Address by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Nzimande on the occasion of the send-off and congratulatory colloquium for phase 1 and phase 2 New Generation of Academics Programme (ngap) lecturers held at Emperors Palace
12 April 2023
The Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi;
The Deputy Director-Generals of the Department of Higher Education and Training; Professor Andre Keet representing Professor Sibongile Muthwa, Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, the Implementation Support Partner for the implementation of the New Generation of Academics programme;
Ms George Barrett, the Country Director (South Africa) for the British Council, a partner in implementing the nGAP;
Professor Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation, also a partner in the implementation of the nGAP; Vice-Chancellors and Deputy Vice Chancellors from our universities; Representatives of our universities;
Department officials; Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good day
Today is one of those days in which as a sector we celebrate the fulfilment of our labour which began when the Department of Higher Education was conceived.
A number of policies, Acts, regulations, guidelines, summits, conferences, and many publications and presentations have highlighted the issue of transformation of higher education as a matter of priority. Having to reflect on the journey and the measures we have introduced, the following come to mind:
1. The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) which charted a programme of transformation for the higher education sector in a post-apartheid era.
2. The Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997 (HE Act 1997), as amended, which seeks to, amongst many provisions, provide for the determination of transformation policy and oversight mechanisms for the public higher education system;
3. The White Paper 3: A Framework for the Transformation of Higher Education (1997) outlined the framework for change, and a comprehensive set of initiatives for the transformation of higher education.
4. The National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE) in South Africa that was published by the Ministry of Education in 2001, seven years after South Africa’s transition to a democratic state. The NPHE outlined the framework and mechanisms for implementing and realising the policy goals of Education White Paper 3: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (White Paper 3, 1997), and it sought to reengineer the higher education system for the 21st century.
5. The White Paper on Post-School Education and Training was published in 2013 that seeks to build an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system and is a vehicle with which to drive and deepen transformation of the entire schooling system.
6. A National Plan for Post-School Education and Training, based on the 2013 White Paper and which is meant to give effect to the intentions outlined in the White Paper.
You will recall that as the Minister of Higher Education and Training then, I convened two national summits on higher education transformation. The first was held in 2010 and the second in 2015.
The summits allowed for a reflection on the progress that was made to transform the PSET system and identified the priorities that must still be addressed.
The incremental changes between 1997 and 2015 confirm that the Policy and Planning architecture required to support transformation of the sector have been institutionalised through the initiatives led by the Department of Higher Education and Training which steadily facilitated the provision of resources to support the programmes that drive transformation.
Today, we can confidently say we have transcended the age of rhetoric to our collective efforts which yielded concrete outcomes.
In 2018, we launched the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) which essentially comprises a suite of programmes that focus on advancing the transformation agenda in university education in three critical areas, namely, student development or support, staff development and curriculum development.
The staff development component of the UCDP is the Staffing South African Universities Framework (SSAUF), which supports programmes aimed at the early identification of academic staff (Nurturing Emerging Scholars Programme – NESP); and the New Generation of Academics Programme (the nGAP).
Today we converge to celebrate and signify the tangible and visible outcomes of the NGAP.
Actually, the nGAP was launched during the 2nd National Higher Education Transformation Summit that was held from 15-17 October 2015 as a developmental programme.
Amongst the resolutions of the Summit where the nGAP was officially launched and introduced was that “The sector should build on the nationally coordinated programme to enable accelerated capacity development, greater representation and improved retention of blacks and women in the academic workforce, professoriate, and university management and governance structures.”
The NGAP recruits new academics (Master’s and PhD graduates) against carefully designed and balanced equity considerations and in light of the disciplinary areas of greatest need. It covers a six-year period for each cohort taken on the programme.
The programme comprises a three-year development programme to acquire PhDs/Doctoral degrees, and a further three years tenured academic position.
I am delighted to report that eight phases of the nGAP have been implemented thus far, resulting in 760 allocated posts by 2022.
The most important features of the nGAP are that scholars are appointed into permanent academic posts entrenched into long-term staffing plans from the outset, and appointments are governed by contracts which articulate the expectations, obligations, roles and responsibilities of the employing university and of the scholar/newly appointed academic.
This is a six-year long journey that focusses on ensuring that the lecturers who are trained and groomed exit the programme as fully fledged academics.
The programme supports universities to recruit new academics aligned to their staffing and development plans.
The equity considerations I mentioned earlier, include that 80% of the appointees in the university must be South Africans Black, Coloured and Indian men and women including people with disabilities, of which at least 55% of the positions should be taken up by Black South African women.
The permanent residents and other categories can be considered through the remaining 20% based on substantial motivation. Priority must be accorded to persons who are 40 years or younger.
The programme has enabled newly recruited academics to benefit from teaching and research development opportunities including, institutional and other programmes in the UCDP.
At the launch event, I welcomed the first 25 lecturers who were already participating in the programme with support from our Department, and the British Council through the Newton Fund and the National Research Foundation partners.
I would, at this stage, like to express my gratitude to the partners for their support in the implementation of the nGAP.
The success of the programme, specifically the international mobility and research equipment components of the programme, were made possible in part by the support and funds you provided generously to the programme. All the beneficiaries are here through our collective interest in their success, many thanks for working with my department and advancing this transformation journey.
Transformation of South Africa PSET system
Ladies and gentlemen
Transformation of the university system in South Africa is a non-negotiable imperative of the Department. We are working to build a higher education system in South Africa that is:
- of high quality in terms of its core mandates of teaching, research and engagement;
- is demographically representative;
- provides all students and staff with good opportunities for access and success;
- is welcoming and caring to all;
- is diverse, differentiated, equitable and articulated;
- is relevant and responsive to local (anchored), regional and global contexts;
- is research productive and drives innovation; and which
- produces educated, critical, employable and effective citizens and leaders for the future.
The range of support mechanisms that have been provided to the candidates have contributed to a stronger academic profile of our universities.
This is evident in the contribution to the number of academics with PhDs, increase in publications, increase in the number of high-level academics such as senior lecturers and professors that have been developed and produced through this programme.
Partnerships between South African universities and other external universities through the international mobility component of the programme have grown, and they have been supported in part by the British Council.
My Department allocates approximately R2 5000 000 for each lecturer over the period of six years in the programme.
Today I stand overwhelmed by the accomplishment of the NGAP, thus far, over a period of 7 years, the programme has allocated a total of 758 lecturer posts to universities and in the current financial year an additional 85 posts will be allocated to universities. This will bring the total allocated posts to universities to 843 by end of the current financial year.
A total of 583 of the 758 (ie 77%) lecturers have been successfully appointed into lecturer positions by our universities and are still active in the programme. The remaining 175 (23%) have exited the academy.
Of the total of 583 lecturers participating in the nGAP, 338 (58%) are Female and 245 (42%) are Males; 569 are Black (African, Coloured and Indian) and 14 are White.
In addition, this year I have approved a commissioning of a Management Information System (MIS) that will assist with tracking the progress of lecturers participating in the programme.
It is hoped that MIS will assist in assessing the impact of the programme on the development and transformation of higher education considering that the Department has invested more than R2 billion in the programme to-date.
Investing in the development of higher education learning not only fosters individual advancement and mobility, but also contributes to the societal economic and social development with long-term positive returns.
The Department will continue to support the NGAP until transformation imperatives as articulated in the Higher Education Act of 1997 is achieved and has received support from cabinet to fulfil this objective.
The success of nGAP should also be attributed to partnerships forged with other higher education partners, our universities whose commitment is self-evident. Some universities invest in the development of lecturers for these six years, only to see them depart soon after they have progressed and vanish in the well-established universities.
I call upon you as lecturers to reinvest in the university that invested and believed in you, by assisting the students in the University after completing the programme.
The universities, especially Historically Disadvantaged Institutions and Universities of Technology need you, and I believe through you we will see greater progress in the identified areas in these universities.
Attempts to poach you once you have qualified and not before, should indicate to you, that your current employer recognised your potential – the poachers did
not. Furthermore, our intent to invest in our HDI’s should bolster your confidence that our HDI’s will be on par with their peers in time if you stay on.
I have been informed about the progress you have made. Some of you who started as lecturers are now senior lecturers and associate professors in the higher education sector.
I can mention a few who are currently professors, Associate Professor Nomfundo Moroe at the University of Witwatersrand who is now also a mentor to the nGAP lecturers, (I remember that she was amongst the 25 lecturers who attended the launch as part of the first cohort of the nGAP), Associate Professor Mochane from Central University of Technology who has since joined the Future Professors Programme under the UCDP, Professor Monye and Professor Mbule, both from the University of South Africa. Well done!
I cannot omit those who would have completed but were delayed by COVID-19 and remain resolute as they are approaching the finish line. Some of them have completed their PhDs but still need to fulfil additional requirements of the programme. I encourage them to view those who have completed as mentors in this fulfilling journey filled with self-discovery.
Regrettably there are candidates who are playful, if not reckless with these invaluable opportunities offered to them and involve themselves in acts of ill-
discipline, disobedience, and fraud. The Department will not entertain their misdirected efforts and is considering penalties which will involve reimbursing the NGAP.
As I conclude, I would like to congratulate all the ninety lecturers who have successfully completed the programme. The Department is proud of you and hopes you will “move the needle” in the South African higher education system, ensuring that you feature in the intellectual arena through publishing and teaching, and mentor many more who will follow your example.
We reaffirm the Department’s commitment to providing enduring support to the NGAP as it corrects the inequities inherent in the development of staff in the higher education sector.
Thank you.
