South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and Council on Higher Education (CHE) 2024/25 Annual Reports

Video Annual Reports 2024/25 The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education met to receive briefings on the 2024/25 Annual Reports from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), and the Council on Higher Education (CHE). All three entities reported clean audits and strong performance against their targets but highlighted significant underfunding relative to their expanding mandates. SAQA presented Project Phoenix, a digital verification platform, as an innovative measure to combat qualification fraud. The QCTO indicated that it received less than half of its requested budget, which constrained its operations, and committed to providing detailed written data on compliance by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The CHE highlighted that it was executing an unfunded transformation oversight mandate. The Chairperson questioned why government departments relied on private verification services instead of SAQA, noting that this practice undermined the entity and wasted public resources. Members expressed concern about graduate unemployment and whether accredited courses were responsive to labour market needs. The Committee also criticised the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) for inadequate oversight of universities, citing high legal costs at the University of Limpopo and delays in resolving certification backlogs in some SETAs. The Committee requested a written report from the DHET on the status of SETA and Community Education and Training (CET) reforms. It noted the funding constraints and oversight gaps highlighted by the entities and emphasised the need for closer alignment of education with labour market requirements. The Chairperson urged the Minister to support and fund SAQA’s Project Phoenix to enable free verification for unemployed graduates and to consider elevating it to a national programme.