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Government must maximise spend on education – Nzimande
Government must maximise spend on education - Nzimande
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande says as government continues to spend a large share of its national budget on education, the challenge is to maximise the impact of this progressive investment.
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the National Plan for Post-School Education and Training (NPPSET) in Durban on Thursday.
He said the NPPSET showcases government’s continuous effort towards achieving an improved, transformed, expanded, responsive and articulated Post-School Education and Training.
“Our department of Higher Education and Training has the single largest number of entities of all the national government departments, with over 110,” Nzimande said.
South Africa’s PSET sector is one of the biggest in Africa with highly developed institutions that feature in the global arena of international education, training, research, technology development and innovation.
“We also have the single largest research infrastructure and systems on the African continent. Our National Plan for Post-School Education and Training is a roadmap for implementing the vision of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
“It is framed within the broader goals and priorities of the National Development Plan (NDP), which foregrounds the national efforts to address the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality, and poverty. It is an overarching instrument and a blueprint for guiding planning in our PSET sector.
“It aligns and integrates the work that is already underway and provides a policy framework for major transformative changes government wants to bring about across the PSET system and its nexus with society and the economy,” the minister said.
Nzimande explained that the National Plan for Post School Education and Training has six goals which are the drivers for the system.
“We are bringing together institutions and traditions that have different histories and investments and propose ways of making them work together towards common goals.
“We are consolidating and building on those aspects of the system that are working well whilst also streamlining a wide range of policies, plans, and strategies currently in existence that impact on the system without reducing its diversity,” Nzimande said.
Nzimande said his department has developed an articulation Policy for the Post-School Education and Training System of South Africa in 2017.
“The policy was established to create an enabling environment to ensure that articulation occurs within and between NQF sub-frameworks, institutions work together to develop learning and work pathways and support to students as they follow their individual learning and work pathways,” the Minister said.
Nzimande added that his department conducted a comprehensive evaluation study on the implementation of the National Qualification Framework Act on how articulation was implemented by both TVET colleges and universities.
“The baseline study was also conducted to determine how articulation was practiced within and between higher education institutions. The study has identified a number of challenges in how articulation works across the entire PSET system.
“The major challenge still remains to optimise articulation pathways between universities, TVET colleges and CET colleges and without cul-de-sacs in the system. We must also fund and properly resource articulation,” Nzimande said.
The NPPSET sets out a roadmap for implementing the vision of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
Having already been approved by the Minister, the NPPSET is being implemented by the department and may be viewed in conjunction with its enablers and or by-products which are the development of the Master Skills Plan, Student Funding Model, inclusive of the ‘missing middle’ and the implementation of the Labour Market Intelligence programme.
This launch provides an opportunity for the department to bring on board all stakeholders that are key in the broader implementation of the plan thereby ensuring effective implementation geared towards the realisation of the envisaged goals of the National Development Plan and other relevant policies to 2030 and beyond. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Thu, 09/07/2023 - 14:36
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How Much Does SEO Cost for a Startup
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SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts
SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts
South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has called on National Treasuries to exclude tax administrations from across-the-board austerity measures, as it poses a threat to innovation, fiscal integrity and sovereignty.
“Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations. This goes against the intrinsic value of digitalisation in improving tax compliance and detecting tax non-compliance,” Kieswetter said on Tuesday in Cape Town.
He was addressing the 2nd Network of Tax Organisation (NTO) Technical Conference, which took place under the theme: ‘Digitalisation of Tax Administrations and Contemporary Issues’.
“As more financial transactions are taking place digitally, more third party data sources are shared with tax administrations, and central bank digital currencies are emerging, the importance of digitalisation and consequently the use of data science, and artificial intelligence have become central to revenue collection, compliance and trade facilitation.
“So, in short, whenever budget cuts are required, National Treasuries – Budget Offices are advised to avoid across-the-board cuts and ensure a more prudent approach to invest to build enabling and productive economic capacity, create employment, and thus expand the tax base.
“This secures fiscal integrity and sovereignty in the long run. Tax administrations should be excluded from across-the-board austerity measures. The investment in digitalisation should not be disrupted. The cost of recovery is simply too high in every respect,” Kieswetter said.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the modernisation and digitisation of work at SARS.
“COVID-19 inadvertently took us to the drawing board to think from first principles, and very quickly accelerated our response towards reprioritising our technology investment to enable our employees to work during the hard lockdown and to allow taxpayers to continue to fulfil their tax obligations,” the Commissioner said.
Although SARS has made progress, he explained that much more still needs to be done, as the revenue service is behind in its digitalisation journey.
“I want to pause here and focus on one element as a critical enabler of the digitalisation journey - and that relates to funding. Before State capture, SARS was a leader in digital modernisation for many years.
“However, partly due to financial constraints, but also a short-term approach, budgets were then frozen for a number of years and SARS fell behind in driving technological innovation. We have now managed to restore some additional funds to continue our modernisation, but we are still substantially underfunded to move at the necessary speed in an environment that is changing exponentially, business models are being disrupted, and tax crime proliferating at an alarming rate,” he said.
SARS faces the challenge of not only having to play catch-up after many years of underinvestment, but also of accelerating modernisation simply to remain relevant.
“We are at a point where we can again focus on innovation. The important lesson here is that the digitalisation journey is not a finite project, but a new way of being. It is an ongoing journey. Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations,” the Commissioner said. - SAnews.gov.za
nosihle
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 10:08
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Govt reviews Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act
Govt reviews Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act
President Cyril Ramaphosa says government has embarked on a comprehensive review of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005, to ensure that the different spheres of government work in a joined-up and coordinated manner to secure the well-being of the people of South Africa, among other things.
“In the design of our democratic unitary state, we introduced cooperative governance to ensure that the three spheres of government worked together to meet the needs of the people. Each sphere of government has constitutionally assigned powers and functions that cannot be encroached upon, but need to be mutually respected.
“Chapter 3 of the Constitution requires all spheres of government to cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith by, among others, fostering friendly relations and assisting and supporting one another. Importantly, the Constitution says that all spheres of government must secure the well-being of the people of the Republic,” President Ramaphosa said.
The President said the District Development Model (DDM) is geared towards improving and strengthening the intergovernmental relations system as an approach towards giving effect to the Constitutional principles of cooperative governance.
“The District Development Model approach has made great strides in ensuring that the principles of cooperative governance guide how we plan, budget and implement key government programmes and projects across the country. This is demonstrated through the Presidential Izimbizo and implementation of key catalytic projects identified in intergovernmental long-term One Plans.”
To date, the President said, experiences in the implementation of the DDM have placed greater emphasis on the requirements to undertake a review and re-look at the policy instruments framing and guiding of intergovernmental relations system, and cooperative governance.
Progress in addressing challenges identified at Imbizos
President Ramaphosa highlighted some of the progress made and key service delivery interventions through Izimbizo, and these include road maintenance projects in Mpumalanga, the provision of title deeds in North West, measures to tackle livestock theft in the Free State, and the provision of water in North West, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.
The President said through the Izimbizo government has further identified opportunities for skills development in key economic sectors in districts such as mining and agriculture in North West and Limpopo and energy programmes in Northern Cape.
“Through the information and contribution collected during the various Izimbizo, it has been possible to identify interventions that are required in many localities across the country. The benefit of these engagements therefore extends beyond the communities in which they take place as they are able to improve service provision more generally,” President Ramaphosa said.
He added that the documenting and tracking of key resolutions emanating from the Izimbizo are part of the design of the Izimbizo.
“Quarterly implementation reports indicate that measurable progress is being made in addressing the challenges identified, which are done in an intergovernmental manner. The various intergovernmental platforms established through the Izimbizo protocols are also tasked to address challenges where these occur.
“District Development Model political champions are assigned for each district and metro, and are tasked to provide regular updates not just to the established intergovernmental platforms but also to the respective communities,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za
GabiK
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 10:01
181 views
R350 grant: SASSA in court over “unfair” exclusions
Agency accused of turning down too many applicants
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