South Africa to send 100 students to China to address skills shortage, says minister

The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Mkabane on Monday announced that South Africa will send over 100 students to China next year to study “scarce and critical skills of the future” to address the country’s current skills mismatch.

Mkabane was providing feedback on the Ministerial Stakeholder Engagement programme which was held on 12 September and ended on Sunday.

She was part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent delegation to the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation.

“What we should understand is that we have a long-standing cooperation with the People’s Republic of China in various areas of higher education and training which continues to grow and support South Africa’s knowledge and skills development,” she said.

[WATCH] Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane says the government will send over 100 students to China next year to study "scarce and critical skills of the future" to address the country's skills shortage. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/DVhcMW2DiU

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Nsfas online applications to open

The minister said the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) is ready to kickstart the 2025 online application process, effective from Friday.

Mkabane also revealed plans to introduce and appoint new Nsfas board members, following the dissolution of the previous board by former Minister Blade Nzimande.

She said an amended gazette was issued in August to put this in action.

According to Mkabane, a call for nominations was made.

“The advert is closed. We are now going to start the process of selecting the best of the best because one people are going to bring skills and value in that institution. And we’ve upped the bar because the minimum requirement is a master’s degree. We’re hoping that moving forward, the systems are going to be up and ready, including governance systems,” Mkabane added.

Nsfas readiness for applications

Nsfas administrator, Sithembiso Nomvalo assured that the system is designed to handle the influx of applications.

However, he noted that dependencies on other systems, such as Home Affairs and Sassa, may impact the process.

“The dependencies are not just on the Nsfas system only, [they] are also on other systems as well as the availability of power around the country for connectivity to work well.

But we are confident that the system is ready to take the influx and will be user-friendly for students to apply,” said Nomvalo.

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Reopening of Educor institutions

Director General of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Dr Nkosinathi Sishi confirmed the reopening of the four Educor institutions that were closed earlier this year due to a failure to comply with the submission of financial statements.

He said the minister reinstated the institutions on humanitarian grounds, pending compliance with regulations.

“At this point in time, this institution is back in its operation. But it was very clear to this institution that we demand compliance within specific time frames that were provided for and in line with the laws of our country,” said Sishi.

He said that Educor was now complying with the regulations set by the minister, giving them “satisfactory” results.