It was unacceptable that South African universities produced the same number of PhDs today as they did 30 years ago, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday.
Local universities were not producing enough post-graduate students, she told a research indaba at the University of Pretoria, according to a statement issued by her office.
Many South African students were earning their MAs and PhDs abroad because local universities did not provide the requisite environment for research in the physical and human sciences.
”We are not retaining young people, particularly young women and blacks, in the study of science, engineering and technology,” the minister said.
”This is a critical absence, especially as our research population is largely white and ageing rapidly.”
The minister urged higher education institutions to establish new types of partnerships with industry, ”in which they share knowledge with each other on an equal footing”.
They should also develop partnerships on the continent.
Pandor reiterated her commitment to transforming the country’s higher education institutions into world-class research engines. – Sapa