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EDWIN NAIDU
MINISTER of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, launched the 2023 Tertiary Institutions Youth Campaign at uMfolozi TVET College, Eshowe campus in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
This provincial launch follows the national launch, which was held at Rhodes University, in the Eastern Cape on 7 March 2023.
The objectives of the campaign are to:
Promote a civic culture of ongoing engagements and exchange of ideas within
institutions of higher learning through targeted CDE programmes;
Engage students’ views about electoral democracy and impact of participation
thereof through debates;
Promote Online Voter Registration to students within institutions of higher learning across the Republic;
Conduct on-campus voter registration using the Voter Management Device
and;
Empower the students’ electorate with information to participate meaningfully
in democratic & electoral processes.
Nzimande said the department wants to improve the capacity of the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system to meet the skills needs and development of the country.
The Department has oversight over four main categories of PSET institutions, namely: public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, Community Education and Training (CET) colleges and private colleges.
“The reality is that young people need to take a stand and constructively engage on socio-political issues. No country can succeed if it does not invest in the future of young people to become tomorrow’s leaders,” he said.
As part of a commitment to expand access to higher education for students from poor and working-class backgrounds, the number of students funded by NSFAS increased from 580,000 in 2018 to 770,000 in 2021. For the current financial year, NSFAS has approved the provisional funding of a record of 1,083,055 students. The budget is projected to be around R47.6 billion.
Nzimande thanked the Electoral Commission of South Africa for involving all post-school education and training institutions in launching this Annual Tertiary Institutions Civic and Democracy Education (CDE) Youth Campaign at uMfolozi TVET College.
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