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The IFP has taken note of Ms Mary Metcalfe's decision to leave her post as
the Department of Higher Education's director-general, and strongly believes
that the Ministry is misleading the public on the real reasons behind
Metcalfe's decision to resign.

"We have heard conflicting reports in the media about an alleged fall-out
between Ms Metcalfe and Minister Blade Nzimande, but there seems to be a
major cover-up about the real reasons behind her departure," said Mr Alfred
Mpontshane MP, the IFP's spokesperson on Education today.

Speaking about Ms Metcalfe's appointment, Mpontshane said: "In August 2009,
the ruling party welcomed Ms Metcalfe's appointment and hailed her as the
right person for the job because of her credentials as a champion of
education transformation. Yet, to date, not much in terms of transformation
at higher education level has taken place and important issues such as the
recommendations by the Ministerial Committee on the review of the National
Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have not been implemented. It is
therefore very hard to believe that Ms Metcalfe has successfully completed
the tasks she set out to achieve at the end of 2009," said Mpontshane.

Mpontshane added that South Africa could ill-afford to lose the services of
such a dedicated, passionate education expert.

"As far as the IFP is concerned, Ms Metcalfe's departure is bad news for
education in South Africa. Education is the key to unlocking South Africa's
potential, but critical challenges remain, such as access and affordability
of education, challenges which Ms Metcalfe had set out to conquer. We
therefore call on Minister Nzimande to come clean on what has led to Ms
Metcalfe's decision to leave and we call on the Minister to leave no stone
unturned in ensuring that the matter between them is resolved, for the
benefit of education and the future of the youth of South Africa," added
Mpontshane.