Council on Higher Education 2013 Strategic Plan briefing; briefing postponed for Quality Council for Trades & Occupations

Meeting report

Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO): Strategic and Annual Performance Plan 2013/14
Ms Ndivhu Madilonga, Chief Financial Officer, Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, tendered an apology for the Chairperson of the Council (QCTO or the Council), Professor Peliwe Lolwana, who was abroad and therefore could not attend the briefing. Mr Thomas Lata, Chief Director: Qualifications Management, QCTO, and she had been mandated to present the briefing.

The Chairperson stated that he had not been informed in advance that the Chairperson would be absent. He suggested that this briefing should be postponed, in light of the inability of the leadership of the Council to attend. He called for views from other Members.

Ms N Gina (ANC) noted that there were no leaders present and it raised the question about the credibility of the Strategic Plan. She was also unhappy with the format of the Annual Performance Plan, which she regarded as insufficient and disappointing.

Professor A Lotriet (DA) shared the same views as Ms Gina. However, she was concerned with the costs incurred by flying the staff from Gauteng to Cape Town.

The Chairperson stated that he was therefore not going to proceed with the briefing, although he was reluctant to waste costs incurred in bringing the staff to Cape Town. However, he did ask the staff of QCTO to interact with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET or the Department) to ensure that they re-drew the Annual Performance Plan, using the standard format to bring it in line with the guidelines.

Ms Madilonga acknowledged that the format used was incorrect, apologised and assured the Committee that its concerns would be communicated to their principals.

Mr Ahmed Essop, Chief Executive Officer, Council for Higher Education, noted that although he held no brief for, not was attempting to defend, the QCTO, he was aware that the organisation had being going through some difficult changes recently, which occurred within a particular context.

Professor S Mayathula (ANC) asked that when QCTO returned to present its documents again, the problems should be given to the Committee as background information.

Ms Gina added that the Committee noted that the meeting had opened doors, and agreed that the QCTO should use the platform to present its challenges.

Ms Madilonga stated there were ongoing discussions between QCTO and the Director General of DHET, and Minister of Higher Education and Training, and more information could be given at the next presentation.

Council for Higher Education 2013 Strategic and Annual Performance Plan briefing
Mr Ahmed Essop, Chief Executive Officer, Council for Higher Education, noted that the Council for Higher Education (CHE or the Council) had no Chairperson at the moment. The Acting Chairperson was Professor Letticia Moja. Two members of the Executive of the CHE were medical doctors and could not attend the briefing due to work commitments, and had therefore asked to be excused.

Mr Essop tabled the presentation document, and noted that the CHE had four functions; namely, to advise the Minister on any aspect of higher education, and to publish reports and information on the developments in the state of higher education, essentially a monitoring function. On the quality assurance side, it attended to the auditing of institutional Quality Assurance (QA) mechanisms, programme accreditation and promotion of QA. It also worked with the Qualifications framework development and management, standards setting, including naming conventions for qualifications, and the maintenance of learner database.

The strategic imperatives of the CHE were to contribute to informing policy and influencing the public debate on the policy framework for the transformation of the higher education system. The CHE aimed to  become a recognised centre for information and policy analysis on higher education. It would contribute to developing the role of quality assurance, in conjunction with the steering mechanisms of planning and funding, to enhance the quality of higher education and to enable the achievement of national policy goals and objectives. It would ensure that the higher education qualifications framework (HEQF) was current and relevant and met the human resource and knowledge needs of South Africa, in the context of an integrated and articulated post–school education and training system. It would attend to development and  maintenance of standards to enhance the quality of higher education. It would also contribute to building the intellectual capability and an effective organisational climate, to ensure that CHE could fulfil the mandate.

Mr Essop briefly outlined the four strategic goals and eleven linked strategic objectives that provided the framework for the Annual Performance Plan (APP) – see attached presentation for full details. Goal 1 required CHE to contribute to the transformation of the higher education system, through analysis and research, to inform the development of higher education policy. He noted that the CHE had advised the Minister on five policy issues, at his request, including the feasibility of introducing a four-year undergraduate diploma/degree structure to address low throughput and graduation rates. CHE was required to monitor the state of higher education, and publish information and hold conferences. CHE would be giving advice on ongoing governing and management functions, and examining the efficacy of the current intervention by the independent assessors and administrators. It would also be looking at the role of the Student Representative Councils (SRCs) in multi-campus institutions and the role of student political organisations in SRC elections. In following years, it would also be looking at issues that included reflections on academic leadership, by retired leaders, the role of the national benchmark tests, changing trends in post-graduate education, the changing nature of the academic profession, and private higher education.

Strategic Goal 2 required the CHE to contribute to the development of qualification standards to ensure the relevance, compatibility and currency of qualifications. Strategic Objective 3 required CHE to develop and manage the frameworks and articulation of qualifications, and this involved alignment of various programmes, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and policy development. Strategic Objective 4 related to the development of policy, criteria and standards for the development, registration and publication of qualifications. In this regard, Mr Essop noted that the Framework for Qualifications Standards in Higher Education was approved in late 2011. A pilot was to be run for an undergraduate degree in the Visual and Performing Arts. CHE would be convening a national conference on higher education standards in September 2013.

CHE was required to maintain a database of learner achievements in higher education and to submit the data annually to the National Learner Records Database, maintained by South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). A Working Group had been established with DHET to develop a single management information system for private higher education, during this year.

Mr Essop noted that CHE, in light of low graduation rates, was doing ongoing assessments and approval of institutional plans and institutional audits for the second round of quality assurance, focusing on teaching and learning.

CHE had to accredit new programmes submitted by public and private higher education institutions, and to re-accredit existing programmes offered by private higher education institutions. In this year, it would be doing routine accreditation on 450 new and 200 re-accredited programmes. The revival of nursing and agricultural colleges would mean that the Higher Education Quality Council would need to accredit some of their programmes. New Teacher Education programmes must align with the new minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications that were promulgated in July 2011. CHE would also need to deal with the accreditation of programmes to be offered by the two new universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.

The CHE undertook national reviews and re-accreditation with a view to ensuring programme quality. In 2013, it would be focusing on re-accreditation of the Bachelor of Social Work programme, with reviews planned for the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 2014, in conjunction with the South African Law Deans Association.

Another strategic objective related to promotion of capacity and understanding of the role of quality assurance. This function had been invigorated with a range of activities, including holding of forums, and good practice and training workshops. Teaching Excellence awards were granted to five academics.

In relation to efficient and effective provision of corporate services in the CHE, Mr Essop noted that the CHE had approved various human resources (HR) policies in 2011 (see attached presentation for details), including a recognition agreement between the Council and the union NEHAWU. One of the major challenges facing CHE was in recruitment and retention of experienced staff, especially at the senior level, and it was working on filling vacancies and drawing a comprehensive employment equity strategy and plan.

CHE must ensure that it complied with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and it had made steady progress over the last year in addressing the former gaps and weaknesses in its financial, administrative and supply chain policies, procedures and systems. Further improvement was needed, and the Council was committed to ensuring strict adherence to all compliance procedures.

Ms Busi Shongwe, Chief Financial Officer, Council for Higher Education, briefed the Committee on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2013/14 – 2015/16. R46.232 million was allocated from DHET for the 2013/14 financial year. It was anticipated that the expenditure would be R46.021 million. The budget showed a 1% reduction imposed by National Treasury (NT) and CHE had applied to the National Treasury for the savings in the 2011/12 financial year to be rolled over to cover the operational costs linked to the monitoring and evaluation functions of CHE in the 2013/14 year. Expenditure on personnel would increase and performance and notch increases would be implemented and maintained. She noted that under-spending on some items was due to the fact that the Directorate was established in early 2011/12 and had a main focus, over the past two years, on developing the standards setting framework and associated processes.

Discussion
Ms D Sibiya (ANC) asked that the CHE substantiate the statement that some qualifications were not in line with the Higher Education Qualification Council (HEQC), and if this meant that some recommendations were not adhered to.

Mr L Bosman (DA) noted that there would be a shortfall of R8 million for 2013/14, and asked about any anticipated rollover for 2015/16. He noted that the CHE would be in a difficult financial situation.

Ms N Gina (ANC) was concerned whether the two new universities would be ready for opening in 2014, asked how far their programme were, and what they were doing.

Ms Gina asked which programmes, and from which institutions, were being cleaned up.

Ms Gina asked what was being done to ensure that the qualifications of FET College lecturers would improve.

Ms Gina asked if other universities would be following the example of University of KwaZulu Natal to introduce indigenous languages.

Prof A Lotriet (DA) asked the Chief Financial Officer to expand on any other programmes.

Prof Lotriet noted that the Minister had only used the Council’s expertise five times, and asked if it had a sense that it was being fully involved in policy issues.

Mr C Moni (ANC) wondered if the timelines worked upon were practical, and whether the Council was keeping pace with others. He also asked to what extent the Universities might be offering a credible programme that was not recognised by the statutory and professional bodies, and, if this was the case, asked how the gap would be closed.

Mr Moni asked if the work on Institutional Governance was completed by the CHE, and what trends were emerging.

Prof Mayathula referred to page 9 of the APP and asked what CHE had in mind for the duration of the undergraduate degree to address low throughput and graduation rates.

Prof Mayathula asked if the CHE had enough staff to deal with the student governance research, and what was the time frame.

Prof Mayathula queried the decrease in interest income for the MTEF Budget 2014/15 – 2015/16.

Prof Mayathula asked how the performance indicators would work together on student success.

Mr K Dikobo (AZAPO) queried the R 54 million figure that was said to be needed.

Mr Bosman was surprised that the vacancy for Chairperson of the Council was not filled, and wanted to know why not.

The Chairperson also asked about the vacancy for the chairperson of the CHE.

Mr Essop responded that the Minister had issued a notice for nominations, and was aware of the need to appoint a Chairperson

The Chairperson wondered why there was a disjuncture in the process of the appointment, and he hoped that the process was in order.

Mr Essop responded, in relation to the budget, that the budget obviously affected what was set out in the APP. The R8 million was requested to complete the social work project. The CHE was confident that National Treasury would approve the request for the rollover, and if it was granted, CHE would review the work plan. Officially, of course, it was only permitted to submit a budget and plan reflecting the current income.

Mr Essop assured Members that the accreditation was on track, and the clean-up was being attended to, with the institutions having submitted all their programmes. When this process was complete, the public institutions would reflect only the “cleaned” programmes on their books, although there were certain courses that might be part-way through, which the institutions must see through so that the students could complete and the Minister would be determining a date.

Mr Essop assured Members that in the new indicators, the CHE would do whatever it could to speed up accreditation for programmes for the new Universities. Roughly four programmes were being pursued for 2014, at Mpumalanga University, and it would be using the Faculty of Agriculture faculty University of KwaZulu Natal for running the programme at the Mpumalanga University. The Northern Cape University would be using the facilities of the Information Technology Faculty of the Western Cape University of Technology, and the established faculties would be submitting the programmes on behalf of the new universities. By June 2014, it was anticipated that four programmes would be in place, and the institutions would diversify from those over time.

Mr Essop explained the situation with the progress reports, noting that the CHE could only identify the problems and tell the institutes, but it was the latter who must rectify the problems. The problem was getting sufficient funding from the DHET for quality assurance and alignment.

Mr Essop explained the thinking behind the suggestion of having a four-year undergraduate degree, saying that the extra year would be integrated into the degree programme. The CHE established four communication task teams, who would identify fundamental core knowledge gaps. The report had addressed the gaps, and the cost implications and the CHE was sensitive to staffing needs for this.

Mr Essop explained that performance indicators were used to indicate the number of programmes within a financial year. Research projects would take longer. The CHE had planned and prioritised the tasks. Times were set out in the APP. Some more work needed to be done on the administration side, and then the CHE could engage again with the Committee.

Mr Essop explained that when granting accreditation for professions, the conditions had to be approved by the Statutory Professional Councils. CHE already had agreements with the Engineering and Health Professional Councils. The systems were well-established and procedures were set up that were compliant with the system. He added that professional bodies kept on adding conditions and new criteria which they required, which made it more difficult for an institution to put this into a curriculum. He believed that when a student left a University, s/he should have fulfilled the requirements of the relevant professional bodies.

Mr Essop said that the advice that CHE would give to the Minister depended upon what it was asked to do. The Auditor-General raised a question whether CHE was fulfilling its mandate on advising the Minister. It had recently advised the Minister about the unbundling of Medunsa University, and the Minister had still to respond in writing to the Council. The Minister was not obliged to accept the Council’s advice, but CHE would not be able to publicise anything until the Minister had formally accepted. He conceded that a broader problem, in the past, had been the weak monitoring and research capability, and he stated that the CHE now needed to win the confidence of the Minister, and needed to be more relevant if it wanted to be taken more seriously.

Mr Essop answered questions on the quality of FET College lecturers by noting that the DHET has released a framework for standards here, and the CHE was still awaiting it.

Mr Essop noted that the languages offered by the universities followed certain patterns according to the function. One of the reasons for teaching indigenous languages was purely to allow people to communicate; for instance, doctors in KwaZulu Natal should be able to communicate with their patients in Zulu. Other institutions were publishing academic glossaries of indigenous languages. Rhodes University Law and Pharmacy departments were offering courses in isi-Xhosa available. There was a lot of hype, but he made the point that unless the courses were compulsory, then students tended not to take them seriously. There was a difference between communicating and studying in another language. In schools, he believed that all students should be introduced to English and another African language. He thought this should have been introduced long ago.

Professor B Thaver, Deputy Dean: Education and Research Faculty, UWC, and Member of CHE, added that the introduction of an African language was opening up a new world, and this was pioneering work done by UKZN. She did not know if this could be translated into other institutions, because of institutional autonomy that limited accountability. Higher Education served as only one of the four post-school sectors in the larger pool. The extent to which institutions worked together was related to the benefit that they derived. They worked in a market environment. Institutions would work together as long as not “too much steerage” was involved. She pointed out that the CHE played an important coordinating role in seeing that the statutory bodies had representation within the various areas and disciplines. Issues of new knowledge were perceived as the final bastion of transformation, and the hardest.

Ms Shongwe answered the questions on the budget and financial statements. She noted that over the previous two financial years, the CHE had spent less, and this was why it had requested a R6 million rollover, which would effectively increase the budget to R53 million. The 2012/13 surplus was R3 million and R6 million was under spent; this latter one was the amount to be rolled over. The interest income had indeed dropped. She explained that the increase in capital expenditure was due to the need to replace office equipment and computers. The replacement programme would end in 2014/15.

Mr M Nhanha (COPE) noted that he thought that the CHE could give advice whenever requested and whenever it wanted.

Mr Essop responded that in fact the CHE had not used every opportunity that it could have done, in the past, to proffer advice.

Mr Essop added that the CHE was looking to giving more advice to students on governance issues.

Mr Essop noted that some institutions would not offer courses to those who maybe lacked the right background to study courses.

Professor Thaver noted that unofficially the student was sometimes permitted to undertake a course, but in his own time, until competency had been achieved.

The Chairperson stated that there was a need to move forward and not be archaic. He noted that the Committee had been told that the issues around qualifications of FET college lecturers and new universities were complex. This Committee needed to get the technical data on programmes being delivered at the new universities. It also needed to highlight problems on the tabling of new programmes by the DHET for the new universities, as it seemed that not enough was being done by the DHET as yet.

The Chairperson noted that a debate was needed on the state of education in 20 years. It would be useful to get all the roleplayers together and perhaps ask the Minister to brief that meeting on the policy issues under consideration.

The Chairperson noted thanks to the CHE and hoped it would achieve its targets.

Other business
The Chairperson congratulated Mr S Makhubele for graduating in the Advanced Programme for Good Public Governance at the University of Witwatersrand.

Adoption of minutes
The minutes of 30 April 2013 and 3 May 2013 were adopted, with minor wording changes.

Apologies
Professor Mayathula, Mr Mpontshane and Mr Bosman would be unable to meet with the visiting delegation from Azerbaijan and tendered apologies.

The meeting was adjourned.