Government’s Actions on Underfunded TVET Colleges
The South African government recognizes the challenges faced by underfunded Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and has plans in place to address them. Currently, TVET colleges are falling behind universities in terms of student enrolment, funding, and overall performance. The government aims to change this narrative and encourage more students to consider TVET colleges as viable options for tertiary education.
Challenges Faced by TVET Colleges
One of the main reasons why students tend to choose universities over TVET colleges is the lack of funding. This not only affects the colleges’ ability to provide quality education but also perpetuates the belief that university education is superior to TVET education. Another contributing factor to the poor performance of TVET colleges is the lack of standardization in the sector. Additionally, there is a prevailing notion that graduates with university degrees have better chances of finding employment than those with TVET degrees, further discouraging students from enrolling in TVET colleges.
Enrolment Target and Funding
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has set a target enrolment of 556,415 students for TVET colleges by the year 2024. This includes both Ministerial Approved Programmes and programmes funded by other sources. The total budget required for this enrolment plan is R14.591 billion, with the state funding R14.428 billion. However, there is a funding deficit of R162 million (or 1.13%) that TVET colleges need to absorb. Currently, the state is only able to fund 480,686 TVET enrolments, falling short of the 2.5 million enrolments envisaged in the National Development Plan.
Declining Enrolments and Funding Cuts
Over the past three years, state-funded TVET enrolments have declined by approximately 5%. Budget cuts imposed by the National Treasury due to the impact of Covid-19 have further reduced the TVET budget allocation. As a result, there has been minimal growth in real-time funding. To meet the target of 2.5 million TVET students, significant funding increases of up to 100% over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and up to 300% until 2030 are required.
Strategies to Expand TVET Colleges
A task team is currently working on potential strategies to successfully expand the TVET College sector. These strategies include assessing the available excess infrastructure, such as classrooms and workshops, to accommodate additional enrolments. The capacity of colleges to offer multimodal and distance learning options is also being evaluated. Initiatives for digitizing assessments and developing online content are being accelerated, as well as assessing the human resource capacity to cater to the sector’s growth.
Integrated Approach for Expansion
The Department recognizes the need for an integrated approach to increase enrolment numbers and improve the quality of TVET education. This approach entails ensuring cost and operational efficiencies in utilizing current resources, improving governance processes at colleges to attract external funding, accelerating curriculum transformation, institutionalizing skills levy funding for skills programmes, strengthening relations with private colleges, and exploring opportunities presented by Universities of Technologies.
Conclusion
The South African government is committed to addressing the underfunding issues faced by TVET colleges and encouraging more students to consider them as viable options for tertiary education. Plans are in place to expand the sector, improve infrastructure, digitize learning options, and enhance the quality of education. By investing in TVET colleges, the government aims to provide students with valuable skills and increase employment opportunities in various industries.
