Presentation to portfolio committee of higher education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Presentation to portfolio committee of higher education and training Presenter: S Zungu President: SACPO Date: 30 May 2018

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training TABLE OF CONTENT Background Allocation of upfront payments to TVET colleges in 2017/18 and challenges experienced Roll-out of the student-centred model in the TVET Progress with the payment of outstanding allowances

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Background The enrolment target for 2018 as aligned to the targets set in the NDP and WP-PSET was 1 084 000, however the actual is 702 000 There has been an increase in student enrolment, without sufficient funding support that caters for such an increase Colleges are only funded at only 69% of the required 80% programme costs DHET has presented a budget shortfall of about 10 087 000 000 for the 2018/19 financial year, a clear indication that the enrolment target of 2018 will not be attained

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Background The TVET sector is in general financially constrained due to the following - Colleges largely provide for students from poor families There is no core funding available for infrastructure and students support services that will enable colleges to be more responsive There is an increased demand for access in the TVET sector which is not reciprocated by increased funding Lack of the appropriate funding framework for TVET colleges The prevailing funding pressure continue to place pressures on the personnel budget of the colleges and consequently constrains the ability of college to cater for college operations

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Background There were notable challenges experienced with the NSFAS online system, which resulted in most colleges reducing their enrolments numbers. Most colleges were not able to recover part of the remaining 20% of the programme costs from the scheme due to challenges experienced from NSFAS  Insufficient funding allocation, particular for financially needy and academically deserving students is a major challenge Delays in disbursements has also caused student unrest in most colleges

Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18 This allocation is made by NSFAS to ease the financial pressure to the colleges Upon receiving it, the colleges the colleges are to use it for student tuition fees and their allowances They may only be utilised for funded students There are difficulties in utilising these funds at the beginning of the academic year due to a tedius process which often results on some students not being funded

Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18: Challenges 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18: Challenges Funding decisions were delayed in some colleges which resulted in upfront payment not utilised New students bursary applications that NSFAS could not retrieve from their systems which resulted on a student not being funded Returning students who were not funded at the beginning of the academic year due to delays in student exam results Students not signing their Schedule of Particulars on time, which resulted on institutions not paying the upfront allowances

Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Allocation of upfront payments for 2017/18 There are some allocations for both 2017 and 2018 in other colleges that cannot be allocated to students accounts, due to lack of disbursement list from NSFAS. In most instances, colleges have received their upfront allocations, however they cant be allocated due unavailability of the provisionally approved list As a result the accounts of students are still in Debit

Roll out of the new student centred model in the TVET sector 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Roll out of the new student centred model in the TVET sector The system was introduced to ease the administrative burden and reduce delays in funds to students The system proved to be good in theory, however the planning and readiness of NSFAS was not as good A lot of processes were changed during the implementation stage of the model Lack of training and technical problems experienced have given rise to the student protests

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Roll out of the new student centred model in the TVET sector: Challenges Current effect of the 2017 backlog could negatively impact on utilisation of the 2018 allocation; Data integration challenges delay sharing of data between Colleges and NSFAS; Inadequate capacity to manage the significant increase in bursary funding; Network challenges during high volumes processing; Non-responsiveness of NSFAS to queries lodged by Colleges; Late disbursement of allowances; and Delayed and inconsistent messaging to Colleges and students. Poor communication from NSFAS to institutions regarding disbursement of funds 

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Roll out of the new student centred model in the TVET sector: Challenges Colleges have submitted registrations of students via ITS and the portal as from 12 March 2018, but SOPs have not been generated The 1st Trimester has ended and some students are not yet funded and colleges do not know the outcome, as there is lack of communication from NSFAS. A large number of students, which includes returning students, are still not funded for 2018

PAYMENTS OF OUTSTANDING ALLOWANCES DUE TO STUDENTS IN THE TVET SECTOR 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training PAYMENTS OF OUTSTANDING ALLOWANCES DUE TO STUDENTS IN THE TVET SECTOR Colleges have submitted allowances of all students that are funded and qualify for 2018 with the registration forms via ITS and the portal However, colleges are yet to receive any communication from NSFAS if the allowances were approved or not. Allowances were already paid to returning students who were funded and qualifies) There are students who qualifies for allowances but due to their funding not yet confirmed by NSFAS, they could not get allowances. (Students are in need of the allowances and are struggling.) Students are being evicted from their residences and this have and could lead to protests and poor academic results.

CONCLUSION: COLLEGE READINESS FOR 2018 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training CONCLUSION: COLLEGE READINESS FOR 2018 The colleges have to contend with all the challenges mentioned above and prepare for 2018 regardless SACPO has since done the following to ensure readiness to 2018 Conducted fruitful discussions with NSFAS and DHET and strides were made. NSFAS will fund all students registered who need funding Provided accommodation at EWC for NSFAS working team to work on all outstanding payments for 2016 and 2017 Participated in the review of bursary rules and guidelines Colleges are now discouraging walk-ins and implementing early registrations in the prior year

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Recommendations NSFAS must improve their bursary application portal urgently Urgently improve on the funding decision process of returning students Communication between NSFAS and TVET’s need tobe improved NSFAS to assign a delegated persons to work with each TVET college, Give TVET’ colleges access to download registrations already uploaded, as NSFAS promised to send them weekly to no avail

Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training 2019/01/02 Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and training Thank you