In today’s global knowledge and technology age, an interconnected network and global awareness are increasingly viewed as major and sought-after assets. With the current labour market requiring graduates to have international, foreign language and intercultural skills to be able to interact in a global setting, institutions are placing more importance on Internationalisation. The global Higher Education market is competitive, with an increasing number of students enrolled in higher education outside their country of citizenship.

1. DHET CONFERENCE
Dr Linda Meyer USAf
Acknowledgement to Prof A.C Bawa
November 2022
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
RESEARCH WEBINAR ON
POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION
& TRAINING:
GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY
Research Study on Why Graduates can’t find Work in
South Africa

2. THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF UNIVERSITIES
 The World Declaration on Higher Education for
the Twenty-First Century: Vision and Action
sets out the vision of a university; as a common
good, with an increased emphasis on equity of
access, enhancing the participation and
promoting the role of women, long-term
orientation based on relevance, diversification
for enhanced equity of opportunity, and
innovative education approaches: critical
thinking and creativity (UNESCO; 1998)

3. THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF UNIVERSITIES
Higher education has experienced tremendous
challenges and undergone enormous
transformation both locally and internationally.
 Mapping the changes, challenges and opportunities
for Higher Education and how the way forward
demands bold efforts and a strong focus on
collaboration and partnerships.
 Universities should fulfil their core purposes,
that defines as (i) research (knowledge production),
(i) teaching and learning, and (iii) community
engagement.

4. THE REGIONAL CONTEXT
 Regional mobility and access to universities for students
from the region is a strong theme of the protocol.
 SADC member states agreed on the undergraduate level that
universities and other tertiary institutions in their countries
reserve at least 5% of admission of students from SADC
other than their own.
 Less than 10% of African students are enrolled in higher
education, and of those that pursue post-basic education.
 The protocol encourages mobility, and member states have
agreed to work towards the gradual relaxation and eventual
elimination of immigration formalities that hinder free student
and staff mobility at the undergraduate level.

5. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
 Globally, Higher Education is driven by two conflicting
trends: massification and the knowledge economy (de
Wit;2022).
 Massification increases the demand for access to higher
education from countries with insufficient supply, resulting in
increased resourcing pressures.
 The knowledge economy pushes higher education in a
further international direction, as it asks for world-class
universities which can operate on a global scale to compete
for top talents and for top research.
 Internationalisation agendas should be used as a
mechanism to improve the quality of learning and teaching,
research and community engagement and drive a social
justice agenda.

6.  In today’s age of global knowledge and technology, an
interconnected network and global awareness are
increasingly viewed as major and sought-after assets.
 With the current labour market requiring graduates to have
international, foreign language and intercultural skills to be
able to interact in a global setting, institutions are placing
more importance on Internationalisation.
 The global HE market is competitive, with an increasing
number of students enrolled in higher education outside their
country of citizenship.
THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

7.  THE SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE
THE LOCAL CONTEXT

8. The Projected Size and Shape of the PSET
System in 2022 & 2030 NDP
Source: (DHET; 2021)
HE Enrolments
1 600 000
TVET Enrolments
2 500 000
CET Enrolments
1 000 000
SETA Enrolments
344 541
HE Enrolments
Public university = 1 110 361
PHEIs = 219 031
TVET Enrolments
508 000 – (number is
decreasing annually)
CET Enrolments
171 409 (2019)
SETA Enrolments
222 210 (2019)
2030
2020
The South African Public HE
landscape includes 26 Public
Universities, - 11 General
Academic Universities; 9
Comprehensive Universities and
6 Universities of Technology &
Approximately 135 PHEIs (DHET;
2021) & 50 TVET Colleges, 268
registered private colleges and 9
CET colleges.

9. SA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES SIZE & SHAPE 2022

10. PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES – OVERVIEW 2022
 Total enrolment, including PHEIs, exceeds 1.35 million
students
 Total university enrolment is approximately 1,1 million
students for the 2022 AY.
 2022 FTEN enrolment in universities was approximately
210,000
 Gender spilt - Female 60% & Male 40% Contact &
distance female (69.6%) and 30.4% male.
 Student population = Black African 78.8%, Coloured
5,7%, Asian (3.8% & White 10,8%.
 Distance learning = 37.7% & Residential universities =
62.3%
 PHEIs now make up 20%+ of the Higher Education Market.

11. PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES – OVERVIEW 2022
 Most students graduated with a Higher Certificate (13 134 or 27.9%),
followed closely by the 360 Credit Bachelor’s degrees (12 704 or
27.0%) and 360 Credit Diploma (10 227 or 21.7%). In comparison,
fewer students completed Postgraduate Diploma (2 500 or 5.3%),
Advanced Certificate (1739 or 3.7%) and Honours Degree (1 616 or
3.4%).
 The number of graduates with doctoral degrees was 3552 in 2020, and
this was 3.1% (107) higher compared with 2019 (3 445). The
Department plans to produce 4300 PhD graduates by 2024.
 A total of 104 310 students completed N3, N6 and NC(V) Level 4 in TVET
colleges in 2020, which are key exit levels in this sector. Graduate
unemployment rate – degrees = 12,5%, Diplomas = 23,2% and HC
36,5%(StatsSA; 2021)

12. PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES – OVERVIEW 2022
 Total university graduates in 2020 - 237 882 from
public HEIs in 2020, most graduates were in the fields
of Business and Management (27.5% - 65 336), followed
by SET (27.2% - 64 721), other Humanities (25.5% or 60
547) and Education (19.9% - 47 271).
 Graduates from private HEIs reached 47 085 in 2020.
 Youth unemployment rate Q1 2022 = 63,9%
(StatsSA; 2022)
 Graduate unemployment rate – degrees = 12,5%,
Diplomas = 23,2% and HC 36,5%(StatsSA; 2021)

13. PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES – OVERVIEW 2022
TVET colleges, 22.6
Private colleges, 4.8
CET colleges, 7.1
HEIs, 65.5
SIZE %
Almost two-thirds
(65.5%) of students
were enrolled in public
and private HEIs.
Enrolment at TVET
colleges was (22.6%),
and CET and private
colleges made up
(7.1% and 4.8%,
respectively)
(DHET;2021)

14. 1,025,556 1,033,043
1,082,680 1,086,585 1,103,943 1,115,285
1,194,822
1,255,657 1,254,748
400,273
657,690
612,621
702,383
737,880 705,397 688,028 657,133 673,490
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
Y-2011 Y-2012 Y-2013 Y-2014 Y-2015 Y-2016 Y-2017 Y-2018 Y-2019
Higher Education: Total enrolment in public and private universities and TVET colleges in SA
2011-2019 (Source: DHET, 2021: p.47; p55)
Public and private Universities TVET colleges Linear (Public and private Universities)
Average annual
increase in…
University
enrolment
(20112019)
…⬆ 2.6%
TVET enrolment
(20122019):
…⬆ 0,6%
Average annual
increase in
bachelor passes
(20112020)
⬆ 7%
120,767 136,047
171,755
150,752
166,263 162,374
153,610
172,043
186,058
210,820
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
180000
200000
220000
Y-2011 Y-2012 Y-2013 Y-2014 Y-2015 Y-2016 Y-2017 Y-2018 Y-2019 Y-2020
Schooling: NSC Bachelor Passes in South Africa 2011-2019 (Source: DBE Matric Reports)

15. UNIVERSITIES AND THE ECONOMY
Universities are
expected (globally) to
contribute to the
development of
competitive economies
through their:
i. impact on the labour
market with the
development of high-level
professionals, experts
ii. performance of
research/innovation and IP
development
iii. establishing long
timeline platforms for R&D
iv. development of
economic policy
Policy coherence
Rewards and incentives
Improve impact pathways
Partnerships and
agreements
Enablers of impact

16. PRESSURES, CHALLENGES AND EQUILIBRIUM
 Our universities reside in a larger ecosystem. (PSET, NSI, NRF,
NSFAS, CHE, DHET, QCTO etc.)
 Internal and external demands, pressures and challenges must
be judiciously balanced for optimal institutional efficiency and
effectiveness.
 Challenges include:
 Long-term sustainability
 Compliance requirements
 Efficiency and effectiveness of the ecosystem
 Political destabilisation factors
 Leadership and staffing capacity constraints - available PSET and
sectoral expertise

17. SA HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING
Costs of higher education
shared between public and
private interests the state in
the form of subsidies the
private sector, through
investments in research,
scholarships etc. and families
themselves, whose children will
have access to the private
goods of productive
engagement in the economy by
virtue of their access to higher
education (Parker;2019).
Three funding
streams:
• First stream (DHET
subsidies) (Block and
Earmarked grants)
• Second stream (Student
fees)
• Third stream (Funding from
donors/ research funding/
government departments/
other income from
investments, beneficiation
of intellectual property etc.

18. UNIVERSITY FUNDING – OVERVIEW
 Tuition fees make up 33% of the operating budgets of
universities, government grants 44% and third-stream
revenue 23%.
 In 2020, 46% of university students and 58% of TVET
college students were NSFAS beneficiaries (DHET;
2022), and this is increasing annually.
 The PSET budget is allocated to the public university
sector, which received 65.4% of the PSET budget in
2020/21, followed by TVET college sector (17.3%), with
the CET college sector (1.9%) (DHET; 2022).
 Block Grant (discretionary) = 78% of the budget and
earmarked grants (steer transformation)= 22% of budget.

19. UNIVERSITY FUNDING – OVERVIEW
 Declining private sector funding
 Pressure on research funding
 NSFAS sustainability
 Universities are required to be going concerns
 Universities must secure their long-term
sustainability
 Student Debt is a global reality and an
unavoidable debt load across the Academy

20. UNIVERSITY FUNDING – OVERVIEW
 Student debt in Private Educational Institutions
Privately held student loans and other forms of
debt are unknown.
 Financial Aid and accumulating student debt
are increasing exponentially, and a national
solution must be implemented.
 Since 2018, tuition fees have increased at the
rate of CPI.
 Higher Education Price Index.

21. DHET– BUDGET OVERVIEW 2022
2022/2023 2023/2024 2024/2025
Allocation –
University
Education
R 88 581.7BN R 92 642.1BN R 98 556BN
Total DHET Budget R 130 134.2 BN R 135 564.4 BN R 143 747.1BN
CONSOLIDATED
GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURE
R 2.16 TRILLION
 The share of government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP almost doubled
from 0.7% in 2011/12 to 1.3% in 2020/21, while tertiary spending as a percentage of total
education budget increased by over 7 percentage points in the last 10 years.
 Spend on PSET, 65.4% of spending was on university sector, 17.3% on TVET college sector and
1.9% on CET college sector in 2020/21 (DHET; 2022).

22. NSFAS – BUDGET OVERVIEW 2022
2020 2021 2022
Allocation 28,5BN R30,1 BN R47,3BN
Revised Allocation R30,2bn R34,1bn
Number of
Students Funded
496 910 542,193 691,432
 To qualify for NSFAS the household income of a student must be R0 - R350 000.
 The share of NSFAS to total expenditure on tertiary education increased from 20% in 2011/12
to 43% in 2020/21.
 Total NSFAS expenditure 2020/21 is divided = 83.2% to universities; 16.8% to TVET Colleges.
 Teaching Agenda vs Research Agenda. - Knowledge Race & global positioning?

23. NSFAS CUMULATIVE UNIVERSITY DISBURSEMENTS 2021
INSTITUTION NUMBER OF NSFAS STUDENTS SUM OF AMOUNT PAID
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG 14587 761,437,587.50
UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH 3830 241,106,972.00
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN 5877 407,140,867.00
UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND 11023 347,848,355.00
UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE 11094 399,204,315.00
UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE 21701 1,050,077,167.00
UNIVERSITY OF MPUMALANGA 3800 164,467,117.50
NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY 15447 675,254,837.50
CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 15224 574,325,323.00
MANGOSUTHU UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 8317 285,312,282.00
UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE 7072 333,833,051.50
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA 11744 677,016,974.50
UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO 5190 25,580,697.50
WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY 15921 679,098,226.50
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL 22465 1,064,282,537.00
SEFAKO MAKGATHO HEALTH SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY
2322 125,320,686.50
VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 13162 553,179,266.00
UNIVERSITY OF VENDA 8001 363,209,145.00
DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 20797 929,771,261.00
UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND 9474 598,524,722.50
NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY 21624 973,806,639.50
SOL PLAATJE UNIVERSITY 1418 64,047,677.50
RHODES UNIVERSITY 3094 196,865,814.00
CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 8276 278,004,460.00
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA 153422 1,824,198,484.00
NSFAS; 2022

24. Expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP by
country, 2018
1.4 1.4
1.3
1.0
0.3
0.9
0.7
0.9
1.5
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
Brazil Chile Germany Malaysia Mauritius Republic
of Korea
Russian
Federation
South
Africa
United
Kingdom
of Great
Britain and
Northern
Ireland

25. SA HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING
1.7% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0%
%
6.1
%
6.5
%
6.1
%
6.5
%
7.0
7.4% 7.5%
%
0
1%
2%
3%
4%
%
5
%
6
7%
8%
9%
%
10
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Audited outcome Adjusted
appropriation
Medium-term expenditure estimate
% of GDP % of total government expenditure
DHET; 2022
Government spending on PSET as percentage of total consolidated
non-interest government expenditure and GDP, 2018/19-2024/25
(DHET; 2022).

26. Consolidated government spending on education as percentage of
consolidated noninterest government expenditure and GDP,
2018/19-2024/25 (DHET; 2022)
23 . 0 % 22 . %
7
21 . 6 %
22 . %
7 23 . 2 % 23 . 6 % 23 . 3 %
6 . 2 % 6 . 6 % 6 . %
7 6 . 6 % 6 . %
7 6 . 4 % 6 . %
2
0 . %
0
5 . 0 %
10 . 0 %
15 . 0 %
20 . %
0
25 . 0 %
2018/19 20 19 / 20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Audited outcome Revised
estimate
Medium-term expenditure estimate
Education as % of total government expenditure Education as a % of GDP

27. 27
Source: Preliminary 2019 data provided to the DHET by NSFAS
148,159
127,621
113,593
111,562
106,429
103,024
96,992
96,232
91,336
90,963
90,760
89,157
89,080
88,209
84,542
83,800
83,138
81,376
80,702
70,470
67,922
67,425
54,502
54,402
53,161
14,833
AVERAGE FCS 2019 (PARKER;2020)
FULL COST OF STUDY DIFFERENTIATED ACROSS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

28. STUDENT DEBT (UG): 2011 - 2020
Student category
R
2021
registered
students
Non-registered
students
Total number of
students
% to student
numbers
NSFAS students 6,688,101,337 174,397 123,184 297,581 40.0%
Scholarships and
bursaries
575,085,893 8,924 8,755 17,679 2.4%
Self-paying students 6,494,736,894 62,256 355,789 418,045 56.2%
International
students
281,917,424 2,686 8,253 10,939 1.5%
Total
14,039,841,54 8
248,263 495,981 744,244
R’amount (billion) R6,147 R7,893
% of students 33.4% 66.6%
DHET (2021b)

29. STUDENT DEBT: 2011 - 2020
Year
Fee income
(R'billion)
Gross Student
debt (R'billion) % debt ratio
% Impairment
to gross debt
2011 R 13,909 R 3,234 23.30% 54.10%
2012 R 15,429 R 3,494 22.60% 56.00%
2013 R 17,912 R 5,476 30.60% 49.90%
2014 R 19,428 R 6,188 31.90% 57.80%
2015 R 22,351 R 6,973 31.20% 55.90%
2016 R 22,993 R 8,552 37.20% 60.30%
2017 R 25,948 R 9,942 38.20% 63.30%
2018 R 29,074 R 11,342 40.80% 55.20%
2019 R 31,031 R 13,162 39.00% 53.30%
2020 – ex one institution
% increase
R 31,072 R 16,250 52.30% 56.20%
Average Year on year 20.30%
2017-2020 63.40%
2019-2020 23.50%
DHET;2021a)

30. STUDENT DEBT IMPACT ON SA HIGHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
1. Student debt is currently in excess of R16,5 bn + (DHET;2022).
2. Extent of debt damaging to the future sustainability of HEIs.
3. Needs a national solution.
4. Cost of debt is about R1,2 billion per annum which could be
directed towards infrastructure development and/or growing the
academic system.
5. At beginning of 2021, the student debt of students who had
graduated was R7bn – approximately 120 000 students.
6. Students in the ‘missing middle’ category make up 15-20% of students (6% of
SA households R350 001 and R600 000).

31.  ESG’ (environmental, social, and governance) was coined in
2005 as shorthand for a more responsible approach to doing
business.
 ESG is now more essential, relevant, and quantifiable than
ever before.
 Addressing ESG is imperative for companies that wish to
demonstrate they deserve society’s trust.
 Key components for an effective ESG strategy: benchmark
regularly, think systematically about trade-offs, and let
investors see how ESG meshes with the business model
(McKinsey; 2022).
SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH

32. STUDENT DEBT IMPACT ON SA HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS
THE CURRENT STUDENT DEBT CRISIS
No governmental
support for
students
Universities used
existing
instruments to
allow students to
continue
Kicking the can
down the road
Minister to set up
a task team to
address 2022 and
longer-term
Need to determine
the long-term
trajectory of
NSFAS
Need for a
national,
comprehensive
student funding
system

33. UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES
Drivers of Challenges
Universities subjected
to stagnant
government subsidy
(on a per capita basis)
Regulation of tuition
fees / Keeping the
subsidy intact
Cuts in government
funding for research
and innovation – NRF
Student Debt
Cuts in private sector
funding for R&D
International funding
for projects in decline
Impact of the CoViD-
19 pandemic
Sustainability of the
current NSFAS model
Future Demand for
Higher Education -
equitable access,
lifelong learning,
reskilling, upskilling,
etc
Demand Outstripping
Supply
NEETs – Exceeds
9 million in SA
Student
Accommodation
Power and water
security
Funding for 'missing
middle’ students
Societal relevance and
impact – SDGs, AU’s
Agenda 2063, NDP,
white paper PSET etc.
Labour market shifts
and the rise of
automation
Future Demand for Higher Education Demand Outstripping Supply

34. THE UNCERTAINTY OF DHET FUNDING
 DHET budget cuts over the MTEF: 2021/2022/2023/24.
 DHET’s reductions over the 2021 MTEF: 4.969 billion in 2021/22, R6.429 billion
in 2022/23 and R9.422 billion in 2023/24.
 NSFAS: R6.884 billion.
 Universities: R7.701 billion - R5 billion on university subsidies and R2.4 billion
on university infrastructure.
 TVET Colleges: R1.426 billion - R947 million on TVET infrastructure and R400
million on TVET college subsidies.
 Increased institutional vulnerability and exposure.
 Subsidies are unlikely to grow significantly if at all.
 Universities must navigate fragmented funding streams.

35. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
 The White Paper on Post School Education and Training affirms a
cost sharing model for HE Funding and a promise government
to strengthen the National Student Financial Aid Scheme
(NSFAS) and fully fund poor and working-class students and
find a coherent solution for funding so called “missing
middle” students.
 The White Paper aligns to the NDP, confirming that by 2030 all
NSFAS qualifying students for must have access Full Cost Study
(FCS); students who do not qualify for NSFAS ought to have
access to bank loans, underwritten by state sureties; and both the
NSFAS and bank loans should be recovered through South African
Revenue Service - Income Contingent

36. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
Beyond the Hellscape ….
Enhancing policy dialogue
between policymakers, the
public and private sector is
critical
A revised sustainable
model for policy stability
and harmonisation is
required
Promote competitiveness
and optimal efficiencies in
collaboration and
partnerships
All students, irrespective of
means-testing should be
able to access funding to
participate in the PSET
system
Student Debt has a
detrimental impact on the
stability (financial and
otherwise) of universities.
The Current Financial
Architecture Framework of
public universities, with
increased reliance on state
funding, is unsustainable.

37. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
Beyond the Hellscape ….
Optimising New
Technologies, Data
Analytics
Open Learning;
Distance And Blended
Learning (Pedagogy
And Andragogy
Optimization is
essential)
The risk exposure to
universities’ financial
stability destabilizes
and negatively impacts
the knowledge project
across the academy.
Improved Private
Sector Investment And
Tax Rebates (S12H) (In
Student Bursaries
Especially For PG
Students, Research &
Innovation)
A sustainable, coherent
solution must be found
to bring long-term
policy and institutional
stability and security.
Public-private
partnerships must be
advanced

38. WHATWILLTHEFUTUREHOLD?

39. HE QUADRUPLE HELIX -
Governments
(Domestic
and
International)
Business /
Industry
PPP
Academy
(University)
Stakeholders
Research
Community
Community
(Local and
Global)
Relevance &
Responsiveness
Innovation Space
Scholarship & Engagement
Partnerships &
Reciprocity
Legitimacy and
Accountability
Development
Space
Development
Space
Beyond the Hellscape ….

40. NGIYABONGA
THANK YOU
ENKOSI
KE A LEBOHA
DANKIE
NGIYABONGA NGIYABONGA KAKHULU
NDO LIVHUWA RO LIVHUWA NDO LIVHUWA
NGA MAANDA
NDZA NKHENSA NDZI KHENSE NGOPFU
INKOMU SWINENE