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The DA welcomes the appointment of Mary Metcalfe as the new director-general of higher education. We hope that she will provide a more pragmatic, more rational counter-balance to the blunt, ideological rantings that have characterised the minister in this department, Dr Blade Nzimande.

Dr Nzimande has threatened to take over control of university curriculums, he has played the race card with the deliberate intent of fostering anger rather than finding solutions, and he has made demands that universities accept more under-prepared students. His shallow and confrontational approach has not invited cooperation from universities in solving problems.

We hope that Ms Metcalfe will give attention to:
Creating a vibrant Further Education and Training College sector;
Making funding available to all students with talent;
Standing up for the principle of university autonomy. Universities must be directed by the search for the truth, not by political demands.