Billions of rands earmarked by the National Skills Fund (NSF) for the development of badly needed artisans have been blown by the government on university students instead, says NSF CEO Mvuyisi Macikama. "Our money has been spent for something other than the key areas we're supposed to be focusing on," he says. SA is so short of artisans it is having to import them. Universities, on the other hand, are churning out so many students with "soft" degrees that the market cannot absorb them. Macikama said in the NSF's 2017-2018 annual report tabled in parliament this week that the department of higher education & training had taken R6.56bn from the NSF's accumulated surplus to pay for the government's no-fee increase promise to university students. In 2016, NSF coffers were raided to the tune of R1.27bn, and this shot up to a whopping R5.28bn last year. Macikama says by 2019-2020 there will be no surplus left. The NSF intended spending R1.5bn of this money on "reactivating" the capacity ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
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.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.