Notes & Updates: Comment on the Green Paper for Post-school Education and Training

• Citation: (2013) IPLJ 156
• Author: Shihaam Shaikh
• Published date: 16 August 2019
• Date: 16 August 2019
• Pages: 156-158

156

NOTES & UPDATES

COMMENT ON THE GREEN PAPER

FOR POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND

TRAINING

sHIHaaM sHa IkH

OpenUCT Initiative Man ager and Legal Advisor, University of Cape Town

1. IntrODuctIOn

In January 2012, the Depar tment of Higher Education and Train ing (DHET)

released the Green Paper for Post-School Education and Train ing. This

ambitious document outlined a p olicy framework for the depart ment’s vision

for a ‘single, coherent, differentiated and h ighly articulate d post-school

education and trai ning system’. According to the Green Paper, the aim of the

new system would be to achieve a 1.5 million university en rolment quota and

a four million enrolment quot a for other fur ther education institutions, by the

year 2030. 1

Throughout the Gre en Paper, emphasis is placed on cross higher education

institution collaborat ions, integration bet ween workplace-based and hig her

education learni ng, partnersh ips between universities a nd colleges and

coherence in policy and fu nding. While the prop osals made in the Gree n

Paper are supporte d by the author, there is a lack of both clarity and det ails

in the plan for the new system. Ther e is scant mention of the function ing

governance stru ctures that wi ll be put in place and no mention of the

accountability mea sures that will ensure that t he Green Paper vision becomes

a reality within t he proposed timefra mes. Much debate has arisen out of the

content – and lack thereof – related to var ious issues in the document a nd

various instit utions had accepted the invitation to resp ond by submitting their

comments. This com mentary picks up on issue s which may be of interest to

the legal frater nity, namely governance, accou ntability and the law governing

research products.

2. gOvernance anD accOuntaBIlIty

In the Green Paper, mention is made of weak gover nance struct ures that are

responsible for weak performanc e displayed by some institutions as well as

* BA LLB LLM (Universit y of Cape Town).

1 The Green Paper for Post-Sch ool Education and Training (p ublished by the DHET in January

2012).

SAIPL_2013_1_Text.indd 156 2013/11/15 11:43 AM

(2013) IPLJ 156

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd