Date: 16/04/2003
Source: Deputy Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Black Management Forum - Johannesburg branch
ADDRESS BY MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, TO THE JOHANNESBURG BRANCH OF THE BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM, JSE Chambers, Johannesburg, 6 April 2003
The Chairperson, Mr Mthunzi, Members of the BMF, Ladies and Gentlemen
Your focus on higher education signals your interest in and continued commitment to the broader interests of our country, in particular, the education and training of our future leaders.
Many of the unfortunate effects of our colonial and racist past have eaten into the very soul and moral fibre of our people. But none is more pernicious and more difficult to address than the effects of the Bantu education system. Its architect, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, captured its aim very aptly when he described it as an education system that was to ensure that black people remained "hewers of wood and drawers of water".
We are more than ever before feeling the damaging effects of Bantu education as we grapple with the challenges of creating a democratic society against the rapid changes that are taking place across the globe. These changes, which are driven by the information and communications technology revolution, puts knowledge and the ability to process information at the centre of the socio-economic development process. The fact that the majority of our citizens are either illiterate or functionally illiterate is a major obstacle to addressing our key development challenge - the need to improve the quality of the lives of all our people. This problem is further compounded by the lack of a critical mass of high-level knowledge workers - researchers, professionals and managers - that is essential if we are to grow our economy, create more jobs and participate as equals in the global economy. In formation at our disposal indicates an endemic shortage of high-level professional and managerial skills precisely in the areas where future demand for skills is projected to be the greatest, that is, in information technology, engineering, economic and financial services.
The inadequate supply of high-level skills is a direct product of the impact of racist oppression on the higher education system. As you are well aware, in higher education the apartheid regime subverted all universally cherished academic and intellectual norms by creating institutions that we used to call "Bush Colleges", whose sole purpose was to train functionaries that were required to support the regime's Bantustan policy. "Bush Colleges" were not established to provide cutting edge research and training that is the cornerstone of a vibrant and dynamic economy and society. They were created to dignify a political and ideological system that was morally and intellectually bankrupt.
However, despite the intentions of apartheid's architects, the "Bush Colleges" have contributed to the development of black intellectuals and professionals. Indeed, many of us here tonight are products of these institutions. This bears testimony to the vital contribution of the students at these institutions - the Tiro's, Biko's and others - who kept alive the flame of the struggle. They understood the importance of using the opportunities provided within the limited confines of Bantu education to develop the intellectual and political skills of their generation with the ultimate aim of subverting and overthrowing the oppressive system. It also bears testimony to the resilience and foresight of our communities, our mothers and fathers, who despite their trials and tribulations understood the importance of education in the upliftment of our people.
The link between this digression on history and the restructuring of the higher education system is that our higher education system, as it is currently structured, cannot satisfactorily respond to our social and economic needs, in particular, our human resource needs. It cannot do so because it continues to be characterised by the fragmentation, inequality and inefficiency of its racist past. This is a product of the perverse logic of apartheid planning which bore no relation to the knowledge, human resource development and social needs of the country. In fact, it guaranteed systemic inefficiency by duplicating and overlapping programme offerings, management and administrative structures and other services. This has necessitated the restructuring in order to address the systemic and institutional problems, which are bedevilling the higher education system. These include:
* Low participation rate - the percentage of 20 - 24 year-olds enrolled in higher education is currently 16%, while the comparative rate for similar developing countries is just over 20%
* Inequities in access - the participation rate for African students is 14% against about 40% for white and Indian students
* Poor graduation rates - only 15% of enrolled students graduate annually
* Race and gender inequalities in the distribution of academic staff
* Low research outputs
* Paucity of management and governance capacity
* The financial sustainability of nearly 50% of the current number of institutions is under threat - many are operating on deficit budgets and overdrafts that are larger than their annual subsidy allocations.
The case for restructuring is clear. We cannot afford to continue with the incoherent, wasteful and uncoordinated system inherited from the past. The higher education system, if it is to be relevant to the needs of our young democracy, must be planned on a rational basis so that the investment of public resources results in a higher education system that is efficient and effective, affordable and sustainable, equitable and of high quality, and which is responsive to the human resource, skills, knowledge and development needs of our country. The department is convinced that the proposals for restructuring, which will result in the consolidation of the existing 35 institutions into 22 through mergers, provides the basis for ensuring that the higher education system is enabled to meet our developmental challenges.
A number of factors were taken into consideration when deciding on the mergers of institutions. These include, among others, redressing the racial fragmentation of institutions, achieving economies of scale and scope, streamlining governance and management structures and improving administrative systems.
The Ministry opted for the unitary merger model as opposed to the federal one. Unitary mergers are known to provide optimal opportunities for the development of a strong institutional leadership that is essential for the creation of a new academic image and organisational identity, which would inspire staff, attract students and ensure the continuation of national and international partnerships. Mergers are intended to streamline administrative and governance structures and enable better utilisation of scarce administrative and managerial skills given the paucity of such skills within the higher education system.
Federal mergers, on the other hand have the potential of resulting in serious conflict and disruption if relatively autonomous campuses were to make irreconcilable claims on limited pools of resources. They would also require the establishment of an additional administrative and governance structure, which would further complicate rather than address the current administrative and governance challenges faced by the higher education system. Federal relationships become even more undesirable given the fragmentation and inequalities between the current historically black and historically white institutions. The continued allegiance to existing institutional identities within a federal structure is likely to fuel conflict especially in relation to determining criteria for resource allocation. We need to create new institutional identities to assist us transcend the race and ethnic divides of the past.
Potential areas for programme allocation and rationalisation between institutions on a regional level in the medium to long-term have already been identified, especially for those institutions that would not be affected by mergers. Except for the Universities of the Western Cape and Zululand, all the institutions that are not affected by mergers are historically white. They are therefore expected to urgently embark on issues of increasing access and equity, improving success rates and developing enabling environments where all students can pursue their studies unhampered by social and cultural impediments.
The success of the restructuring process is dependent upon the commitment of all higher education institutions and constituencies, including government. Therefore, institutions are encouraged to recognise the opportunity to enhance institutional efficiency and effectiveness provided by the restructuring process.
We now turn to the impact of the restructuring proposals on black professionals. If successful, the restructuring of the higher education system will greatly contribute to the production of graduates with enough skills and competencies to meet the human resource needs of the country. It would also increase the stock of high-level skills, the lack of which is currently an obstacle to our growth and development. Furthermore, increasing the number of black graduates will greatly contribute to the transformation of the private sector, including the professional strata, which continue to be white-dominated at the upper end of the skills spectrum.
But the real question is not how the restructuring of higher education will impact on black professionals, but rather on how black professionals can make an impact on the restructuring process. We urge you, as the Black Management Forum, to play a meaningful role in the restructuring of the higher education system. There are four areas in which black professionals could, through this Forum, contribute to the restructuring process.
First, by providing our young people with role models, especially in those professions and occupations that do not traditionally have a resonance in black communities. The segregated labour market and job reservation under apartheid meant that apart from certain professions, such as teaching, law and medicine, most other professional and occupational fields were closed to the black community. Consequently, among the black youth there is often very little awareness and understanding of the wide range of opportunities available in the professional world of work, including the importance of such professions and occupations in growing and developing the economy. We need to encourage our young people to pursue careers in high finance, banking, brokerage, actuarial science, engineering, advertising and so on. And who are better placed to do so than you, the trailblazers, who have traversed, often at great pain and expense, unchartered paths? Sharing your experience and wisdom will make it easier for those following in your footsteps.
Second, apart from role modelling and promoting awareness and understanding, you could contribute to the skills development of young black graduates by providing internships in your businesses and professional practices. A key problem faced by graduates when seeking employment or trying to set up a business or practice of their own, is lack of work experience. Internships and vacation employment provide ideal opportunities for students and graduates to develop their skills and understand the world of work.
Third, you could also provide bursaries and scholarships, which would enable talented but poor students to further their studies. Although the National Student Financial Aid Scheme provides loans and bursaries, its current budget allocation of about R800 million is insufficient. We would like to urge the Black Management Forum and similar bodies to increase their contributions in this regard. We thank those of you who are already doing something, but we believe that more can still be done.
Last, we are looking to the members of this Forum to assist in facilitating the development of leadership, management, administrative and financial skills in our restructured higher education institutions. The restructuring of our higher education institutional landscape is an ideal opportunity for black people to also play a meaningful role in building learning institutions that are a true reflection of our new democratic culture and ethos. The education system is the most powerful institution to develop national identity and inculcate national values and traditions. As Frantz Fanon asserts, "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it". We have a job to do, let us rise to the occasion.
I thank you.
Issued by the Deputy Ministry of Education, 16 April 2003
Source: Deputy Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Black Management Forum - Johannesburg branch
ADDRESS BY MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, TO THE JOHANNESBURG BRANCH OF THE BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM, JSE Chambers, Johannesburg, 6 April 2003
The Chairperson, Mr Mthunzi, Members of the BMF, Ladies and Gentlemen
Your focus on higher education signals your interest in and continued commitment to the broader interests of our country, in particular, the education and training of our future leaders.
Many of the unfortunate effects of our colonial and racist past have eaten into the very soul and moral fibre of our people. But none is more pernicious and more difficult to address than the effects of the Bantu education system. Its architect, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, captured its aim very aptly when he described it as an education system that was to ensure that black people remained "hewers of wood and drawers of water".
We are more than ever before feeling the damaging effects of Bantu education as we grapple with the challenges of creating a democratic society against the rapid changes that are taking place across the globe. These changes, which are driven by the information and communications technology revolution, puts knowledge and the ability to process information at the centre of the socio-economic development process. The fact that the majority of our citizens are either illiterate or functionally illiterate is a major obstacle to addressing our key development challenge - the need to improve the quality of the lives of all our people. This problem is further compounded by the lack of a critical mass of high-level knowledge workers - researchers, professionals and managers - that is essential if we are to grow our economy, create more jobs and participate as equals in the global economy. In formation at our disposal indicates an endemic shortage of high-level professional and managerial skills precisely in the areas where future demand for skills is projected to be the greatest, that is, in information technology, engineering, economic and financial services.
The inadequate supply of high-level skills is a direct product of the impact of racist oppression on the higher education system. As you are well aware, in higher education the apartheid regime subverted all universally cherished academic and intellectual norms by creating institutions that we used to call "Bush Colleges", whose sole purpose was to train functionaries that were required to support the regime's Bantustan policy. "Bush Colleges" were not established to provide cutting edge research and training that is the cornerstone of a vibrant and dynamic economy and society. They were created to dignify a political and ideological system that was morally and intellectually bankrupt.
However, despite the intentions of apartheid's architects, the "Bush Colleges" have contributed to the development of black intellectuals and professionals. Indeed, many of us here tonight are products of these institutions. This bears testimony to the vital contribution of the students at these institutions - the Tiro's, Biko's and others - who kept alive the flame of the struggle. They understood the importance of using the opportunities provided within the limited confines of Bantu education to develop the intellectual and political skills of their generation with the ultimate aim of subverting and overthrowing the oppressive system. It also bears testimony to the resilience and foresight of our communities, our mothers and fathers, who despite their trials and tribulations understood the importance of education in the upliftment of our people.
The link between this digression on history and the restructuring of the higher education system is that our higher education system, as it is currently structured, cannot satisfactorily respond to our social and economic needs, in particular, our human resource needs. It cannot do so because it continues to be characterised by the fragmentation, inequality and inefficiency of its racist past. This is a product of the perverse logic of apartheid planning which bore no relation to the knowledge, human resource development and social needs of the country. In fact, it guaranteed systemic inefficiency by duplicating and overlapping programme offerings, management and administrative structures and other services. This has necessitated the restructuring in order to address the systemic and institutional problems, which are bedevilling the higher education system. These include:
* Low participation rate - the percentage of 20 - 24 year-olds enrolled in higher education is currently 16%, while the comparative rate for similar developing countries is just over 20%
* Inequities in access - the participation rate for African students is 14% against about 40% for white and Indian students
* Poor graduation rates - only 15% of enrolled students graduate annually
* Race and gender inequalities in the distribution of academic staff
* Low research outputs
* Paucity of management and governance capacity
* The financial sustainability of nearly 50% of the current number of institutions is under threat - many are operating on deficit budgets and overdrafts that are larger than their annual subsidy allocations.
The case for restructuring is clear. We cannot afford to continue with the incoherent, wasteful and uncoordinated system inherited from the past. The higher education system, if it is to be relevant to the needs of our young democracy, must be planned on a rational basis so that the investment of public resources results in a higher education system that is efficient and effective, affordable and sustainable, equitable and of high quality, and which is responsive to the human resource, skills, knowledge and development needs of our country. The department is convinced that the proposals for restructuring, which will result in the consolidation of the existing 35 institutions into 22 through mergers, provides the basis for ensuring that the higher education system is enabled to meet our developmental challenges.
A number of factors were taken into consideration when deciding on the mergers of institutions. These include, among others, redressing the racial fragmentation of institutions, achieving economies of scale and scope, streamlining governance and management structures and improving administrative systems.
The Ministry opted for the unitary merger model as opposed to the federal one. Unitary mergers are known to provide optimal opportunities for the development of a strong institutional leadership that is essential for the creation of a new academic image and organisational identity, which would inspire staff, attract students and ensure the continuation of national and international partnerships. Mergers are intended to streamline administrative and governance structures and enable better utilisation of scarce administrative and managerial skills given the paucity of such skills within the higher education system.
Federal mergers, on the other hand have the potential of resulting in serious conflict and disruption if relatively autonomous campuses were to make irreconcilable claims on limited pools of resources. They would also require the establishment of an additional administrative and governance structure, which would further complicate rather than address the current administrative and governance challenges faced by the higher education system. Federal relationships become even more undesirable given the fragmentation and inequalities between the current historically black and historically white institutions. The continued allegiance to existing institutional identities within a federal structure is likely to fuel conflict especially in relation to determining criteria for resource allocation. We need to create new institutional identities to assist us transcend the race and ethnic divides of the past.
Potential areas for programme allocation and rationalisation between institutions on a regional level in the medium to long-term have already been identified, especially for those institutions that would not be affected by mergers. Except for the Universities of the Western Cape and Zululand, all the institutions that are not affected by mergers are historically white. They are therefore expected to urgently embark on issues of increasing access and equity, improving success rates and developing enabling environments where all students can pursue their studies unhampered by social and cultural impediments.
The success of the restructuring process is dependent upon the commitment of all higher education institutions and constituencies, including government. Therefore, institutions are encouraged to recognise the opportunity to enhance institutional efficiency and effectiveness provided by the restructuring process.
We now turn to the impact of the restructuring proposals on black professionals. If successful, the restructuring of the higher education system will greatly contribute to the production of graduates with enough skills and competencies to meet the human resource needs of the country. It would also increase the stock of high-level skills, the lack of which is currently an obstacle to our growth and development. Furthermore, increasing the number of black graduates will greatly contribute to the transformation of the private sector, including the professional strata, which continue to be white-dominated at the upper end of the skills spectrum.
But the real question is not how the restructuring of higher education will impact on black professionals, but rather on how black professionals can make an impact on the restructuring process. We urge you, as the Black Management Forum, to play a meaningful role in the restructuring of the higher education system. There are four areas in which black professionals could, through this Forum, contribute to the restructuring process.
First, by providing our young people with role models, especially in those professions and occupations that do not traditionally have a resonance in black communities. The segregated labour market and job reservation under apartheid meant that apart from certain professions, such as teaching, law and medicine, most other professional and occupational fields were closed to the black community. Consequently, among the black youth there is often very little awareness and understanding of the wide range of opportunities available in the professional world of work, including the importance of such professions and occupations in growing and developing the economy. We need to encourage our young people to pursue careers in high finance, banking, brokerage, actuarial science, engineering, advertising and so on. And who are better placed to do so than you, the trailblazers, who have traversed, often at great pain and expense, unchartered paths? Sharing your experience and wisdom will make it easier for those following in your footsteps.
Second, apart from role modelling and promoting awareness and understanding, you could contribute to the skills development of young black graduates by providing internships in your businesses and professional practices. A key problem faced by graduates when seeking employment or trying to set up a business or practice of their own, is lack of work experience. Internships and vacation employment provide ideal opportunities for students and graduates to develop their skills and understand the world of work.
Third, you could also provide bursaries and scholarships, which would enable talented but poor students to further their studies. Although the National Student Financial Aid Scheme provides loans and bursaries, its current budget allocation of about R800 million is insufficient. We would like to urge the Black Management Forum and similar bodies to increase their contributions in this regard. We thank those of you who are already doing something, but we believe that more can still be done.
Last, we are looking to the members of this Forum to assist in facilitating the development of leadership, management, administrative and financial skills in our restructured higher education institutions. The restructuring of our higher education institutional landscape is an ideal opportunity for black people to also play a meaningful role in building learning institutions that are a true reflection of our new democratic culture and ethos. The education system is the most powerful institution to develop national identity and inculcate national values and traditions. As Frantz Fanon asserts, "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it". We have a job to do, let us rise to the occasion.
I thank you.
Issued by the Deputy Ministry of Education, 16 April 2003
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