Optimism in Higher Education as the new Minister of Basic Education promises to hear USAf out on priority issues
It was one meet-and-greet in a series of scheduled stakeholder meetings between the new Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, MP, and a myriad of interest groupings in the broader education sector.
When the Universities South Africa (USAf) delegation walked into the Ministerial boardroom at 11:20 that morning, it was trading places with representatives of the South African Mathematics Foundation. No sooner had the USAf team stepped out than a contingent representing Equal Education, the Equal Education Law Centre, the Legal Resources Centre and Section 27, rushed in, together, to occupy their seats. This was the 2nd day in the three that the Ministry had dedicated to conferring with education interest groups in the last week of July.
“These engagements represent a bid to orientate myself with the broader Education sector; to understand the mandates of different stakeholder groups and their connecting touchpoints to my department,” the Minister, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, MP (above), stated in her opening words to the USAf team. “These conversations could jolt new ideas in us, as we explore opportunities for collaborations. They could even prompt us to re-think what we’re doing as we understand better, the negative impact of our work on various stakeholder groups out there.”
USAf’s opening words from the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Phethiwe Matutu, were a congratulatory message from Professor Francis Petersen, Chairperson of the USAf Board and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State, on Ms Gwarube’s appointment to this portfolio. Dr Matutu also tendered Professor Petersen’s apology for his inability to attend the meeting in person. On behalf of the USAf Board of Directors, she wished the Minister well in her tenure.
Dr Matutu (left) then went on to describe the mandate of USAf; how it operates – through strategy groups and the various communities of practice, and the links some of those (for example, the Education Deans’ Forum and the Admissions Committee, have with the Department of Basic Education–DBE). As part of her overview, she acknowledged the cordial relations that USAf had enjoyed with the DBE over the years – especially over the management of the school-leaving national senior certificate (NSC). She also recognised the links recently established on the issue of mother-tongue instruction between the Department and USAf’s Community of Practice on the Teaching and Learning of African Languages.
She further mentioned the interest of USAf’s Education Deans’ Forum to plug into the work of the DBE at various touchpoints, but primarily to collaborate on prioritising mother-tongue education; the prioritisation of Early Childhood Development– considering the challenges that teachers face in the foundation phase, that have repercussions all the way to higher education. She mentioned teacher professionalisation and support, considering the role of Education deans in teacher development; creating safe and supportive school environments through, among other interventions, infrastructure improvement (e.g. eradicating pit toilets and introducing reliable internet access at schools). Dr Matutu also cited addressing inequality in resources allocation with a focus on underprivileged schools, with intent to bridge the gap between them and their more affluent counterparts, to provide all students a chance at success — regardless of their social economic status.
At this point, the USAf team tabled the following priority issues to the Minister.
1. Stagnation on the annulment of Section 74 of the Higher Education Act
a) The Matriculation Board
The Matriculation Board (MB) is a statutory body established in terms of the University Act No 61 of 1955 and operating under statutory bodies known as the Committee of University Principals (CUP), and the Committee of Technikon Principals (CTP). These bodies were mandated to advise the Minister on matters of common interest to universities and technikons.
The function of the MB is to:
- Process applications for exemption from the National Senior Certificate (NSC) requirements for entry into university;
- Benchmark international and regional qualifications against South Africa’s university entry requirements; and to
- Provide advisory services to schools, parents and higher education institutions regarding minimum admission requirements into first degree studies.
Even though Act 61 of 1955 was annulled by the Higher Education Act, No. 101 of 1997, Section 74 of the Higher Education Act retained the statutory status of the Matriculation Board. The USAf Board deems it a problem that USAf, a non-statutory membership entity operating as a non-profit company, is administering the affairs of the statutory Matriculation Board (MB), whose mandate it has no power to change. Even though the MB self-funds (for its administration and office space) from the revenue it generates, managing its functions and assets adds an administrative burden to USAf, thus increasing USAf’s sustainability risks.
b) The CUP and CTP
The USAf Board is also concerned that the CUP and CTP continue to enjoy their statutory status in the HE Act, notwithstanding that the CUP changed names to the South African University Principals Association before merging with the CTP to form the non-statutory Higher Education South Africa (HESA) in 2005. In 2015, HESA rebranded itself into what is now known as USAf. The continuing existence of CUP and CTP requires USAf to carry on managing their assets year on year. USAf must report annually on their finances to the Receiver of Revenue and remains obliged to have their annual financial statements separately audited. This responsibility carries a time, expenditure and administrative burden on USAf.
That is why USAf has been lobbying for years, for the abolition of Section 74 of the Higher Education Act to annul the CUP and CTP existence, and for the transfer of their assets to USAf. USAf has also been persuading for the transfer of the MB to a statutory structure such as Umalusi. In October 2020, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation published this matter for public commentary until the first quarter of 2021. Even though USAf negotiated conclusively with Umalusi for the transfer of the MB to themselves, the final decision rests with the Minister of Higher Education and Training. Given the implications of this issue on both basic and higher education portfolios, the USAf CEO requested the Basic Education Minister to step in and expedite the matter with her Higher Education counterpart.
2. The impact of the late release of NSC results on universities
Through the Matriculation Board, USAf facilitates the release of the annual NSC results to the universities. The USAf delegation reported that the last time the NSC results were released to universities in the first week of January was in 2020. Since 2021, the public release date of the NSC results has moved from early January to the third week of January – understandably– considering the impact of CoViD-19 on the education sector, overall. In response to the pandemic, and in consultation with USAf, an agreement was made to change the academic cycle, including the writing of the NSC examinations. USAf appreciated that the return to previous academic cycles would take time, post CoViD. However, the NSC results have progressively been released later in January (from the first to the third week).
The shifts in the dates have, over time, resulted in the misalignment of the NSC results release with the commencement of the post-school (universities and TVETs) academic year. This has had a negative impact on the funding cycle of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), student accommodation, the general well-being of the school leaving cohorts, and the Higher Education sector. The late release of the NSC results leads to a general disorganisation of universities as they can do very little until matric results come out. The negative effects include:
- Campus instability: NSFAS also needs the NSC results to make bursary decisions and determine a closing date for applications. The late release of the results delays decision-making, causing a lot of consternation in students and a resort to protests.
- Student registration not concluded before classes commence: this has potentially negative impact on student success as only registered students can attend classes. Furthermore, Medical Schools start at the beginning of January. The late release of results hardly aids these schools’ processes.
- Negative impact on new students’ orientation: Orientation is critical for every new students — yet students may not attend until they are registered.
- Shortening the academic year, which leads to the compression of the exams period, leading to anxiety and potential mental instability in students. Some universities have had to shorten their examinations period, previously 21 days, to 15, with immense pressure on students, not to mention other university systems and operations.
- High levels of anxiety in matriculants: The extended waiting period is nerve wrecking to the matriculants, especially those who plan to embark on tertiary education. By the time results come out in mid-January, pressure has heightened on everyone.
Appreciating that school calendars are set years in advance, USAf said the point of bringing this matter up was to start a conversation, to resolve matters in the interest of learners – the group suffering the most when basic and higher education processes are misaligned.
DBE’s feedback
Joining the conversation online from an overseas engagement, DBE’s Director-General, Dr Mathanzima Mweli (right), said the transfer of the Matriculation Board to Umalusi was an easy issue, considering the discussions the DBE had had with Higher Education and with Umalusi. “In principle, we reached an agreement. Funding issues were long sorted out with the National Treasury. The delay was on the part of the former Minister of Higher Education. I therefore ask our Minister to pick this up with the new Minister, for conclusion.”
Dr Mweli, however, had reservations on the earlier release of NSC results, calling this matter “an octopus.” “South Africa is not rated very highly on the number of days it allocates learning and teaching. The World Bank talks of ‘learning poverty’ as far as South Africa is concerned, and we’re trying to correct that.” He argued that South Africa needed more days for learning and teaching, with implications on days allocated for examinations, including the accreditation of online schools. “The NSC results were released earlier when the number of subjects offered in basic schooling were half of what we are contending with, now, at 68. The standardisation of the NSC results (an Umalusi function) has therefore become a lot more extensive now, because of quality considerations. For that reason, Umalusi says any compression of time in this context encroaches on quality issues, and the reliability and integrity of matric results.”
The Director-General further posited that the school calendar involved numerous stakeholders and, therefore, was not an easy matter to resolve.
While expressing her appreciation for her department’s limitations, Minister Gwarube also underlined the importance of heeding the perspectives of stakeholders adversely affected by DBE’s operations. In response to USAf, she said she accepted wholeheartedly the importance of a functional relationship with Higher Education. “We need to fix the disjuncture between what is offered at Higher Education and our needs in Basic Education; any misalignment does a major disservice to our schools.” She emphasised that the learners were DBE’s ultimate concern.
Turning to her Deputy Director-General (DDG) responsible for Curriculum, Policy, Support and Monitoring, Dr Barney Mthembu, the Minister mentioned a need for a further four-way deliberation among the two DGs of Higher and Basic Education, Umalusi and USAf. To that end, she instructed the Chief Director in the Office of the Director-General to organise the meeting – further expressing doubt that the “octopus” referred to by the DG was insurmountable.
On the issues raised by the USAf CEO in the context of the Education Deans’ Forum, the new Minister of Basic Education said safety, mother-tongue teaching, teacher professionalisation and connectivity were already high priorities in the Basic Education plan, “but implementation is fragmented, with implications on impact.”
From left: Ms Annie Viljoen, Acting Senior Manager: Matriculation Board; Dr Phethiwe Matutu, USAf’s CEO; Minister Siviwe Gwarube, MP; Mr Mahlubi Mabizela, USAf’s Director: Operations and Sector Support; Ms Carol Crosley, Wits Registrar and Chair of USAf’s Registrars’ Forum, and a member of USAf’s Admissions Committee; and Ms ‘Mateboho Green, Manager: Corporate Communication at USAf.
Further expressing a need for closer collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders impacted by the work of the DBE, Minister Gwarube expressed deep gratitude to the USAf delegation (above) “for honouring this meeting and orientating me on my new role.”
Sitting in with her on this engagement were several senior DBE officials. In no specific order, these included Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana, the DDG responsible for Language and Transformation; Dr Barney Mthembu, Acting DG in the absence of Dr Mweli; Mr Seliki Tlhabane, Chief Director: Maths, Science and Technology (MST) and Curriculum Enhancement Programmes; Mr Elijah Mhlanga, Acting Chief of Staff and Head of Communications; Mr Jabu Mabasa, Director: Coordination and Secretariat Support and Mr Enoch Rabotapi from the DBE’s National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development.
From USAf, the CEO was accompanied by the Registrar of the University of the Witwatersrand, who also chairs the Registrars’ Forum and is a member of USAf’s Admissions Committee, Ms Carol Crosley; USAf’s Director: Operations and Sector Support, Mr Mahlubi Mabizela; and the Acting Senior Manager in the Matriculation Board, Ms Annie Viljoen.
USAf would in due course be invited to further engagements as suggested by the Minister.
‘Mateboho Green is Universities South Africa’s Manager: Corporate Communication.
