Education minister delivers lesson on honesty
HIGHER Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor has promised to crack the whip on corruption and maladministration in her department and at tertiary institutions.
“I will be really nasty where there is corruption because I hate dishonesty and the absence of integrity, with public funds in particular. We will come down very hard where there is abuse of public resources,” Pandor said, when she appeared before the higher education and training portfolio committee in Cape Town this week.
Pandor’s comments come days after reports surfaced that the Special Investigating Unit was investigating R3 million spent on student bashes by the Tshwane South Technical Vocational Education and Training College.
Pandor replaced Hlengiwe Mkhize as higher education minister when President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled the cabinet he inherited from his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
She said her department would continue to provide support to technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the form of financial administration and staff.
Pandor also said they would ensure there was appropriate management capacity to support and steer tertiary institutions to work efficiently.
“We will have to look at how we balance the need for increased autonomy and the ability to execute within the institution and department.”
Pandor said the department had changed since 2004 and 2009 when it comprised basic education.
“I’m on a listening campaign and, on reflection, will determine where we must put our finger on the pulse.”
Parliamentarians told her some of the challenges facing the tertiary education sector, including free higher education.
They highlighted the onerous responsibility to ensure the additional funds for students were spent on the intended purpose and there was value for money.
There was also concern about long-term sustainability of student funding and the struggling universities as well as fears that there could be a funding crisis should qualifying students take the opportunity of free higher education in the coming years.
Concerns were also raised about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) which was allegedly used as a cash cow by TVET colleges since it provided a guaranteed income.
Pandor said the country has been unfair to NFSAS, which she said, was given a bigger mandate without being given statutory powers.
“It morphed into a quite complicated terrain. Apart from the legislation (former minister) Kader Asmal steered in Parliament, we have not really worked on the model and have it reshaped to respond to the complicated tasks assigned to it. I do think it needs to be re-thought.”
Pandor said funding of poor students shouldn’t entirely be a public revenue responsibility. “The government needs to look at what partnerships it could establish with a range of partners, including global partners. We need to look at collaborations, send more students into the international domain and, of course, what our institutions offer,” she said.
Pandor also said there would be a focus on TVET colleges to produce skills needed in the economy as well as community colleges.