A ‘skills revolution’ is coming SA’s way, says Manamela

For higher education and training minister Buti Manamela, the last 12 months have required him to engage in a delicate balancing act in which responding to the “noise” of political and public scrutiny is offset by the quiet, urgent work of systemic reform.

On the University of Pretoria’s engineering campus this week to reflect on a tenure marked by intense pressure, Manamela remains focused on his vision: a “skills revolution” designed to bridge the gap between students’ classroom training and their lack of practical competencies in the labour market.

He is acutely aware and welcomes the fact that his department operates under a microscope, whether in the form of intense parliamentary oversight or relentless media speculation.

He views this scrutiny as a double-edged sword. “South Africa’s attitude towards education is not left to the devices of the ministry or the department. It’s like soccer — everyone has an opinion about what should happen,” he observes.

While he acknowledges that public interest in higher education is vital, Manamela is concerned about the corrosive effect of turning the department’s administrative hurdles into an existential crisis.

The constant volume of criticism, he argues, threatens to undermine the morale of the very people tasked with delivering services. “I also think we should not create a sense of crisis to the extent that even people within the system, who know there are certain parts of it that work, doubt it is functional,” he says.

Quote: The changes we intend to put in place at Nsfas will not happen without those who benefited from the way in which it is currently structured fighting back — Buti Manamela

For the minister, the ultimate challenge is maintaining focus. He frames the constant barrage of questions and scandals as a kind of filtration system: “Every question put to us could either be a scandal waiting to erupt or an opportunity to make one of the greatest interventions ever. And we must be able to get back to the important issue: the success of the sector and the country,” he adds.

Central to Manamela’s agenda is the “skills revolution”: a mission to transform the post-school education and training (PSET) sector into a robust engine for youth employment. His vision moves beyond policy, grounding the entire sector — which comprises universities, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and community colleges — in a single measurable outcome: employment. “We will have made progress in the PSET system if we’ve been able to change the system to skill young people for employment,” he asserts.

To achieve this goal, Manamela is pushing for a shift beyond just pedagogy. He wants to expand the sector’s priorities past traditional, siloed lecture halls to include work-integrated learning, ensuring training is responsive to industry demands. By partnering with private sector players such as Sasol, in terms of which initiative students were absorbed into the state-owned energy company, he aims to demonstrate that training institutions can produce graduates who are instantly employable, effectively addressing the persistent issue of skills shortages.

Manamela emphasises that this revolution cannot occur while the system is distracted by the governance crises that have seen three sector education and training authorities (Setas) placed under administration, court challenges concerning the reappointment of several Seta CEOs, and a fight to the death between his ministry and the axed board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).

His strategy includes creating a “centre for leadership and governance” to bolster the capacity of the hundreds of councils and institutions that comprise the PSET sector, rather than simply relying on the disruptive process of staff removals.

Looking back at his first year in office, Manamela reflects that it’s been an “exciting rollercoaster” and “tricky period”, acknowledging there was a weight of expectation associated with his appointment because he had spent almost a decade as the understudy to the role.

“In the last 12 months and a few days, we’ve managed to centre the narrative on the PSET sector … We’ve elevated the discussion of TVET institutions and community colleges — and, I mean, Setas were all over the show, but now we’re beginning to get them to cohere in terms of what they do.”

Perhaps the most contentious aspect of his tenure has been the ongoing drama at Nsfas. Manamela faced a grilling from parliamentarians over his falling out with the board he axed — and which is now looking to overturn his decision in the courts — amid allegations he meddled in the botched process to appoint a CEO.

But he insists the friction between himself and the board is rooted in a fundamental disagreement over priorities. He also points out that the administrator had to address crucial issues relating to the departmental work culture, especially with regard to staff being physically present in the workplace, when he became aware of employees working from Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth despite the Nsfas offices being in Cape Town.

Addressing “simple” matters such as ensuring people report for work is a necessary step towards fixing the institution’s broader challenges.

“I know the issue of the [Nsfas] CEO, for instance, was made quite central by the former board ... For me, the interest was bigger than just filling a post — it was about the ability of the board to execute,” Manamela says.

He is candid about the structural failures that plague the organisation, arguing that it was expanded without the necessary legislative or structural foundations. “The challenges at Nsfas arose when we started speaking about ‘fee-free higher education’ without putting in place any legislative and policy changes,” he explains. “We were placing an additional R60bn institution onto a R2.5bn structure. It’s not going to work.”

He acknowledges that these changes are being resisted by those who benefited from the status quo. “The changes we intend to put in place at Nsfas will not happen without those who benefited from the way in which it is currently structured fighting back,” he says, adding that some relationships between the institution and various service providers had been “more extractive than beneficial”.

Moving forward, his priority is a sustainable student funding model. He envisions a Nsfas that, in its simplest form, can distribute finance to students while maintaining the ability to account for every cent spent.

“The point is, we have to have some sort of national compact on how we use what we have to accommodate as many students as possible,” he concludes.

For Manamela, the revolution is not about silencing the noise but rather ensuring the work continues.