Buti Manamela's commitment to reform NSFAS and improve South Africa's education system
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, held his first media briefing in which he acknowledged that the country's Post-School Education and Training system remains challenged and fragmented, and he has committed himself to stabilising the country's embattled National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) within the next three months.
Manamela's promise to the country's poor students comes just days after reports indicated that the scheme's student accommodation management processes and the involvement of third-party partners are currently under a comprehensive legal review.
Furthermore, it is reported that the student financier is currently awaiting the outcome of this review, and once completed, it will implement the recommendations to enhance transparency, integrity, and efficiency in its payment processes.
On Tuesday, the recently appointed minister, who replaced Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, addressed the media on the state of the country's Post-School Education System and the department's vision for the sector.
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To ensure a unified system, Manamela revealed that he has engaged all relevant stakeholders, including universities, colleges, TVET colleges, the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), and other stakeholders.
" The truth is that our post-school education system remains fragmented and uneven. Too many young people are locked out of opportunities. Too many skills taught are not the skills the economy needs. Too many institutions are underperforming. Government failures and funding models remain unstable.
"The data is incomplete. The system is not coherent enough to ensure that South Africa achieves a return on investment. After three decades of transformation, and 10 years since Fees Must Fall, and 10 years since our colleges were merged, we must acknowledge that progress, great as it must have been, is also uneven," he stated.
Manamela indicated that stabilising the embattled NSFAS is his number one priority in a bid to reform the country's education system, while outlining six objectives aimed at integrating the country's post-schooling system.
"To give effect to this, we will stabilise the NSFAS in the next three months and set in motion a sustainable student funding model. To this effect, I've asked the CEO and the chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to convene an urgent briefing and brief the nation, and in particular students, on the state of NSFAS and some of the challenges that they've been confronted with. To support their work, we have already started engagement with Treasury in filling some of the gaps that exist in terms of student funding."
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