HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

R1.4bn set aside for qualifying students

 

PRETORIA: The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has set aside a total of R1.4bn to pay institutions upfront at the beginning of 2016 academic year.

© HONGQI ZHANG – 123RF.com

The NSFAS said the money will ensure that students who qualify for NSFAS funding don't have to pay upfront registration fees, as was recommended by the Presidency.

The Presidential Task Team on short-term funding challenges at universities recommended that all students who qualify for NSFAS should be assisted with upfront payment.

"NSFAS, working with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), has confirmed the financial allocation for 2016/17 financial year to 26 universities. All vice-chancellors have received letters of confirmation outlining amount for each funding category - DHET General Funding; DHET Teacher training; DHET Final Year Funding; and DHET Disability Funding.

"National Skills Fund allocations have also been finalised as sent to universities. Administrative Guidelines on Funding will be communicated to all institution to ensure that rules pertaining to financial eligibility of students for NSFAS are applied consistently," said NSFAS national spokesperson, Kagisho Mamabolo.

Mamabolo said NSFAS technical teams made-up of support staff will be dispatched to all universities to provide support to the financial aid offices to ensure a smooth registration process.

"NSFAS will work closely with all its key stakeholders across the higher education sector to ensure the implementation of all the recommendations made by the task team," said Mamabolo.

NSFAS also thanked President Jacob Zuma, government and the presidential task team for the intervention and continued support.

"These achievements are remarkable and represent a major success in terms of government's redress agenda."

Since its inception in 1999, NSFAS continues to make a positive contribution in the lives of many South Africans in the post-school education and training sector.

To date, the scheme has assisted 1.5-million students over the years and has disbursed over R50bn in bursaries and loans since its inception.

The significant growth of the scheme has been made possible by partnerships with other funders, institutions of higher learning, SETAs and other entities that support equal education opportunities for poor and working class households in South Africa.

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Vocational education can drive economic growth

 

Vocational education and training (VET) can significantly benefit individuals and businesses, but VET is not getting the traction and recognition needed to attract a large number of students, according to a new report from the City & Guilds Group.

© Lisa Young– 123RF.com

The report explored the state of vocational education and training in four countries: South Africa, the United Kingdom, India and the United States. It highlights how VET can have a significant impact on economies across the world. For example, in the UK, a 10% increase in professional and technical skills over the next ten years could increase UK GDP by £163bn by 2025. In the UK and US, a 10 percentage point increase in the number of 16-18 year olds enrolled in vocational education could lead to a 1.5 percentage point reduction in youth unemployment.

High unemployment rate

In South Africa, the unemployment rate in 2013 was 25% - five times the world average for unemployment. Youth unemployment, at 54%, was more than double the general rate. Therefore increasing investment in VET could see significant returns for South Africa's economy. 

Speaking about the research, Mike Dawe, director of international at the City & Guilds Group said, "The report indicates that vocational education can help to fill skills gaps, boost productivity, enhance industries and increase employment - all of which have a significant impact on individuals, businesses and the economy as a whole."

"However, there is an ongoing challenge in South Africa, where vocational institutions and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges find it difficult to attract large numbers of students. People still see university study as the first prize and vocational options as second-choice at best - or they don't even know what vocational options are out there."

Benefit employers

Increasing investment in VET will also benefit employers, who are concerned by skills gaps. In each of the countries studied in the report, the worry over the long-term impact of skills gaps was prevalent. PwC's most recent case study of South African CEOs found that 36% were "extremely concerned" about the availability of key skills, compared to a global average of 17%.

While the challenge to increase uptake of VET in South Africa is extensive, progress is being made. South Africa has one of the highest rates of public investment in education in the world. At about 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 20% of total state expenditure, the government spends more on education than on any other sector, according to Brand South Africa. Government spending on basic education during 2015/16 is estimated at R203,468bn. 

Over the next three years, roughly R640bn will go towards basic education. The challenge is making sure that sufficient funding is directed toward all aspects of education - not just academia, but VET too.

Social and economic aspirations

In seeking to meet both social and economic aspirations, the South African government has outlined a strategy to achieve a more integrated approach to post-secondary education, including VET, over the next 20 years. The South African government intends to increase workplace training, starting with government agencies and departments who will be encouraged to offer workplace training for vocational students. This is a first step towards fostering more workplace training in the private sector.

"Even though there is a lack of data proving the benefits of vocational education in many contexts around the world, national governments have realised the significant role vocational education and training plays in their countries' futures," added Dawe. "The proposed changes to enhance the South Africa system could have a really positive impact, particularly if they are aligned to long-term planning. The commitment from the government is encouraging and South Africa has a huge opportunity ahead of it. We're keen to see how we can support the government during these upcoming developments."

Key findings

The benefits of vocational education and training to national economies:

• Increasing vocational skills by 10% could boost UK GDP by £163 billion by 2025.
• Cebr estimates that a 10 percentage point increase in the number of upper secondary school pupils enrolled in vocational education could lead to a 1.5 percentage point reduction in youth unemployment rates in the UK and US.
• UK apprenticeships have a return on government investment of £16 to £21 for every £1 invested.
• India is in a unique position demographically to provide skilled labour where the rest of the world is forecast to experience a skills shortage; as such, there is an active target to skill 500 million workers by 2022.
• Unemployment in South Africa was 25% in 2013 and youth unemployment was 54%. VET may play a role in reducing these figures.

Vocational education and training benefits employers:

• The net annual business benefit of training an apprentice in the UK in 2013/14 was £1500 per annum.
• A survey of South African CEOs found that 36% were 'extremely concerned' about the availability of key skills, compared to a global average of 17%.

Vocational education and training benefits individuals:

• Nine years after enrolment, US apprentices will have earned $60,000 more than their similar counterparts who did not participate in an apprenticeship.
• In the UK, level 3 apprenticeships or vocational qualifications may increase wages by up to 22% and employability by up to 15%.
• Those who earn a certificate or diploma level qualification (in any subject) in South Africa can expect average wages that are around two times more than peers who only complete high school.

Vocational education and training is often a small proportion of overall education:

• Less than 1% of 15-24 year olds in the US are involved in an apprenticeship scheme.
• According to one estimate, only 6.8% of India's labour force have received or are receiving vocational training of any kind.

There are significant obstacles to vocational education and training:

• Globally, the stigma of vocational education often reduces it to a second choice to academia.
• There is a lack of data proving the benefits of vocational education in many contexts around the world.
• Complex systems like those in the UK, US and South Africa may hinder employer involvement and deter candidates.
• In India, key challenges to implementing VET include a lack of coherent delivery mechanisms and obsolete curricula.

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Student funds to help 3300 students

 BY: PREGA GOVERNDER

The government has seemingly snubbed a R1bn financial aid package from the Public Investment Corporation that could have helped 3300 students from middle-class families secure a place at university.

© Allan Swart – 123RF.com

This emerged amid a warning by a task team - appointed by President Jacob Zuma to investigate short-term funding challenges experienced by middle-class students - that protests could be triggered on campuses early next year.

The PIC's proposal made to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), was meant to assist between 275 and 350 students a year over seven years, as part of an attempt to provide loans to as many as 350,000 financially needy students from upper-working-class and lower-middle-class families.

About 186,000 poor students, whose families earn up to R122,000 per annum, are covered by loans and bursaries from the student aid scheme.

Diane Parker, deputy director-general for university education in the Department of Higher Education, said that the PIC's R1bn proposal "covered too few students" and "it wasn't the sort of solution that could be put in place for the wider problem".

"That's why there was a decision that there needed to be further work to look at what are the full range of options, and can we put in place something that will really cover the 'missing middle' [the upper-working-class and lower-middle-class] more effectively," said Parker.

"We want to look at something that's much broader than [the R1bn] that can really make a big dent in this process around providing funding for students."

She denied the department had turned down the PIC proposal, saying Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande "hasn't made any kind of particular determination around it".

"But he did request that we look to see whether or not there were other possibilities and that's part of what led towards looking at broadening the net.

"It's not to say that the PIC couldn't be part of the fund that becomes available."

However, a senior source within the department said that a report prepared by officials from the NSFAS, which Nzimande is studying, had found that the PIC proposal "was not a viable option because they are not going to take us out of the problem with what they put on the table".

The source said the preferred route after engagements with the PIC was to negotiate with the banks "because they have a lot of money".

According to the source, the "first route" of the officials from the NSFAS was to meet with the PIC, because it was the largest fund manager in Africa and was responsible for the Government Employees Pension Fund.

However, the source said, the PIC had expressed reservations about the NSFAS's capacity to collect monies owed by students who had graduated and found employment.

"The issue is, we dish out money as loans but you can't recover it so it's a bottomless pit," said the source.

Sizwe Nxasana, chairman of the NSFAS board, said it was not true that his board or Nzimande had turned down the PIC's offer. "The offer has simply been overtaken by events given the student protests which started in October 2015, and the appointment of the presidential task team on student fees."

He said the proposed product was being considered in the context of a broader and more comprehensive funding model for poor and "missing middle" students.

But the proposal was not very attractive because it required the NSFAS to underwrite the default losses on the loans and parents would have to start servicing the interest and capital before students completed their studies.

Nxasana said the financing model he was working on sought to fund poor university students and the "missing middle" students.

It was a public-private partnership involving members of the Banking Association, the Association of Savings and Investments and Business Leadership South Africa.

"The model envisages raising adequate funding from various sources including the public and private sectors to fund poor and missing middle students."

PIC spokesman Deon Botha said an amount of R1bn had been mentioned during the preliminary discussions "but there was no indication from NSFAS that they do not agree with this amount".

"As no official response was received from NSFAS, no final amount for the PIC's participation could be confirmed."

Botha said the PIC managed pension fund monies and had an obligation to manage its credit risk exposure.

Source: Sunday Times

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

New colleges on the cards

 

PRETORIA: Government has begun the process of establishing fifteen technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges across the country, says the Presidency.

© HONGQI ZHANG – 123RF.com

The Presidency said Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande last week announced that a TVET college was to be built in Nkandla. He said this during the Jacob G Zuma RDP Education Trust Children and Youth Christmas Outreach Event held in the area.

The Presidency said other colleges will be constructed in the Eastern Cape in Graaff-Reinet, Ingwe in Ngqungushe, Ikhala in Sterkspruit and Aliwal North.

Others will be built in KwaZulu-Natal in Esayidi in Umzimkhulu, Umfolozi in Bhambanana and Nkandla A and B campuses, UMgungundlovu in Greytown, UMgungundlovu in Msinga, Mthashana in Kwa Gqikazi, Mthashana in Nongoma and Mthashana in Vryheid.

Colleges will be built in Letaba in Giyani, Waterberg in Thabazimbi, while another college will be built in Mpumalanga province in Balfour.

HEALTH & WELFARE NEWS

School nutrition reduces stunting and obesity

 

Research conducted by the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA), in partnership with the Tiger Brands Foundation (TTBF) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE), has found that both lunch only and lunch and breakfast in-school nutrition programmes significantly improve the health outcomes of children living in poor conditions and have promising educational effects.

© Sandra Cunningham – 123RF.com

The study assessed the impact of two school nutrition programmes in South Africa: the government's National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) - delivered to approximately 8.8-million children nationally daily and the Tiger brands foundation's in-school breakfast feeding programme - delivered as a complementary meal to the NSNP lunch to over 45,000 learners in nine provinces. The study was conducted in the Lady Frere district of the Eastern Cape.

Lower rates of wasting

In particular, the study found that learners receiving one or both of the interventions had lower rates of wasting than the provincial average for children 0-15 years suggesting that the interventions substantially improve the nutritional intake of children in this poor region of South Africa.

What is particularly interesting is that learners in the schools receiving the additional breakfast had significantly lower stunting levels than children receiving only the lunch. Traditionally, stunting has been shown to be impervious to change once children are older than three years although this has been the subject of debate. The study, in addition to a previous study on the effects of the TBF in-school breakfast feeding programme in Alexandra, Johannesburg, suggests that the additional nutritional intake in the form of breakfast does seem to be shifting stunting levels amongst children in some of the poorest schools.

Overconsumption of nutritionally deficient foods

Another exciting finding is that learners at schools receiving one or both interventions were far less likely than children not receiving an intervention to be overweight or obese. Children who started receiving the NSNP in the course of the study had significantly reduced levels of overweight and obesity over a five-month period. This suggests that the introduction of a well-balanced meal is protective for childhood obesity - currently a major health challenge in South Africa that is driven feeding not by overeating, but the overconsumption of nutritionally deficient foods. It is also exciting to note that children who receive the additional Tiger brands Foundation's in-school breakfast feeding programme were the least likely to be overweight or obese. This was particularly the case for girls who are more vulnerable to being overweight.

Successful public-private partnership

This is an example of a very successful public-private partnership, genuinely benefitting South Africa's children. For continuous monitoring and evaluation of the programme, The Tiger Brands Foundation uses up-to-the-minute real-time reporting, which provides detailed reports on food delivery, food preparation, hygiene, performance and helps the foundation to build a profile on each school. This is administered by the monitors and food handlers who are employed from the surrounding communities. While there are a range of in-school nutritional interventions funded by businesses, this is the first time that such an intervention has been assessed for impact. In addition, it is the first time that the NSNP - one of the most significant state poverty alleviation programmes - has been assessed for impact; and the story is a good one.

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Varsities warn of difficult year

 

Vice-chancellors of South Africa's universities have warned that next year may be difficult and have called on the country to prioritise the funding of higher education with urgency.

"The Wits University East Campus (archived)" by Samuella99. Licensed under Copyrighted free use via Commons

They warned that while universities did not have the internal capacity to manage violent protests, steps would be taken to protect everyone on campus and university property.

The statement, issued by Wits University vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib, came as President Jacob Zuma accepted the recommendations of the task team he put together to advise him on short-term university funding challenges.

The university heads acknowledged that mobilising more than R6.5-billion in short-term funding "within a short period in an environment of fiscal restraint is exceptional". However, they amplified the call for better subsidisation of universities by the state, in line with the sector's projected growth.

They also called for adequate financial aid to allow all academically qualified students who could be accommodated in enrolment plans "to enrol at universities . without prohibition".

The zero increase in fees next year would offer some reprieve to students but, given that the higher education system was based on a cost-sharing model, students would still be required to pay their fees.

"Universities are not profit-generating organisations, but do have to be financially sustainable.

"We as vice-chancellors have to ensure that we safeguard our universities so that they can also benefit future generations," they said.

They were committed to ensuring wider access to university study and to the transformation of the sector, but said academic requirements would continue to drive admissions policies.

While they recognised the right of students to lawful and peaceful protest, they asked students to act responsibly during protests and to respect the constitutional rights of others to learn and work.

Reducing the cost of higher education and increasing access constituted a noble cause, but they could not condone some of the methods used during the recent protests.

"We condemn all acts of violence, criminal acts, damage to property and behaviour that impinges on the constitutional rights of others," the university managers said.

"We urge students, parents and other stakeholders to recognise that university management and staff generally do not have the internal capacity to manage violent forms of protest action that place students, staff and facilities at risk."

Source: Herald

E-LEARNING NEWS

Milpark hosts interactive demonstration of its online learning platform

 ISSUED BY: MILPARK EDUCATION

Milpark Education, a recognised private and higher education institution, recently hosted a launch to showcase the online short courses offered by its School of Investment & Banking and School of Financial Planning & Insurance. The event, held at the Balalaika Hotel in Sandton, catered to the needs of working professionals and discussed the role and significance of online learning as part of their planned career development. Attendees were introduced to Milpark's modern and user-friendly Learner Management System and were guided through an interactive demonstration of its capabilities by the academic manager of Online Learning, Edel Goldbach.

Milpark's offerings, which were predominantly contact and distance learning-based, now include a cutting-edge online format to meet the need and demands of modern, time-sensitive lifestyles. 

"We've created our own online virtual environment with support from Apollo Global. This allows us to conduct quality assurance in the most direct and immediate fashion. Our online lecturers are not only experts in their field; they also undergo an extensive training process to ensure that they have the skills needed to lead forum discussions in an interactive and effective manner. Our students appreciate this and comment on the high level of support and interaction they receive throughout the duration of their online studies" says Goldbach. 

At Milpark, quality teaching and education is a core value of the business. Lecturers are active participants in the discussions; interacting, monitoring the discussions regularly, coaching and encouraging students. Milpark believes that effectively structured courses and moderated discussion forums are essential for effective learning to take place. 

"We don't dilute the discussion forums with too many students as quality control is of utmost importance. We allow a maximum of 25 students per online course to ensure that the facilitator can engage with each of our students without compromising the quality of the interaction" says Goldbach. 

Many online courses operate through a form of one-way communication. Milpark prides itself on implementing effective two-way communication: the quality of individual feedback to students, the quality of the assessments, and the quality of the overall interaction are all important focus areas which continue to be developed. The online discussion forums are public, enabling students to easily share their views and offer commentary. Lecturers are trained and encouraged to engage with the students, and to promote a positive, collaborative environment to further encourage high levels of interaction. Private messaging is also enabled; lecturers utilise this to offer one-on-one support and motivation and to provide individual students with in-depth feedback. 

Milpark is serious about effective assessment and ensures that online courses follow an integrated and practical assessment approach which includes evaluation of the student's participation, online tests and written assignments - all of which contribute to a final mark. 

"Overall course structure is another key focus area at Milpark - it has been a priority to get the basic foundation done correctly. Formal and quality assessments, again, are given a tremendous amount of consideration and attention."

According to the academic team, customisation is another critical component of Milpark's online offering: courses are customised to meet the needs of corporate groups. The customised product has been embraced by corporates who seek nationwide courses and training but who struggle to get their staff together in one place. The online learning environment allows employees who operate in different geographic locations to collaborate, network, and share their collective knowledge. Employees are not limited or obligated to log on at any specific time, making this format flexible and easily accessible, and ideal for the working student. 

Feedback offered by Milpark's online students include:

"The course was enjoyable, relevant and I enjoyed the online format. The lecturer was amazing throughout this short course! Always encouraging and very knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and this is largely thanks to the manner in which she facilitated the discussions and the constant feedback that she provided. The tax refresher course was very well constructed and run - I've got a lot out of it." says a student who successfully completed the online Income Tax Refresher short course.

Another student who successfully completed the online short course, Essential Banking Principles, offered the following feedback: "Thank you for a great and challenging six weeks. I have a newfound respect for adult education. Thank you for the words of encouragement; it kept me in the game. It truly was a pleasure being guided by you for the past six weeks." 

Online Courses offered by Milpark's School of Investment & Banking

• Essential Banking Principles
  
• Foundations in Retail Banking
  
• Finance for Non-Financial Managers
  
• Investment Analysis

Online courses offered by Milpark's School of Financial Planning & Insurance

• Financial Planning Products
  
• Income Tax Refresher
  
• Estate Planning

For more information about Milpark's Online courses, visit http://online.milpark.ac.za/online