Inside Education Reporter

The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande has congratulated the General Secretary of SADTU, Dr Mugwena Maluleke on attaining his PhD from Nelson Mandela University.

“As an educationalist, Dr Maluleke’s commitment to education sets a positive example for both the young people and workers of our country. His commitment to self-development underscores the importance of improving your knowledge levels as a leader in society. By attaining his PhD, Dr Maluleke is contributing to the drive to make educational achievement a norm in our communities,” the Minister said.

Most importantly, Nzimande said South Africa must increase the number of PhDs in society so that “we truly become the kind of knowledge society that will transform our society for the primary benefit of the workers and the poor, with innovation at the centre of our developmental trajectory”.

“It is my hope that Dr Maluleke’s personal milestone will inspire more of our young people and workers to follow in his footsteps,” he said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Edwin Naidu

Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande gave a keynote address at the SETA Skills Summit at the Birchwood Hotel at OR Tambo Conference Centre where Deputy Minister, Buti Manamela; Members of the Portfolio Committee; Director-General, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi; SETA Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers; SETA Accounting Authorities; Post School Entities and Institutions; Senior government officials; Organised Labour and Business; Community based organisations were in attendance.

Dr Nzimande said for the first time in its history the 21 heads of Sector Education Training Authority (Setas) came together to discuss success, challenges and map out a way forward to advance the skills revolution in South Africa.

The Minister said the summit in Kempton Park last week was a product of the vision of the Chairpersons of the SETA Accounting Authorities Forum and the Association of SETA Chief Executive Officers, working with his department.

“Our SETAs play a crucial role in implementing and facilitating skills development within their respective sectors. Our SETAs contribute significantly to addressing skills gaps and skills mismatches, promoting employment and enhancing productivity within their respective industries through their sector-specific focus and expertise,” the Minister said.

Nzimande said SETAs play a crucial role in aligning training and development efforts with the needs of employers and the labour market, thus ensuring the development of a skilled and capable workforce that can become a catalyst for economic growth and development.

The policy context for the work that is done by our various SETAs derives from such critical policy instruments as our country’s Master Skills Plan, the White Paper for Post School Education and Training, the National Skills Development Plan, and the National Development Plan 2030.

“These policy instruments are not only critical for enabling our country to articulate and implement a coherent human resource development plan, but also to ensure that we embrace a skills development approach that is collaborative and sustainable- as opposed to a piecemeal and competition driven approach,” he said.

Nzimande said the collaborative approach is critical if we consider the unacceptably high number of unemployed young people in our country and the urgent challenge of NEETs or people who are not in any formal education, employment, and training.

“It is estimated that more 3.3 million young people in our country between the ages of 15-24 are not in employment, education, and training and unemployed. This is something that must concern all of us.”

Although many SETAs have collaborated on successful projects in the past, Nzimande said it was felt that this was not enough and that more could be done.

There is general acknowledgement that, to effectively address some of the urgent skills development challenges I have alluded to, all critical players will have to be more deliberate about working together.

“We saw how the importance of such cross-sectoral collaboration helped us respond more effectively to the challenges presented by the advent of the global COVID-19 health pandemic. Had it not been for our culture of collaboration, the impact of this pandemic would have been more catastrophic on our people, especially the poor.”

“Put differently, our skills development system must ensure that our country has adequate, appropriate, and high-quality skills that can drive sustainable economic growth, employment creation, and social development,” the Minister said.

Celebrating 30 years of democracy with a focus on skills development

In celebrating thirty years of democracy, the critical contribution of the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) system created under the Skills Development Act cannot be ignored.

Their successes—and challenges—were celebrated at last week’s historic SETA Skills Summit in Kempton Park.

Nzimande’s call to action underpinned SETAs’s role, considering the alarming statistic that more than 3.3 million young people in our country between the ages of 15 and 24 are not in employment, education, or training,

The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Mr Buti Manamela, made an insightful and clarion call that the mission of all SETAs should be to ensure that every citizen has a skill.

“Our primary mission as SETAs is to facilitate the skilling and training of people in South Africa. This is not negotiable,” said Pillay.

The focus areas of SETA projects include infrastructure, workplace-based learning, internships, entrepreneurial and cooperative development, and skills programmes related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

While the SETAs were implemented nearly four years after the birth of democracy, their transformative impact on the skills landscape since democracy is truly remarkable. They have addressed the skills gap and instilled a sense of inspiration for the future of skills development in South Africa.

Addressing the apartheid education skills deficit began via Parliament in 1998 through the Skills Development Act, which sought to help people in their sector gain skills or improve their skills if they already have them.

Reflecting on the journey since its establishment under democracy in South Africa is important. However, all SETAs must remain steadfast in their commitment to driving positive change and transformation.

As South Africa continues to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving global economy, SETAs must stand as a beacon of hope and opportunity, empowering individuals, fostering innovation, and driving sustainable growth—one skill, one partnership, and one initiative at a time. This was the challenge given to us as SETAs in Kempton Park this week.

At the recent SETA Summit, Pillay identified three skills development and training trends. First, SETAs should respond to the digital skills trend. In this regard, it was resolved that every community should have a SMART Skills Centre to bridge the digital skills divide. SETAs should work collaboratively with communities to establish SMART Skills Centres. We need to develop digital-first learning and strategic programmes more relevant to the needs of society.

The second key thematic trend was the green skills trend. The green skills trend encompasses environment, social, and governance (ESG) priorities and ESG reporting, as well as an increasing focus on sustainability. SETAs need to focus on sustainability and drive green skills projects. The Skills Development Act does not limit SETAs to skills development but to a broader mandate of sustainable livelihoods and contributing to the quality of life.

The green hydrogen economy should be explored to create new opportunities in the overall green economy. To this end, the Chemicals SETA (CHIETA), MQA, and TETA will establish a new centre of specialization for green hydrogen skills. The centre will play a key role in training green artisans.

The third and final trend is the innovation skills trend. This includes digital innovation and non-digital innovation. SETAs should prioritise new ways of skilling and training and consider innovative skills programmes that address the day-to-day struggles of the poor and working class.

“Celebrating 30 years is necessary. However, the task remains to ensure an even stronger footing in innovating for impact towards a skilled, sustainable future. As a sector, we must collaborate with industry and other social partners to expedite the impact of skills development for the benefit of our country, especially the poor and working class,” he said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

Education NGOs Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) have returned to the Western Cape High Court in order to continue with their challenge to compel the Western Cape Education Department to enroll remaining unplaced children in available schools.

EE alongside five parents represented by the EELC were in court on Monday to have the matter put on the unopposed roll following the dismissal of its urgent application on Friday seeking the immediate placement of all unplaced learners in the Western Cape.

EE’s Nontsikele Dlulani said they were disappointed by the decision taken by the court and believe the Judge made an error.

Dlulani said that the court made an error of judgement in striking the matter off of the urgent court roll without having read their court papers or even giving their legal representatives an opportunity to address her on the urgency of the matter.

“While we have faced various hurdles, we trust that the High Court, as the upper guardian of every child in South Africa, will protect the rights of children who remain unplaced without access to basic education or remedial support while awaiting placement. We are hopeful that it will recognise that children remaining without a school, four months into the 2024 academic year, is an urgent matter,” Dlulani said.

EE said that its decision to litigate followed a series of attempts to engage the WC government on placing out-of-school learners, with efforts allegedly being met with indifferent responses, “legal gymnastics” and “Stalingrad litigation tactics”.

The NGO confirmed that today’s appearance in court for placement on the unopposed urgent roll was also to urge the provincial education department to put remedial catch-up plans in place and to provide a detailed report on the reasons for the continuous non-placement as well how an admissions crisis could be dealt with in the future.

The Western Cape Education Department said that it is ready to help find schools for unplaced pupils as the current school year nears its fifth month, with WC Provincial MEC for Education, David Maynier defending the department and saying it is disappointed by the group’s approach.

“We are currently resolving remaining cases where Equal Education initially provided us with insufficient information to identify and place the learners,” Maynier said.

The MEC said that wherever the department was made aware of learners needing a place, it acted immediately to find a place for them in a school and to resolve any issues that may arise in the process.

The court questioned why the matter was placed on the urgent roll when the legal teams for Equal Education had placed a note saying if the WCED’s counsel had not responded by April 25, they would place the matter on the unopposed roll.

The WCED’s legal team said as they had responded the matter should be moved off the urgent roll and the court agreed.

Meanwhile, the WCED has reopened online admissions for Grades 1 and 8 learners for the 2025 academic year because they have received over 8 000 late applications.

INSIDE EDUCATION