The firing this week of higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane was inevitable. The combination of a lack of higher education gravitas and political nous, as well as alleged dishonesty in reporting on the controversial appointments of Seta board chairpersons sealed her fate. In a rare show of consensus, both ANC politicians (like members of the parliamentary portfolio committee) and DA politicians demanded action on the young minister.
Like police minister Mchunu before her, who asked for leave, Nkabane rushed to tender her resignation (yet remain in parliament), but she was already sacked. To be fired by Cautious Cyril means you must really have run out of political capital for the axe to drop on your head.
But all of this drama will amount to musical chairs among ANC politicians unless the replacement minister, Buti Manamela, deals with the compounded and underlying crises that were always going to render impotent an inexperienced, youthful minister without any sense of the challenges and complexities of higher education.
Either decentralise the NSFAS function to universities with the capacity to manage the funds on behalf of the students or clear up the rot of corruption and inefficiency. About the latter prospects, I am less optimistic for a simple reason: too much money and too many hungry vultures.
Manamela has been around in higher education politics for some time and so knows the issues in the post-secondary school sector and would have learnt from previous ministers where the potholes are that can so easily lead to stumbles in this challenging portfolio.
But he is not regarded as a heavyweight in higher education circles and so the least we can expect from the new minister is that he will do no harm. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but that is what those of us who work in universities have come to expect. What you hope for is a minister who is not a raging ideologue or an intemperate politician; somebody who leaves higher education alone, respects the autonomy of institutions and removes barriers in the way of universities fulfilling their mission. But that is a minimalist, ‘do no harm’ approach to political leadership in higher education.
Manamela can, however, go down as a giant in the history of higher education and government if he does seven simple things well:
1. Sort out the mess at NSFAS (and of course the Seta boards).
Either decentralise the NSFAS function to universities with the capacity to manage the funds on behalf of the students or clear up the rot of corruption and inefficiency. About the latter prospects, I am less optimistic for a simple reason: too much money and too many hungry vultures. Not prioritising this agency means that the most talented among the poorest of the poor will continue to drop out or stay in and fail with costly and extended periods of time-to-degree.
2. In this regard, take students seriously.
When students say they are being shortchanged by the financial aid scheme, listen to them and fix the problem. Do not use them as political fodder through aligned student organisations for your (or any other) party political interests. Ensure their learning and development proceed with the security of funding rather than the terror of uncertainty imposed on young minds.
3. Rebuild the confidence of higher education in the ministry and its department.
This means actively listening to vice-chancellors and their teams. Hire highly competent managers in the department who are not arrogant quasi-politicians but servants of the people who respect higher education leadership and provide efficient services and responses to institutional needs.
4, Restructure and refinance the model of technical and vocational education and training.
Its low status will continue unless the standards of technical staff appointments are massively improved (not recycled schoolteachers, please), the investments in relevant technological infrastructure are hiked up, and there is a huge marketing campaign to draw the best students to these TVETs and not those who regard the colleges as a poor relative of universities.
5. Lead the sector by signalling (not telling) five or six major priorities for university research and development in areas such as climate change, artificial intelligence, the digital humanities, infectious diseases and large data systems.
This will require ministerial leadership in opening up new revenue streams beyond the state purse and working with university vice-chancellors to build collaborations inside and outside of the global south.
6. Shut down the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The job of government is not to run academic departments, centres or institutes. Those functions belong outside of the state. There is already a National Research Foundation to manage research funding and scholarships as well as a Human Sciences Research Council to lead research and innovation outside of government. The institute might serve pet nationalist projects of the ruling party, but it is not for government to being doing this work. That is why there are 26 public universities.
7. Provide comprehensive security to universities under threat from assassinations and assault.
The rural Eastern Cape universities are particularly vulnerable and there has not been an inventive plan for securing our staff and students against violence in these troubled spaces.
Only time will tell whether the new minister will be able to rise to the challenge, but another failed politician in this portfolio will do irreparable harm to higher education.
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.