Cape Town - The Department of Higher Education and Training has budgeted R146 million for this year's foundation programmes with qualifying institutions being allocated teaching development grants.
Tabling his department's Budget Vote on Tuesday, Minister Blade Nzimande said R1.462 billion was also earmarked for improving teaching, learning and residence infrastructure and academic efficiency, in this financial year.
"These funds are primarily directed at historically disadvantaged institutions and towards increasing the capacity of the system to produce graduates in scarce and critical skills such as teachers, engineers, medical doctors and plant and animal health specialists," Dr Nzimande said.
He said the department intended to convene a stakeholder summit early next year to discuss a range of issues facing higher education institutions, including the development of a transformation charter for the sector and the establishment of a permanent higher education stakeholder forum.
Other critical issues to be discussed will include the matter of institutional autonomy, academic freedom and public accountability as well as the need to strengthen multilingualism at universities.
"We will explore how indigenous African languages and Afrikaans as an academic language can be strengthened in ways that do not impact negatively on student access, especially in specialised study fields and scarce skills areas," the minister said.
He noted that while the challenges were great, his department will put in place a machinery and work tirelessly to unlock the education and training sector to those previously deprived of such prospects and fulfil its mandate to create a better life for all.
"This is an exciting and challenging time in the field of education, training and skills development," he said.
Minister Nzimande said working closely with the relevant Ministries, he also intended to establish a coherent college sector which includes the 50 Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and other career specific colleges such as agricultural colleges - the latter being crucial for rural skills development.
"In the coming months, I will be working with my colleague the Minister of Basic Education and the nine provincial MECs to ensure the smooth transfer of the FET colleges from provincial departments to the Department of Higher Education and Training," Dr Nzimande said.
He further announced that in future, the new Department of Higher Education and Training will be responsible for allocations to higher education institutions estimated at R19.9 billion in 2010.
It will also be responsible for skills development through the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) estimated at R21.9 billion in 2010 and FET Colleges estimated at R3.37 billion in 2010.
The current budget of the Department of Education includes the allocation of R17.498 billion to higher education, and R3.2 billion to FET colleges, through the provincial equitable share for education.
With regard to skills development, the minister announced that the SETAs landscape is currently under review ahead of the proposed re-establishment of SETAs on 1 April 2010.
He said there was a need for an intensive assessment of the SETAs to ensure greater accountability, improved employment of resources, better management of funds in order that they fulfil their role as a central cog of skills training and job creation machinery.
"I will shortly be engaging the SETAs to examine these issues and enhance their capacity to meet the skills needs of South Africa," the minister said.
