Speech of the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr MC Manana, MP, for Budget Debate (Vote 16) Old Assembly Chamber
Honourable House chairperson,
Honourable Minister of Higher Education & Training, Dr. Nzimande,
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Hon. Phosa,
DG and other senior officials,
Heads and CEOs of all Post Education and Training Institutions and Public Entities,
Student organisations,
My special guests,
Comrades and friends.
It gives me great pleasure to address you on this august occasion of the 7th budget vote debate for Higher Education and Training. Today, the 21st of April, marks the 27th anniversary of the Chinese student uprising in 1989 and I cannot stop but reflect on our very own experience here in SA. In recent times, we have observed persistent and at times violent protests in the higher education sector.
Some of the student protests entailed advancement of legitimate student interests and aspirations, whilst others seem to have been intended to destabilise the sector and vandalise our institutions. We urge the silent majority of students, parents and communities to be vigilant and protect these institutions, which are abiding carriers of hope for a prosperous future for our youth.
Honorable Chairperson,
Let me start with the work we are doing in the area of Artisan Development. We have only traversed two wonderful years of the Decade of the Artisan since its inauguration in February 2014 and a lot of remarkable strides have been made to advance vision 2030 in relations to the production of artisanal skills. 53 667 artisans have been produced between 2011 and 2015, exceeding our accumulated targets in four years of 45 000 by 8, 667.
This demonstrates our focus to expedite the production of artisans, technicians and technologists as articulated in the White Paper for Post School education and Training System and the National Development Plan.
In this connection, we will strive to continually improve the quality of training programmes offered in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector as well as expanding the institutional footprint to match the growing intake of students, as we make TVET colleges institutions of choice among the youth.
One of my special guests is Simphiwe Hlophe, from the rural Sibanesetfu campus of the Gert Sibande TVET College who comes from an extremely poor family at eFeni and whose mother is wheel-chair bound, obtained 20 distinctions out of a possible 21 over the three of his NCV Electrical Engineering Programme. Simphiwe has expressed his gratitude to government for creating opportunities for rural students from financially poor homes.
In his words, he said and I quote “I would not have been able to achieve these results without the DHET bursary and the amazing support that I received from the college and especially from my lecturers”. Indeed, we will follow your future career with interest Simphiwe as we are certain that this puts you on a good stead to change the situation at home for the better.
Honorable members, we are effectively shifting the narrative that the TVET sector is producing skills that are not responsive to ever-changing complex market needs, through collaborative partnerships with industries. Of the 50 public TVET colleges, almost half of those have been adopted by industry. We need to expand and deepen partnerships between TVET colleges and industry. Every public college must be matched with a particular industry especially in relations to their training niche areas.
Honourable Chairperson,
On Apply Now and Career Guidance
We have already commenced with the campaign targeting far-flung rural and township schools where we are encouraging high school learners to apply on time for admission to post-school institutions and thus avert possible stampedes and long queues that take place at the beginning of each academic year. The career guidance component of the campaign seeks to inform learners about career choices available within the post-school education and training sector and in this regard we are promoting the list of ‘’100 occupations in high demand’’ that was released by the Minister in November 2014, targeting Grade 9-12 learners.
We launched the 2016 leg of the campaign in the month of March at Edumbe in Paulpietersburg, Kwazulu- Natal and we have already visited the rural Lady Frere area in the Eastern Cape, with 5 more provinces to visit (North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State and Northern Cape) before the end of September 2016.
On our HIV/AIDS and TB programme
The Department has a campaign dubbed ‘First Things First’ administered by Higher Education AIDS (HEAIDS), under the stewardship of Dr. Ramneek Ahluwalia.
This programme provides comprehensive health and wellness services, varying from HIV testing and TB screening, promotion of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), reproductive rights, contraception, maternal health, breast and cervical cancer and lifestyle diseases, amongst others.
Through this programme, multitudes of students are testing for HIV, screening for TB and other related communicable diseases annually. The programme has covered 174 000 students and workers in 2015 alone and students who tested for HIV are 79% more than those who tested the previous year.
Nearly 25 million scented male condoms were distributed in the Post School Education and Training system. This programme was recently recognised as one of the best in the continent and we intend expanding it even further in this financial year.
In June this year, I will be launching the Commemoration of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Soshanguve campus, in partnership with the Social Development and Health departments, together with civil society and development partners to raise awareness on the pervasive substance abuse afflicting our society.
This afternoon, I have invited a young female student enrolled for a Bachelor of Education at Cape Peninsula University of Technology Ms Unathi Bheme, who is among us in the gallery. Whilst studying at the University of Western Cape, she tested HIV positive through First Things First and because she couldn’t come to terms with her HIV status, she felf very devastated and dropped out.
But through HEAIDS’s continuous counselling and support services, she eventually enrolled and she is now left with one year to complete her studies at CPUT. She is one of the ambassadors of First things First, encouraging students to know their status and giving them counselling and support.
We also have in our midst, Ms Sithokozile Gcabashe, another student from the Durban University of Technology who is also living positively with HIV, a survivor of sexual and gender based violence. Ms Gcabashe was sexually abused and got infected with the virus while enrolled in the system.
She received comprehensive support, including trauma counselling services, and she has now learnt to share her status openly and continued with her studies and ultimately became an ambassador to the programme.
She is now turning the lives of many other Gender Based Violence survivors and helping hundreds of other students who are still failing to accept their HIV status. At this point, Honorable Chairperson and in light of the developments at Rhodes University, we wish to condemn the abuse of women and we say NO to rape and violence in our educational institutions and society.
I have now asked HEAIDS to strengthen their women and men empowerment programmes in order to respond more effectively to issues of gender based violence, rape, sexual harassment, teenage pregnancy and other issues that affect, particularly our female students, in the post-school system. Ultimately, the HEAIDS programme must pay dividends in terms of better student pass rates, lower drop-out rates and higher throughput rates.
Honorable chairperson,
On disability
As I reported in my last budget speech that the Minister had appointed a ministerial committee to develop the Strategic Disability Policy Framework for the PSET system, this committee has made key advances in their work and the policy framework will soon be released for public comment. This framework will ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Post-School Education and Training system and also provide a monitoring and evaluation tool for the department. It will guide institutions to develop disability policies to protect the rights of people with disabilities and provide the necessary support to them.
Honorable chairperson,
We are making tremendous strides in the area of ICT where our institutions are awakened and discovering new and exciting teaching and learning methodologies in and outside the lecturing room. I am particularly happy with the work that colleges are doing in enhancing e-learning in the TVET sector. In the areas where it is implemented, we have been able to contain the spiraling costs of colleges and have worked smarter towards cost-effective college education and training.
Honourable Chairperson,
The African National Congress remains committed to ensuring that a significant proportion of our population that remains locked out of the mainstream economy benefits from an inclusive economy through expanded access to quality Post School Education and Training.
Let me once more thank the President for having placed his confidence in me to contribute to the education and skilling of our people, the Minister of Higher Education and Training for his continued support and guidance, the DG, senior officials and staff of the department, the Chief of staff in the Ministry Mrs Mncwabe, my Head of Office Advocate Malale and the entire ministry staff, thank you for your valuable support and for making it possible for us to traverse such a worthy trajectory. My family and friends, thank you for your unflinching support.
Honorable members,
Our efforts are visible for all to observe and we remain single-mindedly committed to achieve vision 2030. As Oliver Wendell Holmes once retorted and I quote ‘’greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but sail we must and not drift nor lie at anchor’’.
I thank you.
