• Citing a 2023 STI Indicators Report, Minister Blade Nzimande highlighted the fact that more needs to be done to ensure young academics stay in SA.
• He added that South Africa risks losing 10 percent of academics at public universities near retirement.
• Nzimande says a 10-year plan is in place to address many of the challenges currently facing SA’s tertiary education system.

Tertiary education in South Africa is under the microscope of late as issues surrounding NSFAS and frustrated students continue.

While the student body is irate, those teaching them also need to considered, with more needing to be done in order to keep young academics involved locally, according to Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande.

The minister was addressing delegates earlier this week, touching on several elements that are currently plaguing the tertiary education system, with one of these being the dearth of young academics involved at public universities.

Citing the 2023 Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Indicators Report, Nzimande noted that as much as 10 percent of academics at public universities are set to leave as they near retirement, which means the next wave of lecturers, professors, tutors, and teachers, need to be integrated to ensure there is no sizeable loss of knowledge or skill.

Looking at the numbers shared in the report, the minister highlighted the fact that the proportion of staff aged over 60 sat at 10.4 percent in 2020, compared to 7.3 percent in 2011.

“This trend implies that public universities will lose about 10% of permanent staff with doctoral qualifications due to retirement within the next five years,” said Nzimande.

“Although there is an increase in the proportion of staff aged 30 to 39, this increase is lower than that of staff aged over 60. Therefore, there is a need to intensify support to young academic staff through instruments such as the New Generation of Academics Programme,” he explained.

Along with ensuring the production line of young academics to serve public universities is improved, the minister pointed to efforts being made by his department in relation to turning students entering university into graduates.

To that end, he used the new University of Science and Technology in Ekurhuleni as one of the methods being employed.

While a number of issues related to tertiary education persist, Nzimande is of the opinion that his department’s current plan will pay off in the coming decade. “I can assure you today that through our new ten-year plan for STI, we will respond to these challenges,” he concluded in the session.

Whether this is simply politicking ahead of local government elections remains to be seen, but the coming years will prove pivotal for tertiary education in SA.

[Image – CC BY-ND 2.0 GovernmentZA on Flickr]