Higher education and training minister Naledi Pandor has questioned her predecessor Blade Nzimande’s plans to reduce the number of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) and instructed her officials to come up with a better proposal to improve their performance, it emerged in parliament on Wednesday. The Setas are intended to bridge SA’s skills deficit and boost employment, but they have been widely criticised for their inefficiency, corruption and maladministration. They were allocated R13.5bn for the 2018/2019 fiscal year, 16.8% of the R80.5bn allocated to the higher education vote. On Wednesday morning, the department of higher education & training’s Maliviwe Lumka told MPs that the department was proposing a reduction of the number of Setas from 21 to 15, as part of broader reforms to the postschool education and training system to make the Setas more efficient.

These proposals were published in the Government Gazette for public comment on Wednesday and include ...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.