South Africa had to move away from a university-based post school education and training system for its skills needs to be effectively met, Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said on Thursday.

Addressing the media in Pretoria, he said further education and training (FET) colleges had to be turned into institutions of choice, as “that is where the future of this country lies”.

For this reason, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) was continuing with its comprehensive turnaround strategy for the country’s FET colleges, including aspects such as financial management and dedicated lecturer training.

“[We are aiming to] ensure that FET colleges, and the qualifications they offer, would, in future, be regarded as institutions of choice, rather than being regarded as a second option for those who could not go to a university,” he said.

DHET director-general Gwebinkundla Qonde added that, to a certain extent, this was starting to happen with the number of students enrolled in FET colleges having increased dramatically from 200 000 in 2009 to 570 000 in 2013.

Further, Nzimande said the post-school education system also had to be expanded significantly to respond to the country’s needs.

In line with this goal, two new universities, one in the Northern Cape and one in Mpumalanga, were recently launched and would begin teaching this year. The DHET would also be opening 12 new FET campuses in 2014.

These new FET campuses would be able to accommodate 6 500 new students, all in rural areas.

Nzimande also pointed out that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) would, in 2014, be funding 205 000 students at universities and 215 000 students at FET colleges.

“For the first time [this year], the NSFAS FET component exceeds the university component, as government is deliberately expanding the FET funding system faster than that for university students.

“If we are really to absorb the need for FET student funding, the budget for FET studies will have to be three times bigger than that allocated to university students,” he said.

Aside from the funds that NSFAS received from the voted funds, the National Skills Fund (NSF) made further allocations aimed at funding the full cost of study towards critical skills programmes, such as engineering and health sciences.

The Minister further noted that 10 000 of the 23 000 study opportunities that were available at FET colleges for 2014 were artisanal opportunities for those who may wish to study towards an apprenticeship to become an artisan in the civil, mechanical and electrical engineering career fields.

“The National Development Plan requires that, by 2030, at least 30 000 qualified artisans are produced per year. Currently, the country produces on average 12 000 artisans a year,” he said, adding that, to become an artisan, matriculants had to have achieved a pass mark of 50% or higher in mathematics.

However, those matriculants who did not take mathematics, but who had passed matric and wanted to consider a career as an artisan, could register at the National Artisan Development Support Centre for a bridging course that was being implemented by the retail automotive sector in conjunction with the DHET and which had space for 12 000 young people.