In a bid to address the skills mismatch, the Department of Higher Education and Training will send a number of students to China to study scarce and critical skills of the future.
The department will send about 100 students to China next year.
Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, made the announcement during a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday.
The announcement followed Nkabane’s return from a recent trip to China, where she formed part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s delegation to the recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing.
She noted that South Africa has a longstanding cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. The cooperation is in various areas of higher education and training, which continues to grow and support South Africa’s knowledge and skills development.
“Our engagement during this visit aligns with South Africa’s strategic goals regarding technological advancement and international collaboration in education,” Nkabane said.
Nkabane, joined by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) administrator, Freeman Nomvalo, was giving feedback on a four-day ministerial stakeholder engagement programme, which started on Thursday and concluded on Sunday.
College system intake
She had an extensive consultation with stakeholders in the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector on Thursday to solicit inputs and proposals to policy positions on matters that affect the PSET system.
Nkabane also revealed that the department intends to increase the intake of the college system by 1-million enrolments in community colleges and 2.5-million in public and private TVET (technical and vocational education and training) colleges by 2030.
“In relation to our universities, we will continue to diversify them based on their strengths and the needs of the communities in which they are located by targeting 1.6-million enrolments by 2030,” she said.
Nkabane also said that she was confident that NSFAS is ready to kickstart the 2025 online application process — effectively on Friday.
“I am therefore inviting all students who are sitting for their matriculation this year to take this opportunity and apply for either the NSFAS bursary or loan.
“This invitation is also extended to learners from grades 9, 10, and 11 who would like to enter the technical and vocational education and training sector.”
