The victory over the apartheid state in 1994 set policy makers in all spheres of public life the mammoth task of overhauling the social, political, economic and cultural institutions of South Africa to bring them in line with the imperatives of a new democratic order. The vision for the transformation of the higher education system was articulated in Education White Paper 3: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (1997). Central to this vision was the establishment of a single, national co-ordinated system, which would meet the learning needs of our citizens and the reconstruction and development needs of our society and economy.
This National Plan outlines the framework and mechanisms for implementing and realising the policy goals of the White Paper. It is far-reaching and visionary in its attempt to deal with the transformation of the higher education system as a whole. It is not aimed solely at addressing the crises in some parts of the system, although these must be overcome. It will impact on every institution, as the institutional landscape of higher education is a product of the geo-political imagination of apartheid planners. As I indicated in my Call to Action in July 1999, “it is vital that the mission and location of higher education institutions be re-examined with reference to both the strategic plan for the sector, and the educational needs of local communities and the nation at large in the 21st century”. The National Plan therefore provides the strategic framework for re-engineering the higher education system for the 21st century.
The National Plan recognises the current strengths and weaknesses of the higher education system and is based on a developmental approach that is intended to guide institutions towards meeting the goals for the system as a whole. Its implementation will demand commitment and hard work from all constituencies. But most of all it will demand our creative energy. The people of our country deserve nothing less than a quality higher education system, which responds to the equity and development challenges that are critical to improving the quality of life of all our people.
There can be little doubt that the National Plan provides us with a unique opportunity, perhaps one that will not come readily our way again, to establish a higher education system that can meet the challenges and grasp the opportunities presented to us by the contemporary world. We must be able to produce graduates with high quality skills and competencies in all fields. We must be able to produce research that will build our economy and make us significant players on the global stage. We must be able to create a learning society that draws in people of all ages and from all walks of life and gives them the opportunity to advance, develop and enrich themselves, both intellectually and materially. Most importantly, higher education must make a lasting contribution towards building the future generations of critical black intellectuals and researchers.
The National Plan is my response to the advice provided, at my request, by the Council on Higher Education on the restructuring of the higher education system. I would like to thank the Council and all the other constituencies both in higher education and beyond, whose commitment to transforming the system has contributed to the development of the plan. The National Plan has also been discussed by my colleagues and carries the full and enthusiastic support and endorsement of the Cabinet.
Professor Kader Asmal, MP
Minister of Education
SECTION 2: PRODUCING THE GRADUATES NEEDED FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
SECTION 3 ACHIEVING EQUITY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
SECTION 4 ACHIEVING DIVERSITY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
SECTION 5 SUSTAINING AND PROMOTING RESEARCH
SECTION 6 RESTRUCTURING THE INSTITUTIONAL LANDSCAPE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
1.1 It is the Ministry’s response to the Council on Higher Education’s Report, Towards a New Higher Education Landscape: Meeting the Equity, Quality and Social Development Imperatives of South Africa in the 21st Century, which was released in June 2000.
3.1 In the short to medium-term, however, it would not be possible to increase the participation rate because of inadequate throughputs from the school system. The main focus over the next five years will therefore be on improving the efficiency of the higher education system through increasing graduate outputs. The National Plan therefore establishes graduation rate benchmarks that institutions would have to meet.
3.2 The National Plan recognises that efficiency improvements are dependent on addressing the underlying factors that contribute to low graduation rates. The National Plan therefore proposes that academic development programmes should be funded as an integral component of a new funding formula and that the role and efficacy of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme needs to be reviewed.
3.3 The National Plan proposes that the participation rate should also be increased through recruiting workers, mature students, in particular women, and the disabled, as well recruiting students from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries as part of the SADC Protocol on Education.
4.1 Further adjustment to the ratio is not possible in the short to medium-term because of the low number of students leaving the school system with the required proficiency in mathematics.
4.2 The desirability of shifting the humanities total below 40% is debatable given the continued need for skills in education, law, private and public sector management, social services and arts.
4.3 The National Plan proposes that irrespective of the balance in enrolments, the key issue is to ensure that all graduates are equipped with the skills and competencies necessary to function in modern society, in particular, computer literacy, information management, communication and analytical skills.
5.1 Equity of access has also not been complemented by equity of outcomes, with black students accounting for a larger proportion of drop-out and failure rates than white students.
5.2 Institutions will be therefore expected to establish equity targets with the emphasis on the programmes in which black and women students are under-represented and to develop strategies to ensure equity of outcomes.
6.1 Institutions will be therefore expected to develop employment equity plans with clear targets for rectifying race and gender inequities. The National Plan recognises the difficulties in the short to medium-term of achieving employment equity given the paucity of postgraduates and consequently, the small pool of potential recruits. It therefore encourages institutions to recruit black and women staff from the rest of the African Continent
7.1 The National Plan proposes to ensure diversity through mission and programme differentiation based on the type and range of qualifications offered.
7.2 The programme mix at each institution will be determined on the basis of its current programme profile, including the relevance of the profile to the institution’s location and context and its responsiveness to regional and national priorities, in particular, Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy, as well as the demonstrated capacity to add new programmes to the profile.
7.3 The National Plan proposes to continue to maintain, although in a loose form, the existing mission and programme differentiation between technikons and universities for at least the next five years, as it promotes the access goals and the human resource development priorities of the White Paper and Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy.
7.4 The National Plan lifts the moratorium on the introduction of new distance education programmes in contact institutions, which was imposed by the Minister in February 2000. However, from 2002, new student places in existing and new distance education programmes, including programmes offered as part of public-private partnerships, will only be funded if the programmes have been approved as part of the institution’s plans. Institutions will also have to seek approval for the introduction of distance education programmes for which State subsidies are not required.
7.5 Redress for historically black institutions will be linked to agreed missions and programme profiles, including developmental strategies to build capacity, in particular, administrative, management, governance and academic structures.
8.1 The single dedicated distance education institution will be established through the merger of the University of South Africa and Technikon South Africa and the incorporation the distance education centre of Vista University into the merged institution. The Ministry will establish a Working Group to facilitate the merger, including the development of an implementation plan.
9.1 Research will be funded through a separate formula based on research outputs, including, at a minimum, masters and doctoral graduates and research publications.
9.2 Earmarked funds will be allocated to build research capacity, including scholarships to promote postgraduate enrolments, which would contribute to building the potential pool of recruits for the academic labour market.
10.1 Institutional collaboration at the regional level in programme development, delivery and rationalisation, in particular, of small and costly programmes, which cannot be sustained across all the institutions.
10.2 Investigating the feasibility of a more rational arrangement for the consolidation of higher education provision through reducing, where appropriate, the number of institutions but not the number of delivery sites on a regional basis. An initial analysis of the available data suggests that the number of institutions can be reduced. The key issue is to determine the number and form that this should take.
10.3 The Ministry will establish a National Working Group to undertake the investigation based on the principles and goals for the transformation of higher education system, as outlined in the White Paper.
11.1 The Merger of Natal Technikon and ML Sultan Technikon, which has been agreed to in-principle by the Councils of Natal Technikon and ML Sultan Technikon.
11.2 The incorporation of the Qwa-Qwa branch of the University of the North into the University of the Free State based on a previous decision relating to administrative difficulties in sustaining the linkage between the University of the North and its Qwa-Qwa branch.
11.3 The unbundling of Vista University and the incorporation of its constituent parts into the appropriate institutions within each region. This could await the outcome of the regional investigation.
This National Plan for higher education gives effect to the vision for the transformation of the higher education system outlined in Education White Paper 3 - A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (DoE: July 1997). It provides an implementation framework and identifies the strategic interventions and levers necessary for the transformation of the higher education system. It provides an opportunity and challenge to chart a path that locates the higher education system as a key engine driving and contributing to the reconstruction and development of South African society.
The key challenges facing the South African higher education system remain as outlined in the White Paper: “to redress past inequalities and to transform the higher education system to serve a new social order, to meet pressing national needs, and to respond to new realities and opportunities” (White Paper: 1.1). More specifically, as the White Paper indicates, the role of higher education in a knowledge-driven world is three-fold:
- “Human resource development: the mobilisation of human talent and potential through lifelong learning to contribute to the social, economic, cultural and intellectual life of a rapidly changing society.
- High-level skills training: the training and provision of person power to strengthen this country's enterprises, services and infrastructure. This requires the development of professionals and knowledge workers with globally equivalent skills, but who are socially responsible and conscious of their role in contributing to the national development effort and social transformation.
- Production, acquisition and application of new knowledge: national growth and competitiveness is dependent on continuous technological improvement and innovation, driven by a well-organised, vibrant research and development system which integrates the research and training capacity of higher education with the needs of industry and of social reconstruction.” (White Paper: 1.12)
These challenges have to be understood in the context of the impact on higher education systems world-wide of the changes associated with the phenomenon of globalisation. The onset of the 21st century has brought in its wake changes in social, cultural and economic relations spawned by the revolution in information and communications technology. The impact of these changes on the way in which societies are organised is likely to be as far-reaching and fundamental as the changes wrought by the industrial revolution in the 18th century. At the centre of these changes is the notion that in the 21st century, knowledge and the processing of information will be the key driving forces for wealth creation and thus social and economic development.
The role of information and communications technology in advancing the reconstruction and development agenda has been recognised by the Government. President Mbeki in his State of the Nation Address at the opening of the 2001 Parliamentary session, indicated that the Government is prioritising the development of the telecommunications sector. In this regard, the President announced two important initiatives to assist and advise on how South Africa can “get onto and stay on the information super-highway”, namely, the establishment of a Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development and the establishment of a Presidential International Task Force on Information Society and Development.
Higher Education has a critical and central role to play in contributing to the development of an information society in South Africa both in terms of skills development and research. In fact, as Manuel Castells, the noted social theorist of the information revolution (and who has agreed to serve on the Presidential International Task Force) has argued, “if knowledge is the electricity of the new informational international economy, then institutions of higher education are the power sources on which a new development process must rely” (Castells: 1993).
Is the South African higher education system ready to meet these challenges? The foundations in terms of the enabling policies and legislation are in place. However, much remains to be done in terms of implementing the policies.
There are clear strengths in the system, in particular, the calibre of research and teaching is in some cases comparable to international best practice and standards. The system is also beginning to respond to the changed social order as reflected, for example, in the changing demographic profile of student enrolments. However, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the system is in doubt, as evidenced by a range of systemic problems. These include the overall quantity and quality of graduate and research outputs; management, leadership and governance failures; lack of representative staff profiles; institutional cultures that have not transcended the racial divides of the past; and the increased competition between institutions which threatens to fragment further the higher education system.
The National Plan provides a framework for ensuring the fitness of the higher education system to contribute to the challenges that face South Africa in the 21st century. Its primary purpose is to ensure that:
- The higher education system achieves the transformation objectives set out in the White Paper and is responsive to societal interests and needs.
- There is coherence with regard to the provision of higher education at the national level.
- Limited resources are used efficiently and effectively and there is accountability for the expenditure of public funds.
- The quality of academic programmes, including teaching and research, is improved across the system.
The development of the National Plan has been informed by the institutional planning process which was started in 1998, the ongoing analyses of higher education trends by the Department of Education, the Report of the Council on Higher Education (CHE), Towards a New Higher Education Landscape: Meeting the Equity, Quality and Social Development Imperatives of South Africa in the 21st Century, which was released in June last year (CHE: 2000) and the responses of higher education institutions and other constituencies to the CHE's Report.
The CHE’s Report, which builds on the Report of National Commission on Higher Education, A Framework for Transformation (NCHE: 1996) and the White Paper, is a valuable contribution and has sharpened the debate on the need and basis for the restructuring of the higher education system. The Ministry would, in particular, like to commend the Council on Higher Education for the convincing case that it makes for the role of higher education in social and economic development. As the Report states:
“Higher education, and public higher education especially, has immense potential to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and social justice, and the growth and development of the economy…..These contributions are complementary. The enhancement of democracy lays the basis for greater participation in economic and social life more generally. Higher levels of employment and work contribute to political and social stability and the capacity of citizens to exercise and enforce democratic rights and participate effectively in decision-making. The overall well-being of nations is vitally dependent on the contribution of higher education to the social, cultural, political and economic development of its citizens” (CHE: 25-26).
The National Plan is based on the policy framework and the goals, values and principles that underpin that framework, outlined in the White Paper. These are intended to develop a higher education system that will:
- “promote equity of access and fair chances of success to all who are seeking to realise their potential through higher education, while eradicating all forms of unfair discrimination and advancing redress for past inequalities;
- meet, through well-planned and co-ordinated teaching, learning and research programmes, national development needs, including the high-skilled employment needs presented by a growing economy operating in a global environment;
- support a democratic ethos and a culture of human rights through educational programmes and practices conducive to critical discourse and creative thinking, cultural tolerance, and a common commitment to a humane, non-racist and non-sexist social order;
- contribute to the advancement of all forms of knowledge and scholarship, and in particular address the diverse problems and demands of the local, national, southern African and African contexts, and uphold rigorous standards of academic quality” (White Paper: 1.14).
The vision of the White Paper continues to remain compelling, as does the relevance of its central policy goal, namely, the development of a single, national, co-ordinated higher education system, which is diverse in terms of the mix of institutional missions and programmes. Its underlying assumptions have passed muster and continue to receive widespread support as reflected in the public responses to the Council on Higher Education Report invited by the Minister. The goal, however, remains unachieved. This is largely due to the fact that the Ministry has adopted an incremental approach to the development and implementation of the key policy instruments necessary to enable the creation of a single, co-ordinated system. Thus, although the development of institutional three-year “rolling” plans began in 1998, these were developed in the context of the broad transformation agenda and policy goals signalled in the White Paper, rather than a clear set of implementation and funding guidelines linked to a national plan.
An incremental approach was adopted for three reasons. First, the lack of systemic capacity in terms of both person-power and technical skills, in particular statistical modeling and analytical skills, to implement the comprehensive and wide-ranging planning agenda outlined in the White Paper. Second, the absence of an adequate information base, in particular analyses and understanding of systemic and institutional trends. Third, the need to develop a consultative and interactive planning process through dialogue between the Ministry and higher education institutions to underpin the principle of co-operation and partnership.
It is arguable whether a more robust and timely implementation of key policy instruments would have been possible, given the capacity constraints at both the national and institutional levels. However, it is clear that the implementation vacuum has given rise to a number of significant developments, including unintended and unanticipated consequences, which, if left unchecked, threaten the development of a single, national, co-ordinated, but diverse higher education system.
The National Plan addresses the implementation vacuum and is, therefore, a key instrument in moving towards the implementation of the vision and policy framework outlined in the White Paper.
The most important consequence of the absence of a national plan has been the development of a competitive climate between public higher education institutions. This competitive climate has, furthermore, been fuelled by the emergence of a market in higher education as a result of a growing private higher education sector. The increased competition between higher education institutions has further fragmented and exacerbated the inequalities within the higher education system.
The intensified competition between public higher education institutions is the product of two inter-related factors. First, a decline in student enrolments in the late 1990s. The average annual growth rate of 5%, which was a feature of the higher education system between 1993 and 1998 has not been sustained and there has been a 4% drop in enrolments between 1998 and 2000 (enrolment trends are discussed in Section 2).
Second, financial constraints as a result of pressures on financial resources. Government expenditure on higher education (excluding the National Student Financial Aid Scheme) as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product increased from 0.72% in 1995/1996 to 0.77% in 1996/97, and it fluctuated between 0.75% and 0.77% until 2000/2001, when it has dropped to 0.73%. It is 0.72% for 2001/2002 and is projected to decline to 0.68% in 2003/2004, according tot he Medium Term Expenditure Framework. The decline, coupled with the rapidly declining student enrolments, has impacted on institutional operational budgets. Institutions have attempted to respond to this by introducing efficiency measures and widening their income stream.
In this context, the increased competition between institutions is neither surprising nor unexpected. It is consistent with institutions as rational actors taking action to maximise their welfare. It also highlights the limits of linking funding narrowly to student enrolments. This is inherently competitive, except when enrolments are growing, and/or unless mitigated by other policy and planning mechanisms linked to national goals.
The implications of a competition-driven higher education system and its attendant dangers are clearly identified by the Council on Higher Education, which argues that it results in:
“lack of institutional focus and mission incoherence, rampant and even destructive competition in which historically advantaged institutions could reinforce their inherited privileges; unwarranted duplication of activities and programmes; exclusive focus on ‘only’ paying programmes; excessive marketisation and commodification with little attention to social and educational goals; and insufficient attention to quality” (CHE: 17-18).
The competition-driven developments have essentially taken three forms to date: first, the rapid development of distance education programmes by traditionally contact institutions; second, the establishment of satellite campuses by contact institutions to facilitate the delivery of their distance education programmes and, in some cases, to offer traditional face-to-face programmes; third, the rapid growth of the private higher education sector with its limited focus on the delivery of low cost, high demand programmes which are financially lucrative, such as those in business, commerce and management.
The potentially damaging impact of these developments is increasingly becoming clear. They threaten the continued sustainability of both the dedicated distance education institutions, as well as the contact institutions in whose localities satellite campuses have been established. Furthermore, they have reinforced the inherited inequities of apartheid in the public sector, as it is the well-resourced institutions that have been best placed to take advantage of the competition-driven environment. In the case of private institutions, the limited focus on profitable programmes results in unfair competition with public institutions, which are expected to offer a broad range of programmes.
These developments are in direct contradiction to the policy framework of the White Paper, which aims to ensure a more systemic and coherent approach with greater responsiveness of higher education institutions to national needs. This is not to suggest that inefficient and ineffective public higher education institutions must be allowed to continue operating as they are. Neither is it to suggest that all forms of competition are detrimental to the well-being of the higher education system. On the contrary, the Ministry welcomes competition that promotes innovation and enhances quality. However, competition between institutions must be regulated within a national framework that promotes and facilitates the sustainability of the higher education system. Furthermore, the burgeoning private higher education sector requires more stringent regulation to ensure that it complements the public sector and contributes to the overall human resource needs of the country.
The point to emphasise is that the long-term future of individual public institutions and their restructuring must be determined by national policy and needs and not by the vagaries of the market and competitive pressures.
The increased competition between institutions has further fragmented and, in some cases, intensified the racial divides in the higher education system. The opening up of access to higher education for black students at all institutions after 1994 has adversely impacted on student enrolments at the historically black institutions and, in particular, the historically black universities. Head count enrolments in the historically black universities fell from a peak of 111 000 in 1995 to 83 000 in 2000. The enrolments in the historically black technikons in contrast have increased from 32 000 in 1995 to 45 500 in 2000. The decline in enrolments, combined with a range of other factors such as growing student debt, governance and management failures and general instability, has resulted in the rapid erosion of the sustainability of a number of the historically black universities.
This brings to the fore the role of redress funding in addressing the legacy of the past and in establishing the sustainability of the historically black institutions. The principle of equity and redress is firmly entrenched in the White Paper, which states:
“The principle of equity requires fair opportunities both to enter higher education programmes and to succeed in them. Applying the principle of equity implies, on the one hand, a critical identification of existing inequalities which are the product of policies, structures and practices based on racial, gender, disability and other forms of discrimination or disadvantage, and on the other a programme of transformation with a view to redress. Such transformation involves not only abolishing all existing forms of unjust differentiation, but also measures of empowerment, including financial support to bring about equal opportunity for individuals and institutions” (White Paper: 1.18).
The White Paper makes a clear distinction between social (i.e. individual) redress and institutional redress. As the Council on Higher Education argues, although the two are connected, “the former is not reducible to the latter” (CHE: 14). This needs to be underscored as the changing demographic profile of the student body suggests that the burden of teaching under-prepared students is no longer primarily confined to the historically black institutions. This is illustrated by the fact that while in 1993 only 30 000 (or 25%) of the African students in contact higher education institutions were enrolled in the historically white institutions, this had increased by 1999 to 148 000 (or 57%). Thus, social redress, which includes both the provision of student financial aid for poor students and the provision of resources to institutions to deal with the learning needs of under-prepared students, cuts across the past divide between the historically black and historically white institutions.
The Ministry therefore agrees with the Council on Higher Education that:
“The categories of ‘historically advantaged’ and ‘historically disadvantaged’ are becoming less useful for social policy purposes….(and that) the 36 public higher education institutions inherited from the past are all South African institutions. They must be embraced as such, must be transformed where necessary and must be put to work for and on behalf of all South Africans” (CHE: 14).
This does not imply that institutional redress is no longer relevant. On the contrary, the continued role of the historically black institutions as integral components of a transformed higher education system requires that institutional redress be addressed. However, it suggests that the focus of institutional redress must shift from current notions of redress, which are narrowly focused on the levelling of the playing fields between the historically black and historically white institutions.
The key question that needs to be asked is “redress for what?” The Ministry is of the view that the main purpose of redress must be to ensure the capacity of institutions to discharge their institutional mission within an agreed national framework. It also requires that institutions not only develop a clear mission and sense of purpose, but also that they ensure that the necessary administrative, management, administrative, governance and academic structures are put in place to support the mission.
The continued instability and permanent state of crises that characterises a small number of the historically black institutions cannot be countenanced any longer. Although the origins and genesis of the historically black institutions as products of apartheid should not be ignored, the instability and crises cannot be reduced only to the legacy of apartheid. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that it does not affect all the historically black institutions and that some of the affected institutions have been able to turn around and achieve stability.
The instability has also impacted on the allocation of redress funds in the past few years. Although funds have been limited because of funding constraints, the available funds have been allocated mainly to assist a few institutions that were experiencing severe financial difficulties. In the 1998/1999 financial year, R27 million was available for institutional redress purposes and was allocated on the basis of the funding formula to all the historically black institutions. However, the R57 million available for institutional redress in the 1999/2000 financial year, was allocated to assist three institutions in severe financial distress.
The Ministry agrees with the Council on Higher Education’s suggestion that attention must be paid to the identification of new missions, which would enable institutions that were disadvantaged to develop new directions and trajectories (CHE: 52-53). The National Plan provides the basis for identifying developmental strategies to ensure that the historically black institutions are in a position to fulfil their agreed role within the transformed higher education system.
The allocation of redress funds to facilitate and underpin developmental strategies must be based, as the White Paper states, on business plans with clearly identified needs linked to performance improvement and efficiency measures (White Paper: 4.38). It is in this context that institutional audits, which the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Historically Disadvantaged Tertiary Institutions in South Africa (ASAHDI) have recently called for, have a potentially important role to play. As the White Paper indicates, institutional audits are necessary to assess needs and to rectify deficiencies within the historically disadvantaged institutions (White Paper: 4.37).
The Ministry has in the past two years undertaken limited audits of the administrative and management systems at some of the historically black universities that were experiencing governance and management problems and whose financial sustainability was at risk. These audits have proved valuable and have allowed the affected institutions to take the appropriate steps to ensure that the necessary administrative and management systems are in place to enable the smooth and effective functioning of the institution. However, if institutional audits are to add value more generally, they must be undertaken in the context of a clear and agreed delineation of the roles of different institutions linked to the overall restructuring of the higher education system. It is precisely because of the absence of an overall framework for the restructuring of the higher education system that the Ministry has not, to date, initiated large-scale institutional audits, as suggested in the White Paper.
The National Plan outlines the implementation framework for achieving the vision and goals of the White Paper. In line with the White Paper, it establishes indicative targets for the size and shape of the higher education system, including overall growth and participation rates, institutional and programme mixes and equity and efficiency goals. It provides a framework and outlines the processes for the restructuring of the institutional landscape of the higher education system, as well as for the development of institutional plans.
Furthermore, it indicates the strategies and levers through which the framework and system-wide targets and goals established by the National Plan will be achieved. The planning process in conjunction with funding and an appropriate regulatory framework will be the main levers through which the Ministry will ensure that targets and goals of this National Plan are realised.
The Ministry will from 2003 directly link the funding of higher education institutions to the approval of institutional three-year “rolling” plans, rather than the current practice whereby funding is mechanically determined by past student enrolment trends. This means, in effect, that from 2003, the approved institutional plans will determine the level of funding of each higher education institution.
The Ministry will also use various earmarked funds to realise particular policy objectives such as, for example, research capacity-building and increased access of poor students and the disabled to higher education.
The effective use of funding as a steering lever requires the development of a new funding formula based on the funding principles and framework outlined in the White Paper. The Ministry is in the process of finalising the development of a new funding formula. A draft funding framework will be released for consultative purposes towards the end of March 2001. It is anticipated that a new funding formula will be phased in from 2003.
This combination of planning and funding levers to achieve policy objectives involves a model of implementation in which the Ministry will determine the overall goals for the higher education system and establish incentives and sanctions to steer the system towards those goals. The Ministry will not, however, hesitate in certain limited circumstances to intervene directly in the higher education system in order to ensure stability and sustainability. The intervention by the Ministry to bring stability to institutions in crisis through the appointment of administrators, for example, at UNITRA and the University of the North, is a case in point. Equally, the Ministry will not hesitate to intervene to ensure the implementation of national policy and transformation goals should this prove necessary.
5.1 Institutional autonomy
The Ministry anticipates that there are likely to be objections from some quarters on the grounds that the National Plan infringes institutional autonomy. Indeed, such an objection was raised by some commentators in response to a draft discussion document released by the Council on Higher Education Task Team prior to the release of the final CHE Report.
In terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No 101 of 1997), higher education institutions are autonomous. However, the Act does not grant higher education institutions unfettered autonomy or independence. The preamble to the Act clearly spells out that autonomy must be coupled with accountability. As the preamble states, “it is desirable for higher education institutions to enjoy freedom and autonomy in their relationship with the state within the context of public accountability and the national need for advanced skills and scientific knowledge”.
The Ministry is committed to institutional autonomy as is evident from the limited interventions that it has made in the day-to-day operations of higher education institutions. Indeed, it has often been criticised for not being interventionist enough in dealing with the crises that sporadically erupts in various higher education institutions. The Ministry is acutely aware of the delicate balance that requires to be maintained between institutional autonomy and public accountability. It is committed to maintaining this balance. The Ministry believes that the solution to finding the appropriate balance must be determined in the context of our history and our future needs. The Ministry will not however, allow institutional autonomy to be used as a weapon to prevent change and transformation.
The release of the National Plan brings to a close the consultative process that began with the Minister’s request in July 1999 to the Council on Higher Education to advise him on the restructuring of the higher education system. The National Plan represents the Ministry’s response to the proposals contained in the Council on Higher Education’s Report. The CHE’s Report and the responses to it by higher education constituencies and other interested parties, at the invitation of the Ministry, have helped to shape the National Plan.
The fundamental principles and framework outlined in the National Plan are not open for further consultation. This is not to suggest that there is no room for consultations on the details of implementation or on the outcomes of the further investigations that are indicated in the National Plan. However, the focus must now be firmly on implementation. As the White Paper states:
“our democratically elected government has a mandate from its electorate and is responsible to Parliament for ensuring that the mandate is fulfilled. Ministers have a duty to provide leadership. When all the appropriate investigations and consultations have been completed, a minister must decide, and must take responsibility for the consequences of the decision” (White Paper: 3.5)
That time has now come. The consultative process, which has lasted some six years, must rank as one of the most wide-ranging and all encompassing that has taken place anywhere in the world on higher education. It began with the National Commission on Higher Education in 1995 and continued through the development of a Green Paper in 1996, the White Paper, including a Draft White Paper, in 1997 and the preparation of the Council on Higher Education's Report last year. It must be brought to a close.
The release of the National Plan also brings to a close the first or preparatory planning phase, which began in 1998 with the submission of the first set of institutional three-year “rolling” plans. It signals the start of the second phase in which, as indicated above, the planning process and funding framework are aligned, and in which, specifically, the allocation of funds will be linked to the approval of institutional plans. This does not imply that the National Plan addresses all the elements of the comprehensive planning framework outlined in the White Paper. Its focus is on the key elements necessary to achieve the central policy goals of the White Paper. The policy goals that are not addressed in the National Plan will be introduced over the next few years, with the intention that all the elements should be in place by 2003.
It is also important to underline the emphasis in the White Paper on the indicative and rolling nature of the planning process. Indicative and rolling plans facilitate the setting of objectives and implementation targets that can be adjusted, updated and revised annually in response to changing trends and developments in the internal and external environment. This suggests a dynamic and flexible approach to planning, instead of the rigidities associated with the now discredited top-down or centralised, including manpower, planning approaches (White Paper: 2.9). In short, it suggests that no plan can or should be cast rigidly as this would preclude introducing changes in the light of a rapidly changing regional and national context.
The National Plan will be reviewed annually and revised and adjusted in the light of the institutional plans and the ongoing analyses and monitoring of key trends and developments, as well as emerging regional and national needs. In this regard, it should be highlighted that the National Plan would have to be adjusted to take into account the concrete objectives and strategies that are likely to emerge from the Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy, which was adopted by Cabinet at its legotla in January 2001. It would also have to take account of the Government’s Integrated Rural Development and Urban Renewal Strategies.
The National Plan addresses five key policy goals and strategic objectives, which in the Ministry’s view, are central to achieving the overall goal of the transformation of the higher education system. The goals and strategic objectives are:
- To provide increased access to higher education to all irrespective of race, gender, age, creed, class or disability and to produce graduates with the skills and competencies necessary to meet the human resource needs of the country.
- To promote equity of access and to redress past inequalities through ensuring that the staff and student profiles in higher education progressively reflect the demographic realities of South African society.
- To ensure diversity in the organisational form and institutional landscape of the higher education system through mission and programme differentiation, thus enabling the addressing of regional and national needs in social and economic development.
- To build high-level research capacity to address the research and knowledge need of South Africa.
- To build new institutional and organisational forms and new institutional identities through regional collaboration between institutions.
These goals and strategic objectives, including the desired outcomes and the strategies that would be used to attain them are discussed in detail in each of the sections that follow. In addition, the key activities that flow from these strategies and the timeframes for completing them are outlined in the concluding section of the National Plan.
GOAL ONE:
“To provide a full spectrum of advanced educational opportunities for an expanding range of the population irrespective of race, gender, age, creed or class or other forms of discrimination” (White Paper: 1.27)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE:
To produce graduates with the skills and competencies to meet the human resource needs of the country
PRIORITIES:
- To increase the participation rate in higher education to meet the demand for high-level skills through a balanced production of graduates in different fields of study taking into account labour market trends.
- To increase the number of graduates through improving the efficiency of the higher education system.
- To link improvements in efficiency to improvements in quality.
- To broaden the social base of higher education by increasing access to higher education of workers and professionals in pursuit of multi-skilling and re-skilling, and of adult learners who were denied access in the past.
- To produce graduates with the skills and competencies required to participate in the modern world in the 21st century.
2.1 CONTEXT: LABOUR MARKET AND STUDENT ENROLMENT TRENDS
2.1.1 Human resource development and labour market trends
The White Paper argues for the planned expansion of the higher education system given the increasing importance of high-level skills and human resources for social and economic development in a knowledge-driven world. The need to expand higher education is confirmed by studies of the structural changes in the South African economy and the associated changes in labour market trends in the past three decades (Bhorat 1999, HSRC 1999a, HSRC 1999b, HSRC 1999c). These studies indicate that:
- There has been a major structural shift in the economy over the past twenty-five years. The primary sectors of the economy have been in consistent decline over the period, while the services sector has grown rapidly. In terms of GDP shares, the primary sector declined by about 4% and the services sector grew by about 6% between 1970 and 1995. These changes are reflected in employment data, which show that between 1970 and 1995 employment in the agricultural sector fell by 1.25 million (or 50%) and in the mining sector by 211 000 (or 31%).
- Significant shifts have occurred in employment distribution in all sectors of the economy. There has been a decline in unskilled and semi-skilled work and a rapid increase in skilled work, especially in professional, managerial and technical occupations. This is evident even in the agricultural and mining sectors, where the major job losses that occurred were in unskilled work. In all sectors, professional and technical employment grew by 1.1 million (or 312%) and managerial employment by 313 000 (or 272%) between 1970 and 1995.
- The proportion of unskilled and semi-skilled workers declined from 56.8% of total employment in 1965 to 38.8% in 1994, while that of professional and managerial occupations increased from 8.5% to 17.7%. Managerial occupations alone increased from 1.8% to 4.1%. Similarly, clerical, sales and service occupations increased from 28.9% to 38.3%, while artisans declined marginally from 5.8% to 5.2%. Significantly, high-level occupations continued to grow even during periods of low economic growth when total employment was declining.
- * The changes in employment patterns were primarily a result of technological change, in particular rising capital intensity, as well as more general moves to computerisation in all sectors of the economy.
- There was a decline of 79% in the demand for the labour of workers with no education, and a drop of 24% in the demand for those with only primary schooling between 1970 and 1995. In contrast, the demand for workers with even an incomplete secondary education increased by 53% and for those with a matric certificate by just under 400%. In the case of workers with a tertiary qualification, the demand for labour increased by 2028%.
- There is an endemic shortage in South Africa of high-level professional and managerial skills. Particular shortages are in the science and economic-based fields, and especially in information technology, engineering, technological and technical occupations, economic and financial occupations and accountancy and related occupations. These are also the fields in which future demand is likely to be the greatest.
The studies further indicate that the shift in employment distribution in favour of professional and managerial occupations is likely to continue. It is projected that between 1998 and 2003:
- Total employment, that is, new jobs, is expected to grow by less than 1%. However, the growth rate for professional and managerial occupations is expected to be 9.5% and 6.2%, while artisan occupations are expected to grow by 3.9% and unskilled and semi-skilled work is expected to decline by 3.4%.
- The total demand, that is, both new and replacement jobs, for professionals, managers and artisans will be just under 275 000. Of these just under 235 000 jobs will be in professional and managerial occupations, with the professional occupations accounting for just under 80% of all jobs.
The studies on future needs must be read with caution, as a background report on the labour market studies prepared for the Council on Higher Education suggests. According to the report, they are based, in part, on employer forecasts of labour requirements, which, according to international experience, are not very reliable except in the short-term. They are also regarded as conservative and likely to underestimate the overall future demand for high-level skilled labour. Although they are based on plausible economic growth assumptions, the assumptions on replacement needs may be under-estimated, as the impact of HIV-AIDS has not been factored in (CHE: 2000a).
The potential underestimation of future demand is indicated by evidence that graduate unemployment is only 2.9%, which is conventionally regarded as full employment (HSRC, 2000). This suggests that the employment potential of graduates and therefore high-level skilled labour has not reached its peak.
However, given the caution expressed above regarding manpower planning, the accuracy of the projections of the demand for labour are less important than the indicative trends that they suggest. The projections and trends provide a framework within which to assess whether the higher education system is geared to the task of supplying the human resource requirements of the country.
2.1.2 Enrolment trends
The labour market trends highlighted above clearly indicate the need for the higher education system to produce more graduates. However, an assessment of enrolment trends suggests that both in terms of size (i.e. numbers of students enrolled) and shape (i.e. enrolments in different fields of study), the higher education system is not meeting this need.[1]
The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) projected in 1996 that the higher education system would be transformed from an elite to a mass system by 2005, with the participation rate[2] increasing from 20%[3] in 1996 to some 30% in 2005.
In terms of head counts, the NCHE projected that enrolments (including private higher education enrolments) would double, from just under 600 000 in 1996 to nearly 1.5 million in 2005. This projected growth has, however, not been borne out in practice. On the contrary, the participation rate in public higher education has decreased from 17% in 1996 to 15% in 2000.
The optimism of the NCHE projections reflected the rapid enrolment growth in higher education in the early 1990s as well as anticipated changes to the education and training system in general after the election of a democratic government. For example, between 1993 and 1998, head count enrolments in higher education increased rapidly from 473 000 to 608 000, i.e. by 135 00 (or 29%). However, the rise in head counts began to level off between 1996 and 1998, growing only by 20 000 or (3%) and subsequently declined by 22 000 (or 4%) between 1998 and 2000.
A significant feature of head count enrolments over the past seven years has been a rapid growth in the provision of distance education programmes by traditionally contact institutions. Distance education head count enrolments in contact institutions grew by 492% between 1993 and 1999, i.e. from 14 000 to 69 000, and there are no signs that it is levelling off. The majority of these distance programmes are undergraduate programmes targeted, in the main, at employed teachers who are upgrading their qualifications for salary purposes.
The decrease in the head count enrolments is the result of two factors. First, there has been a sharp decline in the number of school-leavers with matriculation exemption, which is a precondition for entry into universities and, to a lesser extent, into technikons. Between 1994 and 2000, the number of school-leavers obtaining a matriculation exemption decreased from 89 000 to 68 626, i.e. by 20 374 (or 23%). In comparison, the NCHE’s enrolment projections were based on assumptions that the total of school-leavers with matriculation exemption would reach 157 000 by 2000.
The decline in the throughputs from the school system has resulted in the higher education system’s annual intake of first-time entering undergraduate students remaining constant at about 120 000 of which 80 000 are enrolled in the contact institutions and 40 000 in the dedicated distance institutions (UNISA and Technikon SA).
Second, there has been a significant fall in the retention rate in higher education, that is, the proportion of students in a given year who re-register in the following academic year. The evidence suggests that the retention rates in some sub-sectors of the higher education system have fallen by up to ten percentage points in the last two years compared to the years in which rapid growth occurred.
The reasons for the decline in retention rates are not clear and require investigation. However, it is likely to have been the result of a complex set of factors, including:
- Large numbers of students from the enrolment bulge of the mid-1990s completing their qualifications and moving out of the system.
- High drop-out rates, due to financial and/or academic exclusions and students in good academic and financial standing not remaining in the public higher education system.
- Fewer than normal numbers of students entering postgraduate studies immediately after completing their first qualifications.
In addition, there are number of factors of a more speculative nature which may also help explain the decrease in head count enrolments. These include the increased costs of higher education, which may be impacting on the ability of students from lower middle class backgrounds from entering higher education, as well as the perception that the value of higher education for employment purposes is declining. The latter is evident from the fact that there seems to be a growing demand for short courses linked to technical qualifications that are employment-oriented, especially in the information technology industry. These are usually offered in the private higher education sector.
There is no evidence to suggest either that the decline in retention rates will be reversed or that the annual intake of new undergraduates will increase in the short to medium-term. If graduation rates, retention rates and new intake rates remain at their present levels, then total head count student enrolments are likely, for the foreseeable future, to remain in the current range of around 600 000; at most 350 000 in contact programmes and 250 000 in distance programmes.
In terms of fields of study, the main change that has occurred between 1993 and 1999 has been a shift in enrolments from the humanities to business and commerce. This is consistent with labour market signals, which indicate a shortage in the economic and financial spheres. However, enrolments in science, engineering and technology have remained relatively constant. This is indicated by the fact that the proportion of enrolments between 1993 and 1999 changed from 57% to 49% in the humanities; 19% to 26% in business and commerce; and 24% to 25% in science, engineering and technology respectively. It should be noted however, that the ratio in science, engineering and technology may be slightly understated because of definitional problems relating to a range of vocationally-oriented applied technology programmes offered by the technikons, which are currently classified as humanities programmes.
It should also be noted that a major constraint on increasing enrolments in business and commerce and science, engineering and technology is the paucity of matriculants who have the required proficiency in mathematics. For example, in 2000 only 19 327 school-leavers obtained higher grade passes in mathematics.
2.1.3 Graduate outputs
The decline in enrolments is further compounded by the fact that the higher education system is characterised by major inefficiencies in relation to the outputs of the system. In this regard, three factors should be highlighted.
First, the average graduation rate (calculated on the basis of the number of graduates as a percentage of head count enrolments) remained at 15% between 1993 and 1998. It was 17% for universities and dropped from 11% in 1993 to 10% in 1998 for technikons. Thus in 1998, 89 000 students graduated out of a total head count enrolment of 608 000 students. The average graduation rate at the institutional level ranged from 6% at the low end to 24% at the high end in 1998. Preliminary data for 1999 indicate that the effective decrease in enrolments over the last few years has also now begun to reduce graduate outputs accordingly.
Second, the total growth in graduates has not kept pace with enrolment growth in higher education. Thus, between 1993 and 1998, the total number of graduates grew by 17 000 (or 24%) compared to a growth in head count enrolments of 135 000 (or 29%). Technikon graduates grew by 6 300 (or 41%), compared to a growth of 75 000 (or 56%) in head count enrolments, while university graduates grew by 11 000 (or 19%), compared to a growth in head count enrolments of 7 000 (or 17%).
Third, drop-out rates, that is, students not re-registering even though they have not completed the requirements for their qualifications, are high. On average, about 20% of all undergraduates and postgraduates drop out of the higher education system each year. The average for first-time entering students is 25%. This results in an annual loss to the system of at least 120 000 students who do not complete their studies.
These poor graduation and retention rates and high drop-out rates are unacceptable and represent a huge waste of resources, both financial and human. For example, a student drop-out rate of 20% implies that about R1,3 billion in government subsidies is spent each year on students who do not complete their study programmes. These funds would go a long way not only in financing the expansion of the higher education system, but also in providing the much-needed funds for redressing the inequities of the past. Moreover, the cost to those who drop-out, in terms of the moral and psychological damage associated with “failure”, is incalculable.
2.2 OUTCOME 1: INCREASED PARTICIPATION RATE
The analyses of enrolment trends and graduation rates suggest that the higher education system is not meeting the human resource needs of South Africa. The decline in enrolments coupled with inefficiencies in graduation rates are cause for concern, given the shifts that have occurred in employment distribution as well as the shortages of high-level skills. This is likely to be a major impediment in achieving the economic development goals of the Government. In this regard, the Ministry has taken particular note of the international evidence, which suggests that there is a correlation between economic development and the level of participation in higher education. According to the Task Force on Higher Education and Society Report, Higher Education in Developing Countries: Perils and Promise (World Bank, 2000), the average higher education gross participation rate is just over 40% for high income countries, just over 20% for middle income countries and 5% for low income countries. The 15% participation rate in higher education in South Africa is well below that of comparable middle income countries.
The Ministry therefore agrees with the recommendation of the Council on Higher Education that:
“To ensure an adequate supply of high-level human resources for social and economic development, an increased participation rate of 20% of the age group 20-24 in public higher education should be the target over the next 10-15 years” (CHE: 65-66).
The Ministry regards this relatively modest target to be achieved over the next ten to fifteen years as realistic, given current conditions and constraints. First, financial constraints and the claims on the fiscus to address a range of social priorities, make it unlikely that there will be significant additional resources available for higher education. As indicated in Section 1.3, expenditure as percentage of the Gross Domestic Product has decreased from 0.77% in the mid-1990s to 0.72% in the 2001/2002 financial year. It is projected to decrease further to 0.68% in 2003/2004.
The Ministry is committed to ensuring adequate levels of funding for higher education. However, it believes that, given financial constraints, it is imperative to guard against rapid enrolment growth unless it is matched by additional resources. Increasing enrolments without new investment will be detrimental to the long-term stability and sustainability of the higher education system, as well as to the quality of offerings. This is confirmed by the experience of the historically black institutions, which grew rapidly in the 1980s in response to the demand for access to higher education, which was integral to the struggle against apartheid. The growth however, was not matched by additional resources from the apartheid State, thus contributing, in part, to the instability and financial difficulties that currently bedevil some of these institutions.
Second, the decline in the throughputs from the school system is unlikely to be reversed significantly in the short to medium-term to fuel an expansion of the higher education system. On current population figures, a participation rate of 20% would require a total head count enrolment of about 750 000 students in the higher education system. On the basis of current patterns, 188 000 school leavers would be required to enter the higher education system each year.[4] The Ministry has modelled scenarios of throughputs from the school system to 2010 (with 1995 as the base year) based on varying assumptions of flow, candidacy and pass rates, including the impact of HIV/AIDS. The scenarios indicate that a continuation of the current output from secondary schools is unlikely to allow an increase in the participation rate. However, a 20% participation rate should be possible within a ten to fifteen year period if there is a significant improvement in the throughputs from the school system.
The arrest of the current decline and the improvement of the throughputs from the school system, both in numbers and quality, remain priorities of the Ministry, as outlined in the Tirisano implementation plan (Department of Education: 2000). However, although the school system is no longer under demographic pressure as a result of falling fertility rates and rising mortality rates, removing the dead weight of the apartheid legacy from the school system is proving more difficult than may have been anticipated. The Ministry is therefore pleased to note the modest improvement in the matriculation results for 2000. The 9% increase in the pass rate suggests that the strategic interventions based on the Tirisano implementation plan are beginning to take effect.
2.3 OUTCOME 2: INCREASED GRADUATE OUTPUTS
The Ministry believes that the long-term goal of increasing the overall participation rate must be complemented by strategies to increase graduate outputs in the short to medium-term in order to ensure that the current demand for high-level managerial and professional skills is satisfied. This requires that over the next five to ten years the priority must be to improve the efficiency of graduate outputs from the system. Indeed, it would be difficult to argue for additional resources to facilitate expansion unless the inefficiencies in graduate outputs are addressed satisfactorily.
The Ministry therefore intends taking steps at both the institutional and national levels to address the inefficiencies in the graduate outputs of the higher education system.
2.3.1 Institutional efficiency benchmarks
The Ministry expects all institutions to prioritise and focus their efforts in the next five years on improving the efficiency of the outputs from the system based on the following benchmarks for graduation rates:
Benchmarks for Graduation Rates
Qualification-type
Graduation rate
Contact Distance Up to 3-years: undergraduate 25% 15% 4 years or more: undergraduate 20% 10% Postgraduate: up to honours 60% 30% Masters 33% 25% Doctoral 20% 20% The benchmarks have been calculated by reviewing student cohort models, involving a combination of retention rates, drop-out rates and graduation rates over a five-year period.[5] They have been developed taking into account South African conditions, which include current performance and the fact that a large number of under-prepared students enter higher education. It is not possible for the Ministry to provide meaningful international comparisons given variations in international qualifications and practices.
Statistics on graduate outputs indicate that few institutions meet the proposed benchmarks. If the above benchmarks had been applied to enrolments over the past three years, the higher education system would have produced about 40 000 more graduates annually than is the case at present. Given the small numbers entering higher education, this is clearly a loss that the country can ill-afford.
There will be two major incentives for individual institutions to improve their graduation rates, and as a result, those of the higher education system as a whole. The first will be the inclusion of graduate outputs as an integral component of the new funding framework, that is, funding will be linked to the number of graduates produced. The second will be that institutional performance in the production of graduates will determine the programmes that institutions will be allowed to offer in the programme planning grid (outlined in Section 4).
The Ministry recognises that it may be argued that including graduate outputs in the funding formula may be contrary to the White Paper, which states that:
“While there is a need to improve institutional efficiency and effectiveness, the inclusion of student completions is inappropriate at this time given the different apartheid legacies of existing institutions and the need to adopt a forward-looking approach. In view of the wide variations in need and capacity, as well as the policy objective of encouraging diversity and quality improvement within the system, the Ministry will base its negotiations with institutions on their academic development plans and on progress they are making towards achieving the performance improvement targets outlined in their strategic plans” (White Paper: 4.29).
The focus of the White Paper, however, is on removing the success rates in individual courses, which are a key element in the current subsidy formula. The inclusion of graduate outputs does not therefore contradict the White Paper’s commitment to making student enrolments the primary driver in the funding formula.
The Ministry is of the view that the scale of the inefficiencies requires the inclusion of graduate outputs in the new funding framework. This does not mean that the need for a forward-looking approach is no longer relevant. On the contrary, efficiency improvements are dependent on the development of a range of appropriate strategies, including addressing the underlying factors that contribute to low graduation rates, in particular limited academic development programmes and student financial aid (the latter is discussed in Section 3.2.1).
2.3.2 Academic development
An analysis of the second set of institutional plans submitted in 1999 suggests that in many institutions academic development programmes largely remain marginal or are not offered at all. This is indicated by the fact that, despite a specific request in the planning guidelines for information on academic development programmes, few institutions spelt out the programmes and strategies in place and their impact on throughput and graduation rates.
The Ministry is aware of the dissatisfaction expressed by institutions that the delay in the introduction of the new funding formula has impacted on the development of academic development programmes. The Ministry remains committed to the funding of academic development programmes as part of the new funding formula. However, it should be made clear that higher education institutions have a moral and educational responsibility to ensure that they have effective programmes in place to meet the teaching and learning needs of the students they admit. This requires that institutions should integrate academic development programmes into their overall academic and financial planning. In addition, institutions need to ensure that they do not recruit students who do not have the potential to pursue further study and that they do not retain students who have no chance of success.
In the interim, the Ministry has addressed the need for academic development programmes through the provision of earmarked funds. This was introduced in the 2000/2001 financial year. The earmarked funds were allocated to enable institutions to introduce, or continue to offer, extended curricula in key subject areas, as a means of improving access and success rates for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The focus on extended curricula was based on the recognition that curriculum-related approaches are critical to dealing with educational disadvantage, rather than reliance on supplementary support mechanisms, especially in fields of study that require competency in mathematical numeracy.
However, an assessment of the proposals submitted by institutions to access the earmarked funds was worrying. Roughly half of the institutions submitted proposals which met the stipulated criteria, indicating an understanding of the role of academic development programmes, as well as the integration of existing programmes into the academic activities of the institutions concerned. It is a matter of concern, however, that almost half of the institutions submitted proposals that fell far short of meeting the key criteria, indicating a lack of understanding of the role of extended curricula in academic development. The following shortcomings in the proposals are worth highlighting:
- In many institutions the foundation programmes are not effectively integrated into the mainstream curricula. The add-on nature of many of the programmes is educationally unsound as best practice indicates that the success of academic development programmes is dependent on their integration into the structure of the overall curriculum.
- The emphasis in most institutions’ proposals is still predominantly on access, in the sense of providing places for students who do not meet standard admissions criteria, rather than on long-term student success and graduation. For example, very few institutions make provision for students who meet the normal admissions criteria to pursue extended curricula programmes. The fact that they meet the normal admissions criteria does not necessarily imply that they are not at risk, as is evident from the high failure and drop-out rates in general.
- There is little collaboration between institutions resulting in the development of foundation programmes in isolation and without the benefit of the substantial experience in academic development programmes that exists in various institutions.
- Some institutions see information technology-related approaches as the central solution to the problems experienced by disadvantaged students. While the innovative use of technology is to be welcomed, there is a strong risk that approaches which focus only on improving delivery through information and communication technology, and which leave traditional curricular structures unchanged, will not provide a comprehensive solution.
The role of academic development programmes in improving the efficiency of the higher education system in terms of graduate outputs is critical. The Ministry therefore expects that institutions will give priority to rectifying the shortcomings in current academic development programmes, as well as introducing such programmes if they are not currently on offer. The Ministry will also encourage regional collaboration in the development and delivery of academic development programmes in order to ensure that experience and best practice in academic development benefits the higher education system as a whole.
2.3.3 Quality of graduate outputs
The focus on efficiency improvements cannot and must not be at the expense of the quality of academic outputs. The principle of quality, which the White Paper defines in terms of “maintaining and applying academic and educational standards, both in the sense of specific expectations and requirements that should be complied with, and in the sense of ideals of excellence that should be aimed at” (White Paper: 1.21), must underpin any efficiency strategy. In fact, quality is central to redress and equity. It is unacceptable for graduates in general and those from previously disadvantaged communities in particular, to be short-changed in terms of the quality of programme provision as it would not only impact on their ability to improve their own life chances, but it would also adversely impact on the broader agenda for social and economic development.
The Ministry is therefore pleased to note that the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education, which has executive responsibility for quality assurance, has been established and has released a framework to guide its work in the development of a robust quality assurance system. This does not however, absolve higher education institutions from establishing and developing their own internal quality assurance mechanisms. In fact, both the HEQC and institutional quality assurance mechanisms are crucial components for the transformation of the higher education system.
2.3.4 National planning and efficiency improvements
In order to plan and measure the efficiency of the higher education system in terms of graduate outputs, the Ministry intends to establish national student planning targets as totals of graduates rather than as simply head count or full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolment totals. This will in turn generate the required head count and full-time equivalent enrolment totals for the higher education system as a whole. The Ministry will, at the start of each three-year planning cycle draw up a planning table of expected graduate outputs of the kind illustrated below:
Graduate Grid for Universities and Technikons: Year n
Career-oriented: up to 3-years Formative: 3-years Career-oriented: 4-years & more Honours degrees Masters degrees Doctors degrees Total (1) Natural & mathematical sciences x x x x x x x (2) Engineering and other applied sciences x x x x x x x (3) Health sciences x x x x x x x (4) Business/commerce x x x x x x x (5) Education x x x x x x x (6) Social sciences & applied humanities x x x x x x x (7) Humanities x x x x x x x TOTAL x x x x x x x The higher education system will be expected over the next five years to move significantly towards the achievement of the graduation rate benchmarks identified above.
The Ministry expects that at a minimum, over the next five years, the total number of graduates will increase by 10 000 per annum, i.e. from the current total of 90 000 to 100 000 per annum. The division of the targets between different fields of study will be the subject of further analysis by the Ministry. However, it will be informed by the need to shift the balance in the shape of enrolments and outputs between the humanities, business and commerce and science, engineering and technology (discussed in more detail under Outcome 5 below).
The stress on the need for the system to move towards the achievement of graduation rate benchmarks is important. As stated earlier, the number of students entering higher education is not likely to increase substantially in the short term. However, with efficiency improvements the current output of graduates can be produced with a smaller number of head count enrolments. In this regard, the planning model shows that:
- If the current graduation rates were to persist then a head count enrolment total of 670 000 (compared to the actual 2000 total of 580 000) would be needed to produce a total of 100 000 graduates.
- If graduation rates were to improve by 10%, then a head count enrolment of 600 000 would be needed to produce 100 000 graduates.
- If the graduation rate benchmarks were achieved, then a head count enrolment of only 450 000 would be needed to achieve a target of 100 000 graduates.
In short, if the benchmarks were to be achieved, then the current head count enrolment of 580 000 in the system would generate nearly 130 000 graduates (an improvement of 33% on the current total).
2.4 OUTCOME 3: BROADENED SOCIAL BASE OF STUDENTS
The Ministry believes that an important avenue for increasing the potential pool of recruits to higher education is to recruit non-traditional students, i.e. workers, mature learners, in particular women, and the disabled. This is an important policy goal, which was signalled in the White Paper and has been reaffirmed by the Council on Higher Education, which suggests that “ ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ initiatives should be promoted to increase the intake of adult learners” (CHE: 66). It has, however, largely been ignored by institutions, despite requests that they indicate in their institutional plans the strategies and steps they intend taking to address this goal.
The main developments in this area have largely been limited to the introduction by some institutions of professional development programmes, which have primarily been targeted at teachers and delivered through distance education programmes in conjunction with private providers. The impact and implication of these programmes are discussed in Section 4. There has, however, been little or no movement towards the development of programmes to attract workers mature learners, in particular women, and the disabled, who were denied access to higher education in the past.
The provision of higher education to workers, mature learners and the disabled, aside from the equity and redress imperatives, could play a significant role in addressing the shortage of high-level skills in the short to medium-term, especially as there is a large potential pool of recruits. An analysis of the 1996 census suggests that there are about 1,6 million adults in the 25-39 age group with a matriculation certificate. Moreover, the establishment of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) provides the opportunities and channel through which higher education institutions could develop programmes targeted at workers, mature learners and the disabled. The role of the SETAs, as the Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy indicates, would be to identify the skills gaps and shortages, which require to be addressed, provide bursaries to learners and to identify the appropriate higher education providers to develop and deliver the required programmes.
It should be emphasised that increasing the access of workers, mature learners and the disabled to higher education is an important policy goal in it own right and should be approached as such rather than as an attempt to shore up falling enrolments.
The Ministry therefore expects institutions to indicate in their institutional plans the strategies and steps they intend taking to increase the enrolment of these categories of learners, including clear targets and time-frames.
2.5 OUTCOME 4: INCREASED RECRUITMENT OF STUDENTS FROM THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
There is increasing evidence to suggest that there is as yet untapped potential to recruit students from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, especially at the postgraduate level. This is indicated by the fact that, although there are currently about 14 000 students from the SADC region enrolled in public higher education institutions, several SADC countries are negotiating with private providers both in South Africa and elsewhere to increase access to higher education for their nationals.
The recruitment of students from the SADC region would be consistent with the Southern African Development Community protocol, which commits member states to targeting a maximum of 10% of their student places for students from other SADC countries. This is unlikely to impact adversely on access for South African students given the declining enrolments in the higher education system. It will also not adversely impact on the sustainability of enrolments in higher education institutions in the SADC countries, many of which have far fewer higher education institutions than South Africa.
The real significance of increasing the recruitment of students from the SADC region lies in the fact that it would contribute to the broader human resource development needs of the region, which is critical if the Southern African Development Community is to become a major social and economic development bloc. It will also enrich the educational experience of South African students and broaden their understanding of the social, cultural, economic and political ties that underpin the peoples and countries of the Southern African Development Community.
In line with the Government’s commitment to the Southern African Development Community protocol, the Ministry is in the process of finalising its policy on the subsidisation of foreign students, which will treat SADC students as South African students for subsidy purposes. The new policy will come into effect from 2002.
The Ministry is, however, concerned that, although SADC students are regarded as home students, higher education institutions continue to have a differential fee structure for them. The Ministry recognises that there may be additional administrative costs associated with the recruitment and servicing of non-South African students. However, the wide variation in the additional fee levies charged by different higher education institutions is unacceptable and has been questioned by the SADC member states. The Ministry would, therefore, like to encourage higher education institutions to agree collectively on whether an additional fee levy is necessary and if so, what would constitute an appropriate additional fee levy.
The Ministry will request the South African Universities Vice-Chancellors Association (SAUVCA) and the Committee of Technikon Principals (CTP) to advise jointly on the appropriate fee levy, if any, for SADC students.
2.6 OUTCOME 5: CHANGED ENROLMENTS BY FIELDS OF STUDY
The Ministry will over the next five to ten years shift the balance in enrolments between the humanities, business and commerce and science, engineering and technology from the current ratio of 49%: 26%: 25% to a ratio of 40%: 30%: 30% respectively.
The Ministry does not believe that the ratio can be adjusted any further in the short-term in favour of business and commerce and science, engineering and technology as the school system is not at present able to produce large numbers of matriculants who have the required proficiency in mathematics, which is generally a prerequisite for entry to these programmes. The Ministry, as part of its Tirisano programme, has developed strategies to intervene in the school system to improve the quality of teaching in, and to increase the number of students matriculating with, mathematics and science.
Furthermore, the desirability of adjusting the share of the humanities below the planned 40% is open to question. The humanities play an important role, as the White Paper states, in career-oriented training in a range of fields such as education, law, private and public sector management, social development and the arts (White Paper: 2.25). The humanities also play an important role in developing a critical civil society through enhancing our understanding of social and human development, including social transformation.
The Ministry recognises the current public concerns in general and within the historically black universities in particular, which have narrowly focused on the need to shift enrolments to business and commerce and science, engineering and technology. This is the result of two factors. First, there is a perception that a qualification in the social sciences and humanities has no value in the labour market. Second, there is the legacy of apartheid, which restricted the black institutions to producing graduates for the bantustan bureaucracies, thus leading to a preponderance of programmes and graduates in public administration. These concerns are not without foundation and merit attention. However, the Ministry is of the view that the concerns can be addressed without necessarily shifting enrolments away from the social sciences and humanities. Rather, as many institutions have done, the curricula should be restructured to provide the skills and qualities required for employment purposes.
The Ministry would like to highlight two concerns in relation to the humanities. First, there has been a significant drop in enrolments in pre-service teacher training programmes, which has major implications for the human resource requirements of the education system. The Ministry is currently developing a national teacher development plan, which will identify the requirements in pre-service training, the upgrading of un-and under-qualified teachers, as well as in-service training in line with new curriculum and school improvement policies. This plan, which is scheduled for release for consultative purposes in June 2001, will serve as the basis for determining the number of student places that the Ministry will support in the broad field of education over the next five years.
Second, important fields of study which impact on the development of a common sense of nationhood and that could play an important role in contributing to the development of the African Renaissance continue to be marginalised in higher education institutions. These include, in particular, fields of study such as African languages and culture, African literature (and not only in its English form) indigenous knowledge systems and more generally, the transformation of curricula to reflect the location of knowledge and curricula in the context of the African continent. The Ministry would like to encourage institutions to develop and enhance these fields and will monitor developments closely.
In the case of science, engineering and technology, the Ministry is particularly keen to increase enrolments in the broad field of information and communications technology, which has been identified by the Cabinet as a key focus for skills development. The shift in the balance of enrolments in general and the specific focus on information and communications technology will be achieved through the steering of funded student places and through identifying the institutions that have the capacity and/or potential to respond to the Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy.
The Ministry would like to sound a note of caution that although changing the balance of enrolments towards science, engineering and technology is a priority for the country as a whole, it does not follow that all institutions are necessarily required to contribute to addressing this goal. The role that different institutions play in addressing this goal would depend on their mission and programme mix, which must be linked to their social and economic context (which is discussed in Section 4).
2.7 OUTCOME 6: ENHANCED COGNITIVE SKILLS OF GRADUATES
It is crucial to equip all graduates with the skills and qualities required for participation as citizens in a democratic society and as workers and professionals in the economy. This should not be seen in a simplistic vocational sense as there is increasing evidence to suggest that narrowly technical skills are becoming less important than knowledge management and organisation skills. What evidence there is suggests that employers, in addition to technical skills, want graduates who can “demonstrate a strong array of analytical skills and a solid grounding in writing, communication, and presentation skills” (quoted in the Task Force report on Higher Education and Society 2000: 85). The skills that all graduates will require in the 21st century have been aptly summarised by Michael Gibbons as computer literacy, knowledge reconfiguration skills, information management, problem-solving in the context of application, team building, networking, negotiation/mediation competencies and social sensitivity (Gibbons: 1998).
The issue, then, is not whether there should be more or fewer enrolments in business and commerce and science, engineering and technology as against the social sciences and humanities, but whether the higher education system as a whole is geared towards addressing the skills and competencies required of all graduates in the modern world.
The Ministry is aware that many institutions have embarked on a review of their academic programmes. This has often been in response to the need to define outcomes, or the academic objectives of programmes, for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). It has also often been part of an attempt to improve the quality of qualifications by ensuring that all the parts of the curriculum form a coherent whole. This should be an ongoing process to ensure that the quality of qualifications is improved in line with best practice internationally, as well as to ensure that the nature of knowledge is updated continually. However, it is important to monitor the consequences of programme restructuring in order to guard against the development of rigid programme structures with little flexibility or opportunity for articulation between programmes offered at different institutions. This not only hinders student mobility but also acts as a potential barrier to institutional collaboration in programme development and delivery.
The Ministry therefore agrees with the Council on Higher Education that there is a need to review the current academic policy and qualifications structure to ensure that the qualifications framework is appropriate for our needs. In this regard, the Ministry supports the CHE’s proposal to investigate the “desirability and feasibility” of replacing the current three-year undergraduate degree with a four-year degree in the long-term. A four-year undergraduate degree may provide the framework for addressing a range of objectives such as the academic development needs of under-prepared students, the skills requirements of a changing labour market and the enhanced access of workers, mature learners and the disabled to higher education.
The Ministry looks forward to receiving proposals from the Council on Higher Education based on the outcome of its investigation into an appropriate academic policy and qualifications framework for South Africa. It should be indicated that any proposals for restructuring the qualifications framework would have to be considered in the light of its implications for the sustainable financing of the higher education system.
2.8 STRATEGIES
2.8.1 Increased participation rate and graduate outputs
2.8.1.1 The Ministry will ensure efficiency improvements, including increasing and broadening enrolments, through:
- Establishing planning targets as part of the three-year “rolling” plan process for graduate outputs, including head count and full-time equivalent enrolment totals for the higher education system. The target will be to increase the total number of graduates by a minimum of 10 000 per annum over the next five years.
- Linking the funding of student places and full-time equivalent enrolments of institutions to the numbers of graduates produced.
- Funding academic development programmes as an integral component of the new funding formula for higher education.
- Facilitating, in conjunction with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the streamlining of procedures for obtaining study permits by students from the Southern African Development Community.
- Requesting the South African University Vice-Chancellors’ Association and the Committee of Technikon Principals jointly to advise on whether additional fee levy is necessary for students from the Southern African Development Community and, if so, what an appropriate additional fee levy would be.
2.8.1.2 Higher education institutions will have to indicate in their three-year rolling plans that they have developed:
- Strategies, including time-frames and targets, to improve throughput, success and graduation rates in line with the efficiency benchmarks set by the Ministry.
- Strategies, including time-frames, for reducing drop-out rates, especially of students who drop-out in good academic standing but not because of financial reasons.
- Minimum criteria for automatic admission into different academic programmes.
- Selection processes to determine the suitability of applicants who do not meet the minimum criteria for automatic admission.
- Minimum criteria for the readmission of students and a limit on the number of times that a student would be allowed to repeat a course or full year of study.
- Strategies, including time-frames and targets, to increase recruitment of workers, mature learners, in particular women, and the disabled.
- Strategies, including time-frames and targets, to increase the recruitment of students from the SADC region.
2.8.2 Changed enrolments by fields of study
2.8.2.1 The Ministry will over the next five to ten years, through various planning and funding incentives:
- Shift the balance in enrolments at the systemic level between the humanities, business and commerce and science, engineering and technology from the current ratio of 49%: 26%: 25% to 40%: 30%: 30% respectively.
- Increase enrolments in career-oriented programmes in all fields of study, with the emphasis on increasing enrolments in information and communications technology through identifying institutions that have the capacity and/or potential to develop information and communications technology as a field of study.
- Increase enrolments in pre- and in-service teacher training based on a national teacher development plan.
- Encourage the development of programmes in marginalised fields of study such as African languages, as well as the more general restructuring of curricula to reflect an orientation towards the African continent.
2.8.2.2 Higher education institutions will have to indicate in their institutional three-year “rolling” plans:
- The institution’s shape profile in terms of the balance between the humanities, business and commerce and science, engineering and technology programmes in relation to the institution’s location, vision, mission and capacity and the Government’s Human Resource Development Strategy.
- The strategies and steps that the institution is taking to restructure the curricula content and framework of all programmes to ensure that they develop the cognitive skills necessary for all graduates.
GOAL TWO:
To “promote equity of access and fair chances for success to all who are seeking to realise their potential through higher education, while eradicating all forms of unfair discrimination and advancing redress for past inequalities” (White Paper: 1.14)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:
- To ensure that the student and staff profiles progressively reflect the demographic realities of South African society
- To ensure that the race and gender profiles of graduates reflect the profile of student enrolments
PRIORITIES:
- To increase the participation, success and graduation rates of black students in general and African and Coloured students in particular.
- To increase the representation of blacks and women in academic and administrative positions, especially at senior levels.
3.1 CONTEXT: INEQUITIES IN SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION
3.1.1 The equity imperative
The achievement of equity in relation to the composition of the student and staff bodies in higher education is one of the White Paper’s central goals for the transformation of the higher education system. The goal of equity in the White Paper is linked to the imperative to address the inequalities of the past and to eradicate all forms of unfair discrimination in relation to access and equality of opportunity within higher education for historically and socially disadvantaged groups.
The case for the planned expansion of the higher education system in the White Paper is in part linked to the imperative for equity. As the Council on Higher Education states, the
“extent to which equity and access are actively promoted or frustrated will determine the nature and extent of social and class stratification and have a direct bearing on the nature of South Africa’s democracy, labour market and social stability” (CHE: 27).
The importance of access to higher education in determining social and economic opportunity is demonstrated both by the fact, as indicated above, that graduate unemployment is low, but also that graduates with a bachelors degree earn 125% more than those with only a matric (HSRC: 2000c).
The race and gender impact of changes in the labour market and the link to educational qualifications is clearly indicated by the labour market studies discussed in Section 2. The shift in employment distribution in favour of professional and managerial occupations between 1970 and 1995 has had a differential impact on the rate of employment of African and non-African labour based on educational qualifications. In this period, the employment of non-Africans increased by between 48% and 108%, while that of Africans remained constant. This difference is in part explained by the differing access of Africans and non-Africans to education in general and to higher education in particular.
Women on the other hand have benefited from the shift from the primary to the service sectors, in particular, as information technology is apparently gender-neutral. Thus between 1970 and 1995, the employment of women increased by 22%, as against 16% for men.
The contribution of the higher education system to equity in the context of a changing labour market is assessed below.
3.1.2 Race equity: students
There has been significant movement in achieving the White Paper’s goal of “ensuring that the composition of the student body progressively reflects the realities of the broader society” (White Paper: 2.24). The change in the racial composition of the student body has been striking. The enrolments of black students increased by 61% between 1993 and 1999, i.e. from 249 000 (or 53%) to 414 000 (or 71%) of the total head count enrolments. The change is even more dramatic in the case of African student enrolments. African student enrolments increased from 191 000 to 343 000 between 1993 and 1999, i.e. by 152 000 (or 80%). Thus in 1999, African students constituted 59% of the total head count enrolments in higher education.
The institutional distribution of African students has also changed. In 1993, 49% of African students were enrolled in the historically black institutions, 13% in the historically white institutions, and 38% in the two distance education institutions. This had changed by 1999 to 23% in the historically black institutions, 41% in historically white institutions, and 27% in the distance education institutions. More specifically, between 1993 and 1999 African student enrolments:
- decreased by 7 000 (or 9%) in the historically black universities;
- increased by 22 000 (or 138%) in the historically black technikons;
- increased by 10 000 (or 100%) in the historically white English-medium universities;
- increased by 56 000 (or 1120%) in the historically white Afrikaans-medium universities;
- increased by 49 000 (or 490%) in the historically white technikons;
- increased by 22 000 (or 31%) in the two dedicated distance education institutions.
The major growth of African students has clearly been in the historically white Afrikaans-medium universities and the historically white technikons, and to a lesser extent, in the historically black technikons. The following factors help explain the shift in African students away from the historically black universities:
- The opening up of access to the historically white institutions in the early 1990s in the context of the transition to democracy.
- Instability at some of the historically black universities linked to contestations around leadership and governance.
- Student and parental perceptions of declining quality and standards at the historically black universities.
- Perceptions that technikon qualifications were more likely than university qualifications to increase employment prospects.
- Expansion of distance education programmes in the historically white Afrikaans-medium universities.
- Increased competition from private higher education providers.
Two points should be highlighted in relation to the increased enrolment of black students in some of the historically white Afrikaans-medium universities. First, a large part of this growth has been in distance education programmes and in programmes offered at satellite campuses. The evidence suggests that far larger numbers and proportions of African students than white students gain access to higher education only through distance education. For example, in 1999, 46% of all African students in higher education were registered through distance education programmes compared with 34% for white students. This in effect means that the main campuses of these institutions remain predominantly white.
Second, although the historically white Afrikaans-medium institutions are gradually moving towards the adoption of a combination of dual and parallel-medium language strategies, language continues to act as a barrier to access at some of these institutions. This is especially the case at the undergraduate level within some of the universities. Furthermore, even where a dual and parallel-medium language policy is in place, its implementation remains uneven as not all the courses within a degree or diploma programme are offered in dual and parallel-medium mode. This is unacceptable and cannot continue.
The Ministry has requested the Council on Higher Education to advise on the development of an appropriate language policy framework. The Council’s recommendations, which are expected by mid-2001 will provide a basis for determining a language policy for higher education.
The change in the number and proportion of black students indicates that the higher education system is becoming more representative. However, there are four important considerations, which suggest that equity must remain high on the agenda for change in higher education.
First, the overall changes in the demographic profile of the student body do not necessarily translate into individual institutions becoming more representative. Thus, in the historically white institutions, excluding distance and part-time students, the proportion of black students enrolled ranges from about 16% of total contact head count enrolments at the low end to about 55% at the high end.
Second, the overall participation rate in higher education continues to be characterised by gross inequalities. Although the participation rate of African students has increased from 9% in 1993 to 12% in 1999, it still remains well below that of white students, which has decreased from 70% to 47% and Indian students, which has decreased from 40% to 39%.
Third, the spread of black students across different programme areas, in particular those which generate the highest levels of private benefits for graduates, is uneven. The available evidence indicates that African students remain clustered in the humanities, with low enrolments in science, engineering and technology, business and commerce and in postgraduate programmes. This is illustrated by enrolment patterns in a selected group of six historically white universities, which indicate that:
- In two universities where the majority of students in 1998 were black, inequalities existed in the distribution of students across the various categories of intended majors. For example, in one of these institutions, only 5% of African students were registered for qualifications leading to majors in science, engineering and technology, and only 4% were registered for majors in business and commerce, compared to 24% for white students in both science, engineering and technology and business and commerce. However, 74% of African students were registered for majors in education. In the second institution, 24% of African students were registered for majors in science, engineering and technology and 4% for majors in business and commerce, compared to 50% and 12% for white students respectively. However, 48% of African students were registered for majors in the broad field of the humanities.
- In two universities, where the majority of students in 1998 were white, inequalities in distributions across majors were significantly less evident. In one, 44% of African students were registered for qualifications leading to majors in science, engineering and technology and 21% for qualifications leading to majors in business and commerce, compared to proportions of 42% and 27% for white students. In the other, 15% of African students were registered for qualifications leading to majors in science, engineering and technology and 15% for qualifications leading to majors in business and commerce, compared to 22% and 14% for white students respectively.
The probable reason for the differences in distribution between the institutions in which black students were in the majority and those in which white students were in the majority is that the latter are more selective and target the better qualified black applicants.
Fourth, there are wide disparities in the graduation rates of black and white students. The evidence suggests that the average graduation rate for white students tends to be more than double that of black students.
The growth in black student numbers has been accompanied by a decline in white student enrolments, which have fallen from 222 000 in 1993 to 164 000 in 1999 -a decline of 58 000 (or 26%). The reasons for the sharp decline in white student enrolments are not clear and require investigation. At an anecdotal level it has been suggested that white students, influenced by perceptions of increased instability and dropping standards, are either moving into private higher education institutions or, in the case of those who can afford it, are pursuing their studies overseas.
The Ministry would like to state emphatically that the achievement of equity will not be at the expense of white students. The Ministry is committed to ensuring that all students, black and white, have access to higher education and contribute to the social and economic development of South Africa.
3.1.3 Gender equity: students
In general, in terms of total enrolments, gender equity has been achieved in the higher education system. This is indicated by the fact that female head count enrolments increased by 89 000 (or 44%) between 1993 and 1999, that is, from 202 000 to 291 000. In marked contrast, male head count enrolments grew by only 2 000 (or 1%) between 1993 and 1999. Male student enrolments have in fact begun to decline after reaching a peak of 307 000 in 1995. The main result of these different growth rates is that the proportion of female students in the higher education system has risen from 43% in 1993 to 52% in 1999.
However, gender equity continues to remain a problem in the technikons, where the proportion of female enrolments increased from 32% in 1993 to 42% in 1999. Furthermore, as with black students, the spread of women students across different programme areas is uneven, with female students clustered in the humanities and under-represented in science, engineering and technology, business and commerce, and in postgraduate programmes.
It is worth noting that institutional plans place far less emphasis on gender equity than on race equity. This is evident from the fact that, while attempts are being made to develop strategies and interventions to address issues of race equity, there are few, if any, strategies or interventions in place to address issues of gender equity
3.1.4 Race and gender equity: staff
Changes in the demographic profile of the student body of the higher education system have generally not been accompanied by a similar change in the staff profile so that black people and women remain under-represented in academic and professional positions, especially at senior levels.
In universities, the proportion of white academic staff in permanent posts as a whole declined only slightly from 87% to 80% between 1993 and 1998, while the proportion of black staff increased from 13% to only 20%. In technikons, the proportion of permanent white academic staff declined from 88% to 72% between 1993 and 1998, while black staff increased from 12% to 29%.
In 1999, taking account of permanent as well as temporary appointments, the proportions of black academic and executive staff in the various sectors were:
Black staff as % of full-time staff: 1999
Academic Executive/support professionals Historically white (Afrikaans) universities 5% 6% Historically white (English) universities 21% 27% Historically black universities 60% 65% Historically white technikons 11% 17% Historically black technikons 67% 79% Unisa and Technikon SA 17% 35% In 1999, taking account of permanent as well as temporary appointments, the proportions of female academic and executive staff in the various sectors were:
Female staff as % of full-time staff: 1999
Academic Executive/support professionals Historically white (Afrikaans) universities 35% 44% Historically white (English) universities 34% 57% Historically black universities 38% 40% Historically white technikons 38% 37% Historically black technikons 38% 29% Unisa and Technikon SA 48% 51% There are, of course, greater disparities when the figures are broken down further into levels of appointment, with black and female appointments showing an unacceptable decline at the more senior levels.
3.1.5 Equity and disabled students
There is very little data available on the access of disabled students and the employment of disabled staff in higher education institutions as this data was not collected previously. Although the new higher education management information system, which came into effect last year, includes information on the disabled, this will not be available for analytical purposes until later in the year.
However, the information submitted by institutions as part of their “rolling” plans indicates that in total there are about 1 000 disabled students in higher education. This is clearly unacceptable and institutions must prioritise access for disabled students. There is no information on staff but it can be safely assumed that there are not more than a handful of disabled staff in the employ of higher education institutions.
The Ministry recognises that it may not be possible for every institution to provide the full array of infrastructure needed to service the specific educational needs of disabled students. This provides an ideal opportunity for institutions within each region to develop regional strategies, which would ensure that disabled students are catered for within the region. However, at a minimum, all institutions should have the basic infrastructure to allow access to the campus for disabled parents and members of the community more generally.
3.2 OUTCOME 7: INCREASED EQUITY IN ACCESS AND SUCCESS RATES
The Ministry acknowledges that significant changes have occurred in both the race and the gender profile of the student body in the higher education system. However, these changes have not gone far enough. As the White Paper states, “equity of access must be complemented by a concern for equity of outcomes. Increased access must not lead to a ‘revolving door’ syndrome for students with high failure and drop-out rates” (White Paper: 2.29). Neither must the increased access of black students through distance education programmes and satellite campuses - students who are “neither seen nor heard”, be allowed to parade as a commitment to equity of access. In this regard, the Ministry would like to state emphatically that it is unacceptable that the student profile of some institutions continues to remain predominantly white. This cannot continue.
The Ministry is also concerned that the selection practices and values of institutions may militate against increasing the access of black and women students to particular fields of study, especially in science, engineering and technology programmes. This can be illustrated by the fact that the Government has found it necessary to send black students - over 200 to date - to Cuba to be trained as medical doctors. Why could they not have been placed in South African medical schools?
The answer may be found in the fact that the admissions requirements of most South African medical schools are targeted, in the main, at the academically brightest applicants rather than at attracting those who have the potential, but have not had the opportunity to develop their potential to the full because of the poor state of schooling in black areas. Moreover, the evidence suggests that a large majority of the students currently receiving training in medical schools leave the country soon after graduating. This suggests that the values and practices of some medical schools may be at variance with the values and principles and the broader objectives that underpin the transformation agenda in higher education and the needs of the country.
The Ministry, therefore, agrees with the recommendation of the Council on Higher Education that increasing the participation rate from 15% to 20% within a ten to fifteen year time-frame must be driven primarily by equity concerns and that the “increase in the participation rate should be made up principally of African and Coloured students so that their current under-representation is eroded” (CHE: 48). In addition, the Ministry would like to indicate that the increase in the participation rate must also target disabled students.
The Ministry will use planning and funding as the primary levers for ensuring that race and gender inequities are eradicated. The Ministry, following the White Paper, “will use indicative targets for distributing publicly subsidised places rather than firm quotas” (White Paper: 2.28). The Ministry is reluctant to introduce equity quotas as it recognises the difficulties involved in setting realistic targets, given the state of the school system and the low numbers of students matriculating with the necessary qualifications and competencies to pursue higher education. However, if institutions do not develop their own race, gender and disability equity targets and put in place clear strategies for achieving them, the Ministry will have no hesitation in introducing quotas in the future.
The Ministry is of the view that race and gender access would be facilitated by the establishment of a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service, which was mooted in the White Paper (White Paper: 2.75). This must therefore be prioritised. Such a service will have a number of benefits, including:
- Providing institutions with information on the available pool of potential students with the appropriate qualifications for entry.
- Satisfying the information needs of applicants on available programmes, as well as providing careers guidance and information on labour market trends.
- Enabling the Ministry and institutions to monitor progress in achieving equity in race and gender access.
- Providing the Government with information to assess the efficacy of its Human Resource Development Strategy.
The establishment of a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service will be made easier by the fact that a regional Central Applications System has been in operation in KwaZulu-Natal in the last few years under the auspices of the regional consortium, the Eastern Seaboard Association of Tertiary Institutions (eSATI).
The Ministry will commission an investigation into developing an appropriate model for establishing a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service. As a first step, the investigation will evaluate the KwaZulu-Natal Central Applications System. This will serve as the basis for determining the framework and operating mechanisms for establishing a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service, which should be in operation by 2003.
Increased access, however, is meaningless if students do not succeed in their studies. Although this is the primary responsibility of institutions, the Ministry is committed to ensuring that the underlying factors that hinder success are addressed. The Ministry’s support will focus primarily on three areas, namely, the funding of academic development programmes, improving the quality of schooling (both of which are discussed in section 2) and student financial aid. The Ministry also anticipates that the Higher Education Quality Committee will develop a rigorous framework for quality assurance to ensure that the quality of academic programmes is maintained and improved.
3.2.1 Student Financial Aid
The Ministry is committed to ensuring that academically able students who do not have the financial resources are not prevented from pursuing higher education studies. The importance attached to providing financial assistance is indicated by the fact that (i) the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which was established in 1996 and administered by the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (TEFSA), was converted into a statutory agency in 2000; and (ii) the Government has allocated just over R 2 billion to the NSFAS since 1994. If donor funding and the re-injection of recovered loans are included, then the total allocation is just under R 2,9 billion.
National Student Financial Aid Scheme Contributions
YEAR GOVERNMENT DONORS RECOVERED TOTAL 1994 R10,3 m R60,1 m Not Applicable R90,4 m 1995 R57,1 m R97,2 m Not Applicable R154,3 m 1996 R283,8 m R49,6 m Not Applicable R333,4 m 1997 R197,7 m R153,3 m Not Applicable R351,0 m 1998 R296,5 m R 98,0 m Not Applicable R394,5 m 1999 R384,9 m R56,3 m Not Applicable R441,2 m 2000 R437,4 m R33,5 m R27,5 m R498,4 m 2001 R440,0 m Not Available R160,0 m R600,0 m TOTAL
R2, 107.7 m R548,0 m R187,5 R2, 843.2 m
Although the Government’s contribution has been increasing annually, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme appears to be inadequate to meet the needs of students from poor communities. This is indicated by the fact that, as the table below shows, just 20% of students benefit from the NSFAS. Furthermore, there has only been a marginal increase in the number of awards made, which is probably due to the impact of inflationary pressures on tuition and residential fees.
Number of Awards
YEAR TOTAL 1996 72 788 1997 70 574 1998 75 764 1999 75 344 2000 81 609
Note: This includes both renewed as well as new awards.The Ministry is concerned to assess the effectiveness of, and to improve, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme as a mechanism for addressing the access of poor students to higher education. This is important as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme has a critical role to play as part of the Government’s broader strategy to alleviate poverty.
The Ministry therefore agrees with the recommendation of the Council on Higher Education that the size and coverage of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, as well as the income cut-off for eligibility, needs to be reviewed. The NSFAS practice of not providing a loan to cover the full costs of study in order to enable the limited funds to be spread over a wider net of students may be adversely impacting on students whose families are unable to make up the difference. It also seems that the income cut-off may be too low.
In addition, the Ministry would also like to review the suitability and likely impact, especially given limited resources, of targeting the National Student Financial Aid Scheme towards priority fields of study and/or institutions that can demonstrate the implementation of successful academic development programmes, especially in programmes in which black students are under-represented. In this regard, it is worth highlighting that this year the Ministry has specifically earmarked R20 million of the NSFAS allocation for teacher education.
The Ministry will request the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Board to undertake the review.
3.3 OUTCOME 8: IMPROVED STAFF EQUITY
The Ministry recognises the difficulties in changing the staff profile in higher education and, in particular, doing so rapidly. There are three inter-related reasons for this:
- Low numbers and proportions of black and women postgraduate students, leading to a limited potential pool from which academic staff can be recruited.
- Inadequate levels of financial support for postgraduate students.
- The inability of higher education institutions to compete in the labour market with the public and private sectors in terms of salaries.
However, notwithstanding these difficulties, employment equity remains an important national policy goal. The Ministry is therefore concerned that many higher education institutions have not yet developed employment equity plans and that only a few have set specific race, gender and disability targets. The Ministry believes that more urgent attention should be given to increasing and retaining the pool of qualified black and women staff, as well as to changing the disabled profile.
The Ministry acknowledges that institutions have indicated that they are in the process of developing employment equity plans to meet the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, and that many have identified potential strategies to underpin such plans. These include early voluntary retirement schemes, contract appointments, staff and management development programmes, staff postgraduate study opportunities both locally and abroad to enable staff to enhance their academic qualifications, the provision of scholarships to encourage postgraduate students to pursue academic careers, the establishment of development posts and the appointment of employment equity officers.
An important strategy that institutions have largely ignored is the need to change institutional cultures. There is growing evidence to suggest that historically white institutions, in particular, are unable to recruit or retain black staff because the institutional culture is alienating rather than accommodating. This needs to be addressed urgently as it also impacts on black students success and performance, and is an important obstacle to attracting black students into postgraduate programmes, especially research programmes.
The Ministry is of the view that the potential strategies identified by institutions are critical for ensuring employment equity in the long-term. However, it is imperative that all higher education institutions develop short-term strategies, which could complement, and act as a spur to, the longer-term strategies of building the pool of postgraduates, which would supply the needs of the academic labour market.
In this regard, the Ministry would like to encourage institutions to recruit academics actively from the rest of the Africa. Although this should not divert attention from the importance of recruiting and retaining black South Africans, it could play an important role in the short-term to providing role models for black students and in helping to change institutional cultures. It would also contribute to the broader development of intellectual and research networks across the Continent, thus contributing to the social and economic development of Africa as a whole.
The Ministry recognises that current immigration and work permit procedures have made it difficult to recruit and keep staff from the Continent and other countries. The Ministry will, in conjunction with the Ministry of Home Affairs, prioritise the streamlining of the procedures for obtaining work permits. This is in line with the President’s State of the Nation Address in which the President indicated that “immigration laws and procedures will be reviewed urgently to enable us to attract skills into our country”.
In addition, institutions should develop strategies to improve salaries and to narrow the salary gap between higher education and the private and public sectors. Although higher education institutions are unlikely to be able to compete with the private and public sectors in terms of salary differentials, the Ministry would like to encourage institutions to identify the factors that make academic careers attractive so that these advantages can be built into the development of strategies for recruiting and retaining staff.
3.4 STRATEGIES
3.4.1 Increased equity in access and success rates
3.4.1.1 The Ministry will use various planning and funding levers to increase access and success of black, women and disabled students in higher education. It will:
- Allocate funded student places on the proposed planning grid (outlined in Section 4.3.1) taking into account past institutional performance in enrolling and graduating black, women and disabled students, as well as stated equity objectives and targets in the institutional three-year “rolling” plans.
- Reduce funded student places in institutions that do not have satisfactory equity plans or whose performance is at variance with its equity plans.
- Include funding for academic development programmes as an integral component of the new funding framework, with priority given to programme areas in which black, women and disabled students are under-represented, and programme areas in which their success rates tend to be lower than those of white and male students.
- Request the National Student Financial Aid Scheme Board to review the role and efficacy of the NSFAS in increasing access and participation rates, including the suitability of introducing a more targeted allocation of the NSFAS.
- Monitor the selection criteria and practices of institutions.
- Commission an investigation into developing an appropriate model for establishing a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service to facilitate and monitor race and gender access. As a first step, the investigation will evaluate the KwaZulu-Natal Central Applications System as a basis for determining the framework and operating mechanisms for establishing a National Higher Education Information and Applications Service to be in operation by 2003.
3.4.1.2 Higher education institutions will have to indicate in their three-year “rolling” plans the strategies, including time-frames they have put in place to:
- Increase the access of black, women and disabled students in general. In particular, institutions that currently have a total enrolment of fewer than 30% of black students or where the majority of black students are enrolled in distance education programmes and/or satellite campuses should indicate the plans that they have in place to redress the situation.
- Redress the imbalances in the enrolments of students in different programmes, fields of specialisation or qualifications, in particular, postgraduate programmes.
- Redress imbalances in the success and graduation rates of students in different programmes, fields of specialisation or qualifications.
- Ensure that teaching/learning processes are sensitive to the needs of different students.
3.4.2 Improved staff equity
3.4.2.1 The Ministry will:
- Consider providing postgraduate scholarships targeted at black, women and disabled students.
- Remove obstacles to recruiting academic staff from the rest of Africa and other countries by facilitating the streamlining of procedures for obtaining of work permits.
3.4.2.2 Higher education institution will have to indicate in their three-year “rolling” plans the strategies, including time-frames they have put in place for:
- The development and implementation of employment equity plans, which conform to the guidelines required by the Department of Labour in terms of the Employment Equity Act.
3.4.3 Infrastructure for the disabled
Higher education institutions will have to indicate in their three-year “rolling” plans the strategies, including time-frames they have put in place to ensure that the institutional infrastructure is accessible to the disabled - students, staff and the community.