DHET and MICT SETA on progress in developing and implementing an integrated learner management information system; P20 youth Parliament Report and recommendations

Video The Committee met in Parliament and received a joint briefing from the Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA) on progress made in developing and implementing an Integrated Learner Management System (ILMS), intended to address duplication of learners across the SETA landscape, an issue first flagged by the Auditor-General in 2021/22. Members welcomed the progress reported, including successful piloting of the system with three SETAs, the onboarding of eleven SETAs on a voluntary basis, and progress on integration with the Department of Home Affairs, but raised serious concerns on the governance and legal framework underpinning implementation. Central among these concerns was the absence of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) specific to the ILMS project. Members noted that, although the ICT shared mandate had been assigned to MICT SETA in 2020, the only MOU in place between the Department and MICT SETA, signed in March 2025, provided broad institutional support and did not address implementation of the ILMS in any detail. Members raised the unresolved question of intellectual property ownership between MICT SETA and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), noting that this remained under discussion more than a year after the system had begun to be piloted, and service level agreements with participating SETAs could not be finalised until it was resolved. The Committee resolved to write to the Minister and Director-General requesting a written response by 27 August, setting out a plan to resolve the ownership matter with the assurance that no undisclosed commercial interest, including university-affiliated income-generating entities, was affecting the process. Members also raised concerns on the process followed in selecting Dube Trade Port as the intended hosting site for the system, noting that the decision appeared to have originated from a ministerial recommendation rather than an independent, competitive process. It cautioned MICT SETA, as a Schedule 3A public entity, on its obligations under the Public Finance Management Act on fair process and competitive bidding. On system resilience and data protection, MICT SETA confirmed that quarterly disaster recovery testing was conducted, with a failover instance able to restore operations within approximately two minutes, and that cyber insurance cover and a managed security services tender were being finalised. It confirmed that a POPIA compliance framework was in place, although the Committee sought assurance that it would be notified directly of any future data breach, rather than only through the Information Regulator's separate process. Governance concerns were also raised on MICT SETA's late signing of its Annual Financial Statements, and Board chairperson provided a detailed account of the circumstances involved. The Chairperson indicated that broader SETA governance matters would be addressed separately, later in the year or during the Committee's engagement with the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report process. The Committee resolved to write to the Director-General requesting that the existing directive to SETAs be strengthened to prevent renewal of contracts with existing service providers ahead of onboarding to the ILMS and requested confirmation from MICT SETA on the cybersecurity and system uptime measures in place. Members emphasised that recurring governance and procedural failures should not be allowed to undermine confidence in, or the case for, the system. The Department reported on implementation of the Youth Parliament report recommendations. The Committee noted the continued absence of disaggregated data on gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and sexual violence at institutions of higher learning, and directed that the Department return with adequate information. Members welcomed information shared on existing but previously unpublicised departmental support programmes and urged the Department to improve awareness of these among students.