Govt to inject millions to support students

Minister Naledi Pandor made the announcement at a colloquium on Higher Education Transformation on Monday.

Pandor says the money will be invested over three years.

“We are making available over R900 million for what we call university capacity development in order to support universities in developing programs around issues of mental health and support to students that face gender-based violence. But also education for young people to make sure they don’t practice gender inequality.  We are really investing in programs that I believe will assist us to overcome these problems and to address very problematic negative practices that we find in our institutions,” she said.   

The meeting was attended by various role players in higher education, with Pandor saying she is keen to shine the spotlight on transformation at universities.

“The oversight transformation committee which was appointed by Dr Blade Nzimande during his term, has now come to indicate progress to me and felt that we needed to have a colloquium, at which we could have a dialogue. A small event, rather than the big summits on transformation, which will allow more exchange of ideas and sharing of good practice and this is what this meeting is about."

The South African Union of Students (SAUS) says it is unhappy with the level of transformation that has taken place in university spaces.

SAUS President Meshack Mugabe says the "snail pace of transformation is unsatisfactory".

“When you look at it you start with the knowledge that we are consuming, is it responding to the African needs? That is why we are saying there are universities in Africa but we don’t have African Universities,” he says.