Cape Town - The much-criticised sector education and training authorities
(Setas) are here to stay, although their number may diminish,
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on
Wednesday.
Briefing the media in Cape Town, he announced an extension of
Seta licences by one year, from March 2010 to March 2011, coupled
with a "serious reconfiguration of the Seta landscape".
From last Sunday, Nzimande's department assumed responsibility
for the skills development and training sector in government.
"We are committed to keeping Setas at the moment. We think that
they are the best possible vehicles that we have."
He acknowledged there were "negative perceptions" around the
performance, management and governance of the 23 Setas.
Despite this, it was better to seek to strengthen them "so that
the word Seta stops being a swear word in some circles".
The viability of certain Setas was something his department
would look at over the next year.
"There has been debate for some time now as to whether the 23
Setas are appropriately structured, and whether they are adequately
responding to the challenge of skills development.
"The issue has been raised whether we shouldn't consider
reducing the Setas... This is precisely what we want to tackle head
on... from now until March 2011.
"We want to do this through a national debate... and engagement
with stakeholders," he said.
What was needed was a better alignment of the Seta system to the
college sector and to the universities of technology.
"That is what really requires big improvement and systematic
work," he said.
College enrolment must double
Noting there was R21bn tied up in skills development -
about R16bn in the Setas and R5bn in the National
Skills Fund - he said this money needed to be spent carefully.
"That's not a small amount of money... For such funds, we really
need to take care."
Nzimande said the public accountability of Setas needed to be
strengthened, including their spending.
"We want to use this [one-year] extension to really focus on
strengthening the Setas and making sure that they are accountable
and that they are able to spend their money in a systematic way,"
he said.
Nzimande also announced the appointment of his department's
director general, Mary Metcalfe, as interim chairperson of the
National Skills Authority advisory body.
"This is an interim arrangement until a new NSA chairperson is
appointed within the next few months."
On further education and training (FET) colleges, he said
enrolment needed to double over the next five years. The FET
subsystem had grown and changed over the past 15 years, and further
changes were anticipated with the move of the colleges to a
national function.
"Challenging work lies ahead to make colleges institutions of
choice for many more young people and adults.
"The shape of our post-secondary system is not appropriately
balanced between universities and colleges, and while access to
universities must be increased, enrolment in colleges must double
in the next five years," Nzimande said.
- Sapa