Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and colleagues, I'm not too sure what prompted the hon Minister a while ago to refer to opposition parties as "an ideological third force bent on destroying democracy". [Laughter.] Perhaps this will be the correct platform for the hon Minister to expand on such a statement, because to me it sounds really bizarre.
The Minister would surely agree with me that it is critical that we, the opposition, properly scrutinise every cent that government spends on higher education. It is even more important to ask whether the planned expenditure will meet the planned performance objectives in line with the principles and values set out in the White Paper on Higher Education.
This budget has as its aim to support the development of a quality higher education and vocational education sector. Furthermore, it aims to promote access to higher education and vocational skills development opportunities. Hon Minister, the question is whether we meet these targets with this budget. The answer is yes - partly. The IFP welcomes the following expenditure in the attempt to address the critical problem of access to higher education faced by many disadvantaged young people: one, the increase in transfers to higher education institutions; two, the FET colleges conditional grant; and three, a donor funding allocation of R30 million. However, the IFP is of the view that in order to achieve a successful higher education system in South Africa, we need to embark on massive institutional and infrastructure renewal at universities in order to deliver high-quality teaching and learning environments.
Highlighting the many crises faced by the higher education system, a recent report by Iain L'Ange, who visited about 22 residential universities and 50 campuses, found that some students were starving and that many went for days without a meal while living in accommodation that was squalid. This is of particular concern. In this regard, the IFP therefore welcomes the additional R850 million allocated to improving university infrastructure, including student accommodation facilities.
However, despite the positive increase in spending outlined in this budget in the key priority areas, a number of fundamental problems and weaknesses still afflict the higher education system. I will mention but a few.
The first one is the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. Despite new plans, policies and goals, NSFAS remains a cause for concern. The list of problem areas is well known. For instance, NSFAS has not been able to widen the definition of students who are eligible for student financial aid. They have not been able to streamline the application processes so that money reaches students quickly and easily. NSFAS has not been able to introduce a modern system to manage the billions of rand that it distributes.
The second one is the quality of our system. Our education system, despite receiving a large chunk of our national spending, has still not delivered quality higher education that will address our critical skills shortages. This is due to a number of reasons. The IFP supports the views of Higher Education SA that the following areas still remain of grave concern. The first is the academic quality of school-leavers. Hesa has registered its concern with the overall levels of ...