In a recent cabinet lekgotla the South African government agreed on a number of resolutions to address skills shortages. The lekgotla noted the mismatch between the supply and demand of skills for specific educational categories in the light of the unemployment rate that is expanding.
Deputy Basic Education Minister Enver Surty gave feedback from the lekgotla. He stressed that the labour market is plagued by skills shortages that constrains the country’s economic growth potential. Keeping this in mind the lekotla resolved to take action on various key matters including:
- examining the possibility of covering the full cost of study for (poor) students in scarce skills areas in all years of study;
- guarding against downgrading the social science programme provision;
- supporting post-graduate students through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to develop a new generation of academics in addition to National Research Foundation initiatives;
- intensifying efforts to promote research and development in higher education institutions;
- seeing to it that students that have completed their studies pay back their loans so that other students can also be supported;
- giving urgent attention to the problem of accommodation in the higher education system (only 18.5 % of students are accommodated in university residences)
- ensuring that all infrastructure programmes are linked to skills training and workplace experiential learning;
- strengthening and repositioning Public Service Sector Seta (PSeta) to play a more effective role in skills training for public service
- seeing to it that all government departments pay skills levies, as required by law;
- expanding the intake of interns into the public service, municipalities and state-owned enterprises; and
- utilising training within the public service as largest single employer in the country.
This posting was based on a Sapa article published on Fin24 on 23 august. To read the original Sapa article Click Here!
Filed under: Department of Basic Education, Edu News (Africa), Edu News (South Africa), Events, Higher Education, skills, South Africa, universities | Tagged: adressing, Deputy Basic Education Minister, development, Enver Surty, free tuition, Government, Higher Education, lekotla, scarce skills, skills, South Africa, training, universities | 1 Comment »
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