Deputy Speaker, the DA strongly supports the idea that Further Education and Training, FET, colleges should be strengthened and improved and, indeed, that all forms and levels of education should be improved. This includes adult education and training.
What this Bill aims to do is to amend the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, FETC Act, in order to provide for the inclusion of a second type of institution within the existing legal framework, and that refers to the Community Education and Training colleges, CET colleges.
The change of FET colleges in terms of this Bill to vocational and continuing education and training colleges, VCET colleges, is an amendment that can be supported, as it does indeed provide more emphasis on the vocational function of these colleges. The change of "further" to "continuing" colleges also makes sense.
The establishment of the SA Institute for Vocational and Continuing Education and Training can also be seen as a positive step, as such an institute would be able, inter alia, to develop curricula and do research in the field of the college sector. This is something that can only assist in improving the quality of the college sector.
However, the Bill becomes problematic in the amendments that seek to convert Adult Basic Education and Training centres, Abet centres, into Community Education and Training colleges, CET colleges, because in terms of the amendments these CET colleges will operate within the existing provisions of the FETC Act as amended by this Bill, and the Adult Basic Education and Training Act, AET Act, will be repealed.
These Abet colleges that have been converted into CET colleges will then be deemed to have been established in terms of the FETC Act. It is also proposed that the governance structures, funding, management, and other related functions of Abet colleges be regulated in terms of the FETC Act.
This means that in terms of this Bill these Abet centres, to become CET colleges, will now be transferred to the national Department of Higher Education and Training. This was the essence of the 2012 Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Bill, where FET colleges were transferred from provincial to national level. The DA opposed that Bill.
The present Bill now proposes the same for Abet centres by repealing the Abet Act. Provinces will thus not be responsible for Abet centres in terms of the Bill. Not only will FET colleges, but also Abet centres, be controlled by the Minister from Pretoria. This means that all power regarding colleges is being centralised by Minister Nzimande.
The way in which the previous Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Bill expanded the powers of the Minister regarding staff, strategic plans, funding, councils, languages, and so forth will in terms of this Bill be extended to Abet centres. This is not the solution to the problems experienced in the sector.
If one has to go by how the department is dealing with the FET colleges now under its control, the prospects do not look very positive. Students have to wait months for the department to release results, and certificates take months and years to be issued. Surely, if you take control of institutions in order to improve the situation, then that is what should happen. We should not be receiving complaints on a daily basis.
A question also needs to be asked regarding the Abet centres or the proposed CET colleges. To what extent, if at all, will local and provincial government play a role in determining the local and provincial needs in regard to the programme mix and in the governance of these institutions? A further concern regarding this Bill is the constitutional amendment that is required to Schedule 4 Part A of the Constitution. In terms of Schedule 4, education at all levels, excluding tertiary education, is a concurrent national and provincial competence. This, the 18th Constitutional Amendment, has not yet been passed.
This creates an extremely unsatisfactory situation and a great deal of uncertainty for colleges, as well as for provinces. In fact, we have a situation where we are debating an Amending Bill based on an Act operating without the assumed constitutional amendment having been effected. Therefore, based on the above reasons, the DA cannot support this Bill. [Applause.]