Address by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the opening of the Higher Education Transformation Summit, Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC, Durban, 15 October 2015

Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande,

Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Senzo Mchunu,

Mayor of Ethekwini Metro, Cllr James Nxumalo,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning! Sanibonani!

It is a great pleasure to address this, the 2nd National Higher Education Transformation Summit. 

The strength of this Summit lies in the breadth and diversity of voices, views and insights gathered here.

Like our higher education institutions, this must be a place where ideas are imparted, experiences are shared and knowledge is generated.

In probing the developmental role of higher education, we expect this Summit to cover issues ranging from access, funding, curricula, research and innovation and staffing to gender equality, language and institutional culture. 

We expect that these discussions will be robust, frank and constructive.

We expect that the participants will act to give effect to the injunction contained in our Constitution that we work together to “improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person”.

As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, let us today speak of the light that comes with learning, and the ways we are still kept in darkness.

Let us reaffirm our commitment to the achievement of the demand that:

“The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened!”

Investment in education is an apex priority for our government. 

We are guided by our Constitution, which says that: 

“Everyone has the right to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.”

We are guided also by the vision of the National Development Plan.

The NDP envisages transformed universities which are centres of excellence at the cutting edge of technology.

The plan says we must increase the number of students eligible to study towards maths and science based degrees to 450,000 by 2030.

It calls on us to increase the percentage of PhD-qualified staff in the higher education sector from the 34 percent in 2010 to over 75 percent by 2030.

The plan says we must produce more than 100 doctoral graduates per million per year by 2030. 

That implies an increase from 1,420 in 2010 to well over 5,000 a year.

The NDP calls on government to partner with the private sector to raise the level of research and development, with resources targeted towards building the research infrastructure required by a modern economy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Accessible, quality higher education is critical to economic competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy.

It is a driver of social development and social cohesion.

It is a requirement for prosperity and greater equality.

No country in history has achieved sustained, transformational development without a meaningful investment in higher education.

This point was underlined by the economist Thomas Pikkety when he recently delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture.

He said that history shows that a well-functioning public education system is critical to sustainable and equitable growth.

Writing in his book, Capital in the 21st Century, he says:

“The best way to increase wages and reduce wage inequalities in the long run is to invest in education and skills.”

This has informed our approach to higher education since 1994.

Though we have made a decisive shift from the fragmented, inefficient and inequitable higher education system of the apartheid era, we still feel its effects.

Had the apartheid rulers not been so thorough, so methodical, so malevolent in the denial of education to the black majority, then South Africa would today be on a completely different developmental trajectory.

We would be a more equitable nation, a more prosperous nation.

We would have an advanced, diversified, more inclusive economy.

We therefore look to our higher education sector to play a leading role in overcoming this devastating legacy.

Our country now boasts a single, national higher education system that is open to all. 

Enrolments have increased significantly. 

Through the establishment and expansion of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, many poor students now have an opportunity to participate in higher education. 

University research outputs have increased significantly and several of our universities are internationally recognised as centres of excellence. 

However, these important achievements should not blind us to the significant challenges. 

South Africa, like other developing countries, is faced with financial constraints and relatively low levels of participation in higher education. 

This problem is exacerbated by historical disadvantage. 

The public higher education system in South Africa is made up of institutions with varying degrees of capacity, expertise and resources. 

International comparisons reveal that funding of higher education in South Africa is relatively low. 

It is therefore not surprising that inadequate funding is often cited as the main reason for the inability of our higher education system to realise its potential. 

The allocation of resources in the higher education sector is underpinned by the 2003 funding framework, which is built on the principle of shared costs between government and students. 

The current funding framework was expected to contribute to the realisation of equitable access, better quality of research and teaching, and better student progression and graduation rates.

It was meant to make higher education more responsive to economic and social needs.

Yet various stakeholders have identified a number of weaknesses and limitations in the framework. 

It is argued that the framework does not take sufficient account of the impact of the location of institutions on their resource needs.

It doesn’t give enough consideration to wide disparities in the revenue-raising capacity of different universities, and disparities in the level of preparedness of students. 

Historically disadvantaged universities, which are often located in poor, rural areas, mainly serve needy students who are ill-prepared for higher education studies. 

These students are mostly dependent on NSFAS funding to access higher education. 

However, the increase in the NSFAS budget has been negated by student fee increases that have, in some instances, been higher than inflation.

We therefore welcome and support the work being undertaken by the Minister of Higher Education to establish the reasons for the rising costs and putting in place mechanisms to regulate student fees charged by our universities.

Access to higher education should be a right, not a privilege.

Student fees need to be affordable to allow for greater access for the poor, working-class and even middle-class families. 

At the same time, we need to ensure that these institutions have sufficient resources to give these students the quality education they need and deserve, and produce the research that our country expects.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We must address the plight of the disadvantaged institutions while ensuring that whatever changes are made in resource allocations do not diminish the quality and competitiveness of the better resourced institutions. 

We are greatly concerned that the participation rate of African students in higher education remains low. 

The 2011 census showed that Africans account for 79% of the population in the country, yet their gross participation rate in higher education is less than 15%. 

The low participation rate of the majority of South Africans is untenable – both from a social justice perspective and in terms of meeting the demands of the 21st century and the needs of our economy. 

Higher levels of funding and the expansion of the capacity of the higher education system will be needed in future to ensure that higher levels of participation of African and coloured students are achieved.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The challenges facing higher education are not confined to funding.

The quality of our higher education outcomes is determined to a great extent by the outcomes of our basic education system.

Our desire to improve access, quality and output in higher education necessarily requires that dedicate resources and effort to improving the performance of our schools.

This is a societal challenge, in which all stakeholders need to play a part.

This is a challenge that institutions of higher education should take up.

They should look at how they can deploy the skills and expertise at their disposal to support the basic education sector.

They need to reinforce the work being done by government and its social partners to produce matriculants that are prepared for the rigour of university study.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our institutions of higher learning need to be transformed.

Much progress has been made, but much more needs to be done.

We do not have enough black lecturers, professors, researchers and senior managers.

We do not have enough women performing these roles.

We must disabuse ourselves of the notion that we need to make a choice between quality and transformation – that we either promote people on merit or we promote them on race or gender.

Transformation is about creating opportunities where previously there were none.

Transformation is about broadening the pool of talent, experience and potential.

Transformation requires that we answer difficult questions about language, institutional culture and the other mechanisms by which people are excluded and alienated.

Higher education must be transformed and it must be transformational.

It must contribute to building a fundamentally different society.

A society in which knowledge is prized, in which excellence is recognised, and where effort is rewarded.

It is a society in which all may pursue their interests, where all may have an opportunity to learn and grow, where all may realise their potential.

This summit is expected to reflect on the challenges facing higher education in this country. 

It is expected to deepen understanding, to develop solutions and to provide a platform for progress.

We have every confidence that this Summit will meet these expectations and, in so doing, will significantly advance our struggle for a better future for all our people.

I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency, 15 October 2015