TVET accommodation crisis must be addressed to ensure equal education
The Minister of Higher Education and Training recently revealed in a DA Parliamentary Question that he has no idea how many beds are currently available at our Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions. The lack of accommodation is a serious problem given the crucial role that colleges should play in ensuring that young people receive technical and vocational training.
Early this year, the department said that only 10 120 were available in 2015. No departmental funds have been allocated to expand the number of beds. The National Skills Fund will add 248 additional beds, which is simply completely inadequate. There will only be enough beds at TVET colleges to accommodate 1,4% of the student body. This is quite simply a crisis.
TVET colleges are vital as they are the only option for hundreds of thousands of learners to receive training in the skills needed for the job market. NSFAS also emphasises TVETs, with many students who are turned down for university funding being encouraged to apply for TVETs.
TVETs are however chronically underfunded. Many are not even meeting their operating expenses at the moment, and all reserve funding has been diverted to pay salaries and other running costs. The lack of accommodation was the source of many protests at TVET colleges earlier this year.
As such, the DA will be visiting several TVET institutions to assess the state of accommodation at these colleges and collate evidence of the state of these institutions in order to table this information at the Higher Education Portfolio Committee. The first DA oversight visit will be at the Atlantis Campus of West Coast College tomorrow, where there is reported to be one shower for every 15 students and one toilet for every 12 students in the men’s residences. The women’s residence has only one toilet for every 10 students.
The DA has previously proposed an amendment to the Appropriations Bill to increase funding to 63 331 more poor students who are currently enrolled, or would like to enrol at TVET colleges, but the ANC showed no support for this proposal, proving that it remained unwilling to address the crisis at these colleges.
The DA is firmly committed to equal education as this will allow more young people to enter the job market. The pursuit of this goal will, however, be stifled by the government’s reluctance to develop TVET colleges and provide adequate accommodation for students at these institutions. If we are truly serious about the 9.3 million unemployed people, then we need to start prioritising these institutions as a crucial higher education platform for skills training.
Statement issued by Andricus van der Westhuizen MP, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training, 4 July 2017
