Higher education Minister Buti Manamela said his budget sought to ensure that learning was connected to earning, and that every rand and cent spent in the skill sector, ended up in education and training.
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Parties on Tuesday slammed Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela for failing to live up to the expectations he set out when he took office and for “handpicking” people from his province of Limpopo to act as administrators at entities placed under administration.
This happened during the 2026 budget vote that was debated in Parliament as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and Sector Education and Training Authorities came under scrutiny.
EFF MP Sihle Lonzi said they had hoped that Manamela, who had been a deputy minister for years, would bring urgency and competency to the sector.
Lonzi said Manamela would be judged not on his intention but his actions and delivery of services as 'expectations of him have turned into a disappointing pattern'.
“How do you explain that across universities, TVET colleges, SETAs and other entities... critical vacancies still remain unfilled with so much unemployment in our country ... It's Hollywood, everyone is acting,” said Lonzi.
He added that Manamela had promised a stable NSFAS, yet he plunged it into crisis while at the same time the promise of transparency and oversight continued to be undermined.
“You failed to produce the necessary documents for an oversight meeting and forced us to postpone a meeting we were supposed to have with you,” he said.
Lonzi was referring to last week’s postponement of the Higher Education Portfolio Committee meeting after Manamela asked for time to finalise his presentation on placing NSFAS under administration.
MK Party Mnqobi Msezane said they had been astounded that Manamela placed NSFAS under administration despite the entity timeously processing the student applications and funding decisions made last year, resulting in no strikes experienced at the beginning of this year.
Msezane charged that Manamela wanted to take full control of the NSFAS when he failed to persuade the board to appoint his preferred candidate.
He added that the minister did not surprise them when he put three SETAs, a TVET college and NSFAS under administration.
“Amazingly, out of the five entities, he put individuals handpicked by him from Limpopo, where he is from. The minister finds no capacity in other provinces but the province where he is from,” said Msezane.
Responding to the debate, Manamela said despite Msezane’s “Shwashwi” (rumours) and criticism from Lonzi, some good proposals were made by the MPs during the debate.
“We appreciate those who support the vote and we will consider all the points raised,” he said.
Tabling the department’s R149 billion budget earlier, Manamela said the budget sought to ensure that learning was connected to earning, and that every rand and cent spent in the skill sector ended up in education and training.
He said too many graduates were unemployed and many employers reported skills shortages.
“The path to self-employment is hobbled by weak entrepreneurial education. The system also remains underscaled with TVET colleges producing mid-level technical and vocational skills.
“We need to improve this, and we also need some interventions as it relates to second chance opportunities that reconnect young people and adults to learning.
Manamela said NSFAS’ sustainability and governance must be put on a sound footing.
He also said their urgent task was to stabilise NSFAS.
“Our intention is to stabilise NSFAS and have discussions on what needs to be done,” he said.
“We are quite open to some of the proposals and suggestions made. The same applies to the SETAs. It is quite clear that we can't have the SETAs as they are,” said Manamela.
DA MP Karabo Khakhau said the skills development of the department did not translate to tangible skills development, job creation and economic growth.
“It perpetuates misalignment of skills targets and needs of the economy while funding ANC patronage and ANC job cadre schemes," Khakhau said.
She called for the abolishment of the skills levy and the redirecting of full grants money to empower TVET colleges.
“We must abolish the current skills levy in its current form and empower employers to choose their own training providers,” she said.
ANC MP and portfolio committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie noted the reduction of the department's budget over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework
“This poses a risk to institutional stability, infrastructure roll out and student support," Letsie said.
Letsie also rejected calls by the DA to disestablish NSFAS and transfer funds to universities.
“This view is anti-intellectual and is not supported by scientific-led evidence. Mismanagement of the funds has necessitated an SIU investigation and recovery of R2bn,” he said.
mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za