From pit toilets to NSFAS — new education ministers Nobuhle Nkabane and Siviwe Gwarube vow to turn the tide

Students march to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s head office in Cape Town on 24 May 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

By Lisakanya Venna and Siyabonga Goni

4 Jul 2024

Can South Africa’s two brand-new education ministers be more effective than their predecessors in tackling the myriad challenges in schools and higher educational institutions? They shared a few starter points on the sidelines of the Cabinet swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.

South Africa’s new ministers of higher and basic education – Nobuhle Nkabane and Siviwe Gwarube respectively – intend to prioritise pit toilets at schools and the woes at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

With the formation of the government of national unity (GNU), the ministers are tasked with tackling obstacles and advancing the process of nation-building. Their capacity to collaborate with different stakeholders to the benefit of the education system will determine their level of success.

Nkabane, who was previously deputy mineral resources and energy minister, is an ANC member, and Gwarube was Chief Whip and national spokesperson of the DA.

The previous minister of higher education, Blade Nzimande (now minister of science, technology and innovation), left unresolved challenges faced by students, the biggest of which is the mismanagement of funds at NSFAS.

Nkabane has committed to resolving these challenges and plans to meet student bodies. “I am going to reach out to all student formations that are organised, to speak to them and to understand by digging deeper so that I understand the frustration that they are facing on a day-to-day,” she said.

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Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines of the swearing-in of MPs Cabinet members on Wednesday, Nkabane said she was aware of the NSFAS challenges faced by students.

“We are committing that we are going to turn around the tides. We are going to make sure that the issue they are facing as far as the disbursement of funds and the resources that are limited, are not limited; they are not meeting the demands that they are facing as far as education is concerned.” she said.

Gwarube – who at 34 is the youngest minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new Cabinet – shared those sentiments, committing herself to join forces with other departments for the benefit of pupils.

pit toilets A pit latrine shared by more than five families in the Emandleni Section 1 informal settlement in Ekurhuleni on 29 November 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)

Removing pit latrines

Former basic education minister Angie Motshekga, who is now minister of defence and military veterans, left the department shortly after admitting that not enough had been done to eradicate pit toilets and provide sustainable school sanitation.

In the Eastern Cape alone there are 427 schools with pit latrines, while 2,334 were reported to have them in Limpopo in 2023.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Angie Motshekga questions details of death of Langalam Viki, says police investigating

Gwarube said she will eradicate pit toilets by working with colleagues in the Department of Public Works.

“We are eradicating pit toilets in places like Limpopo, and places like the Eastern Cape where I come from,” she said.

Numeracy and literacy

Gwarube said she will reach out to Motshekga because it is important for continuity and for institutional knowledge to gain insights from her, and because education is a large department with complex issues. She also wanted to prioritise areas such as improving South Africa’s numeracy and literacy rates.

“That is something that will set learners up for a good future,” she said.

NSFAS Students from Western Cape universities protest on 16 August 2023 against the introduction of a system of direct payment of allowances by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. (Photo: Ziyanda Duba)

NSFAS Students march to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s head office in Cape Town on 24 May 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Issues such as scholar transport in many provinces were run in collaboration with the Transport Department, “so, in order for a learner to be able to move from Grade R from an ECD [early childhood development] centre, all the way up to matric in a way that is successful, in a way that makes sure that they retain that learner, and in a way that sets them up for a good future, they need a whole-of-government approach, and I am going to make that clear to my Cabinet colleagues that this is not going to be the place that we will work in silos”.

If they did not prioritise that “we are essentially shackling an entire generation of children to a future where they will not be able to get into the economy”.

“Those things are incredibly important. And then lastly, looking at an overhaul of the curriculum regime, but not just by me, but by stakeholders, experts, by trade unions and all these partners… we need to start looking at the curriculum.”

Students respond

Daily Maverick spoke to South African Union of Students (SAUS) president Yandisa Ndzoyiya who said they wanted a meeting with both new ministers.

“We as SAUS want to have a political session with the minister and both deputies and Basic Education to align plans and interests so that the future of the country is served,” he said.

“We urge the new minister to intensify the programme of free education as declared by the ANC. Improving NSFAS is priority number one. Making sure that the missing-middle loan scheme works is very important to the country.”

Somila Zonke, a third-year student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, hoped the minister “manages to establish a proper, functioning system that will work for the students in terms of the dispensation of our funds so that we won’t become victims of being overcharged by these distributors chosen by the previous minister, because it cost us”.

Zenande Ncwane, an advanced diploma student in public administration and management at Nelson Mandela University, wanted more NSFAS agents in every institution, and for them to be available to students – and not only when it suited them.

Nkabane’s deputies are Buti Manamela (ANC) and Mimmy Gondwe (DA). Gwarube’s deputy is Reginah Mhaule (ANC). DM

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