Edwin Naidu describes how the colleges will now become part of universities and technikons
Teacher training is set for major change when 25 colleges of education are incorporated into the tertiary system later this month.
The changes, aimed at streamlining teacher-training and bringing it under the higher education umbrella, come amid concern over dwindling student numbers, alarm at the oversupply of educators in certain subjects and a potential labour dispute over college staff joining universities and technikons.
The revamp for the teacher training sector is a forerunner to the controversial proposed restructuring of the tertiary system by the Council on Higher Education.
Minister of Education, Kader Asmal announced recently the names of the colleges of education that would be incorporated into the tertiary system by the end of the month (see “Incorporating colleges” right). The colleges will become sub-divisions of universities and technikons, which will have responsibility over the institution’s assets.
Plans for the incorporation of colleges into the higher education system got underway in 1997 when a task team, appointed by former Minister of Education, Sibusiso Bengu, began to investigate and propose the restructuring of the teacher training sector.
There was a great need for overhauling a bloated system, which in 1994 had around 150 institutions providing teacher education to approximately 200 000 students. Of these students, 80 000 were in colleges of education. Last year the number dropped to 82 public institutions providing teacher education to 115 000 students.
The task team’s report prompted several provincial departments to begin restructuring colleges and identifying institutions suitable for incorporation into higher education. The national Department of Education was asked by the provinces to develop a national framework within which provinces would manage the agreements for incorporation. But, a smooth transition was not possible, conceded a department briefing document, because “the rapidly changing contexts of higher education in general and teacher education in particular have invalidated the assumptions on which the original process was based”. Furthermore, the department’s efforts were stymied through “unforeseen labour impediments”.
The department notes that the declining enrollments in university faculties of education, quotas on college enrollments and the rapid growth of the private sector have changed the face of teacher education dramatically in the last five years: “There are serious distortions within the system. For example, we have an oversupply of teachers in some subjects and phases (particularly primary schooling) and geographical areas and an undersupply in scarce subjects such as mathematics, science and languages and in many rural areas.” But it was the labour issue which most threatened to derail the process. Each provincial department had to negotiate the transfer of staff to the new employer – the university or technikon.
The different circumstances of each province have made national and provincial agreements difficult to broker. Even if an agreement is achieved between the province and the unions there is no guarantee that it will be acceptable to the receiving university or technikon. Animosity is said to have increased among academics at receiving universities and technikons because college staff enjoy more favourable conditions of service than their university and technikon counterparts in regard to salaries, housing allowances, medical aid, retirement age and pensions. In addition, college staff tend to be less qualified. The briefing document said, universities and technikons could not be forced to take on a group of under-qualified staff on better conditions of service than their own employees. To overcome the obstacles, the department proposed that the incorporation process is re-interpreted to mean the transfer of students and programmes into existing higher education institutions and the transfer of some of the campuses.
Initially, college staff would remain employees of the province but the department would work closely with the receiving universities and technikons in regard to numbers of students and programmes to be absorbed. On this basis, the universities and technikons would advertise new posts to cater for these students and programmes. College employees are to be given preference in appointments to these posts. Those college staff appointed to a university or technikon would resign from their employment in the province and enter a new contract with the university or technikon.
The national Department of Education will also undertake an audit of the existing and potential capacity of the public providers of teacher education, investigate labour market trends, work closely with the public and private providers to ensure that they become effective, efficient and sustainable providers of teacher education and also negotiate with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to provide bursaries for teacher training.
Incorporating colleges
The Johannesburg College of Education joins the University of the Witwatersrand
Onderwyskollege Pretoria teams up with the University of Pretoria and Sebokeng College of Education will be incorporated into the University of Potchefstroom.
The South African College of Teacher Education and South African College of Open Learning will become part of the University of South Africa in KwaZulu-Natal.
Esikhawini and Eshowe colleges fall under the University of Zululand.
Gamalakhe and Indumiso colleges and Edgewood College, the University of Natal will be absorbed into Natal Technikon.
The Cape Town College of Education (Mowbray) and Boland College of Education will become part of Cape Technikon.
Potchefstroom College of Education will be absorbed into University of Potchefstroom in the North-West Province
Mankwe College of Education goes into University of the North-West.
Mapulaneng College of Education, the Mokopane/Mastec College of Education and Tshiya College will team up with the University of the North.
Makhado College of Education and Giyani College will become of the University of Venda.
Bloemfontein College of Education will be absorbed into the University of the Free State.
The Thaba ‘Nchu College of Education links up with Vista University in Bloemfontein
Algoa and Dower Colleges of Education in the East Cape are set to become part of the University of Port Elizabeth.
Cicira and Transkei Colleges of Education will join the Eastern Cape Technikon.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, January, 2001.