes we want to see in our country now and for future generations. This is where the power of a franchised society is powerful. This is what our founding father of our democracy fought for.
Research study on Political apathy amongst students
Ladies and gentlemen
In a research study on Political apathy amongst students: A case study of the Nelson Mandela University by Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Gavin Bradshaw and Richard Hainess published on the 4th September 2017.
The participants in the focus groups were asked whether they had participated in a local or national election.
The principal researcher explained to the participants what is democracy, freedom, voter education and political campaigning. This aspect is important because elections are a cornerstone of democracy; without elections there is no democracy.
Most participants in the focus groups indicated that they had never voted before in local or national elections, even though they had been eligible to vote.
This aspect is emphasised by the following answers:
‘Voting turnout in the 1999 and 2004 elections was very low amongst young people. This evidence leads one to arrive at the conclusion that political apathy amongst young people does exist in South Africa.’ (Male, Nelson Mandela University (NMU) third year political science student)
‘Political parties are not doing enough to encourage young people to vote for them.’ (Female, Nelson Mandela University (NMU) second year sociology student).
On the other hand, all participants indicated that they would like to vote in the coming elections. However, one young woman felt that there was no point for young people to vote if politicians were not going to deliver on their promises.
Registering to vote and voting
Ladies and gentlemen, based on the purpose of our gathering today, we need to ask one fundamental question as to whether registering to vote and ultimately voting will really make a difference.
The answer is of course it does! Voting gives you an opportunity to be part of decision- making that affects your life and the future of our country. If you don't vote, others will make the decisions for you.
History shows that democracies in danger of losing their freedom register frighteningly low voter turnouts. In thriving democracies, people vote in large numbers and the people's voice remains supreme.
I however remain concern about the reports that it seems more students are losing interest in voting for the Student Representative Council (SRC) because they don’t think their votes bring about change.
I therefore want to challenge the University management, together working together with the South Africa Union of Students (SAUS) and the South African Technical Vocational and Training Student Association (SATVETSA) to deal with this challenge of lack of apathy to participate in student elections and politics.
However, here are our top reasons that the IEC has sponsored on why we should vote:
Because you can!
You may take your right to vote and all other rights in our constitution for granted, but 25 years ago most of the people in our country were not allowed to vote. Many of them were arrested and jailed for demanding this most basic human right. Others were tortured and killed. Because of their sacrifice, today you can vote simply by presenting yourself at a voting station with your ID during a registration event that puts you on the voters' roll for life, and lets you vote in every future general and by-election in your area.
Elections have consequences
You have the power to decide on the quality of life you want for yourself and your community, and even future generations. Voting is your chance to stand up for the issues you care about. This is your life: take the time to help decide what's best. Voting - rather than just venting on social media or protesting – is the best way to make your voice heard and make a positive input on the issues that concern you.
Not voting is giving up your voice
Elections are decided by the people who go out and vote. If you don't vote, someone else will make the decision for you. If you don't vote you get stuck with other people's choices – and you can't even complain about it because you let it happen! By participating in the electoral process as a voter, you get a say in how things are done for the next five years. Your power is in your vote.
It's your money
You pay taxes (even when you just buy a loaf of bread), but do you know how that money is being spent? Most people don't. Voting is your chance to choose how your taxes are spent – such as funding for social services, healthcare and schooling.
Democracy needs you!
Democracy only works if people participate. That sounds obvious, but unless people actively participate in the process, democracy doesn't work. It takes constant renewal among citizens to make democracy flourish.
Voting is an opportunity for change
If you're thinking that right now you've got better things to do with your time and you'll vote next time, think again! Five years is a long time to be stuck with something that you don't want or doesn't work.
Just imagine what it would be like to be stuck with the same cellphone for five years, especially one with limited features. Just think how many cellphone upgrades you are going to get before you get the chance to upgrade your government!
Our generation knows best
Technology and connectivity means that our generation is probably the best informed and equipped to vote in South Africa's history. Social media and the internet is giving us access to information which previous generations of voters didn't have. You are becoming the experts ahead of your parents and grandparents. Use that expertise to make sure our country heads in the right direction!
In conclusion
Let me take this opportunity to thank the Electoral Commission of South Africa for involving all our post school education and training institutions to launch this Annual Tertiary Institutions Civic and Democracy Education (CDE) Youth Campaign here at uMfolozi TVET College.
Thank you very much
