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Nzimande orders continuous evaluation of TVET principals’ performance agreements

Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has given the department a directive to ensure that the new performance agreements signed by Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college principals are properly monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
This follows Nzimande’s directive that all TVET college principals should sign new performance agreements, which include industry partnerships as one of their key performance indicators.
“I have previously stated on numerous platforms that TVET college management, especially principals, must know that they are not running TVET colleges unless they prioritise building partnerships with industry.
“I want the department to ensure that this is not only implemented but also properly monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
“Holding TVET college principals to account on work placement is informed by the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, which requires Work Integrated Learning (WIL) to be a central component of the college programmes.
“The extent to which students are able to get placement in the workplace must be used as an important indicator for assessing the performance of the management of institutions,” Nzimande said.
Speaking at the Artisan Graduation Ceremony of over 350 artisans from Centres of Specialisation (CoS) on Tesday, Nzimande maintained that TVET college principals owe it to the youth and skills development of the country for them to lead in the establishment of “strategic partnerships” with industry.
Nzimande said it is disheartening to visit an industrial area with a TVET college campus in the vicinity, only to find that there is not a single TVET college student or graduate placed in any of the workplaces in the area.
“Let us also incorporate this into the work performance of our regional managers to support the effort of building industry partnerships. I need a report before the end of January 2023 from the department on all the 50 TVET colleges on the industry partnerships that they have.
“Where colleges hardly have any such relationships, I also need an explanation as to why and for a strategy to be developed to realise such. If need be ,please come to my office for any additional help in forging these partnerships,” Nzimande said.
He expressed his appreciation to all employers who have joined the department in Centres of Specialisation in TVET colleges, including those who work with the department to provide workplace exposure and experience to both TVET college students and lecturers.
“We appreciate this partnership greatly and let us work to strengthen it. We also call all other employers, including SMEs [small, medium enterprises], to join in with us in providing workplace experiential opportunities for our youth, in TVET and CET [Community Education and Training] colleges, as well as generally for unemployed youth,” Nzimande said.
The Minister noted that about 3.6 million youth between the ages of 15 – 24 years are in neither education, employment nor training (NEET).
“It will indeed be a travesty of justice and a serious indictment on us, as leaders, if we were to allow our inaction to cause TVET colleges to become a dead-end for students.
“Our Centres of Specialisation have shown the way and let us now work towards mainstreaming all their experiences and successes into the TVET college system,” Nzimande said.
Congratulating the graduates, Nzimande urged them to remain good ambassadors of the TVET brand and continue to be the “cool artisans of the 21st century”.
“Graduating with a trade is a big step in your life journey. Once you have obtained your trade certificate or red seal as they call it, you form part of the alumni community.
“The college from which you come must remain your place of pride, and where you can continue to support the work of the college, please do so,” Nzimande said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Minister Barbara Creecy hosts stakeholder consultation ahead of UNCBD COP15, 29 Nov

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will host a national stakeholder consultation on Tuesday, 29 November 2022, ahead of the upcoming international talks on biological diversity next month.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of Parties (UNCBD COP15) will be hosted in Montreal, Canada from 7-19 December 2022. This year’s meetings are being held under the theme “Ecological Civilization-Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”.
The upcoming meetings are set to focus on key agenda items which are of strategic importance for South Africa. These include amongst others: mainstreaming of biodiversity within and across sectors; resources mobilisation and the financial mechanism; climate change as well as socio-economic considerations relating to living modified organisms.
The aim of the stakeholder consultation is to consolidate South Africa’s position for the negotiations at UNCBD COP15 and raise awareness around biodiversity and related response efforts.

Source: Government of South Africa

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COURT UPDATE: Alleged TERS funds fraudsters in custody

Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs MEC in the North West Province Nono Maloyi, says he is encouraged by the posture adopted by the business community of Ditsobotla, of working together with the provincial government to deliver services to communities.
MEC Maloyi together with his counterparts, Provincial Treasury MEC Motlalepula Rosho and Community Safety and Transport Management MEC Sello Lehari, met with the Ditsobotla Technical Team which included members of the local business community to get feedback on developments in the municipality following the dissolution of the council in September this year.
Members of the business community who attended the meeting lauded MEC Maloyi for his frank address to the problems facing Ditsobotla and they committed to working together with the provincial government to turn the situation around in the municipality. He committed to working with the business community to find solutions to all the issues raised during the interaction. Some of the business people have already started making their contribution towards addressing service delivery challenges in the area and this include fixing the road between Lichtenburg and Deelpan.
“Ditsobotla municipality has been unstable since after the local government elections in 2021 and it is important to bring stability now, so that the cohorts of new leaders coming after elections can take Ditsobotla back to being the best municipality. There is also a need for swift administrative interventions as most of the employees in the municipality also do not have relevant qualifications for positions that they are in”, he says.
MEC Maloyi maintains that the decision to dissolve the council of Ditsobotla was aimed at ensuring that there is stability. He has encouraged the community to vote for capable leaders who will turn the situation around in the municipality.

Source: Government of South Africa

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UPDATE: Dogs confiscated by SPCA

Three pitbulls allegedly responsible for the gruesome attack on the 37-year-old woman yesterday in Port Alfred have been taken away by the SPCA. The owner of the dogs lives in the vicinity.
It is alleged that the dogs managed to escape from the secured property by damaging the perimeter fencing.
The deceased woman was identified as Zimkhitha Gaga.
At this stage the investigation remains as an inquest.

Source: South African Police Service

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President calls for open dialogue to fight GBV

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged men to engage in open dialogue about their responsibility towards women and toxic masculinity.
“All of society should be mobilised to organise these men’s dialogues. Everyday, various entities devote resources to public engagements, conferences and seminars on various pressing social, economic and political issues of the day. These are fora where this engagement should happen,” President Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter penned as South Africa observes the 16 Days of Activism for no Violence against Women and Children campaign.
The President strongly encouraged government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector to support such dialogues in every workplace, place of worship, school, college and university and in every community.
“[GBV affects] every aspect of our society, including health and well-being, safety and security, and economic growth and productivity.
“In these dialogues, we need to examine our understanding of sexual consent. We must challenge the myth that rape is only considered rape if it involves a stranger, or if the victim responded by screaming for help, fighting back or reporting the matter immediately to the police,” President Ramaphosa said.
By bringing together men of all races, classes and generations to speak frankly about their understanding of masculinity, the President said more light can be shed on assumptions and practices that many people consider “normal”, which are actually harmful to women and children.
“We must change beliefs that men are strong and women are weak, that men have to be in charge, or that men can do as they please with women. Men need to understand that they can and should express their pain and frustrations without inflicting harm on others.
“As President, I stand ready to participate in men’s dialogues. I call on Ministers, Premiers, religious, political and community leaders, sports people, artists, celebrities and business people to do the same.
“The men of South Africa owe it to the women and children of this country to take up the struggle against gender-based violence. These men’s dialogues can be platforms for men to challenge each other to become better men, to be more responsible, more understanding and more caring,” President Ramaphosa said.
President Ramaphosa said the primary focus should be on preventing men and boys from becoming abusers in the first place.
“Men are the perpetrators of gender-based violence and it is therefore men that need to change,” President Ramaphosa said.
President Ramaphosa said it is men, as husbands and partners, fathers, colleagues, peers and classmates, who need to consider their own attitudes towards women and girls.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Condolences for two Limpopo matric learners

Limpopo MEC for Education Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has conveyed her deepest condolences to the families of two Grade 12 learners who passed away last week.
A learner from Tshamahansi, outside Mokopane, in the Mogalakwena District, was allegedly killed after escaping from a study camp at Ben Hlongwane Secondary School.
It is reported that the learner was found with stab wounds outside the school premises.
The circumstances of how the learner got out of the school is a subject of investigation by the department.
In another incident, a matric learner is believed to have drowned in a nearby river in Sekhukhune East. His body was retrieved on Saturday afternoon, five kilometres from where he was last seen.
The department urged parents, learners and society as a whole to work together to protect the youth and children.
“It is disturbing that in just one week we lost two Grade 12 learners under similar circumstances. The idea of affording learners extra lessons at the school premises was meant to keep them focused on their school work in an endeavour to improve the matric result.
“It is a great loss to the family and to us as the department. We have invested so much on these learners and we hope this will be the last incident,” MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya said.

Source: South African Government News Agency