| Council on Higher Education Annual Report: 2006 - 2007 |
| August 2007 |
| |
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Cover pages (389Kb ~ 2 min)
Foreword (778Kb ~ 4 min)
Preface (740Kb ~ 4 min)
Acronyms (519Kb ~ 3 min)
Chapter 1: Overview of the CHE (553Kb ~ 3 min)
Chapter 2: Fulfilling the mandate of the CHE (576Kb ~ 3 min)
Chapter 3: Quality assurance: The work of the HEQC (290Kb ~ 2 min)
Chapter 4: CHE: Organisation, support services and human resources (243Kb ~ 1 min)
Appendix: CHE Media (675Kb ~ 4 min)
Appendix: Report of the audit committee (873Kb ~ 5 min)
Foreword
The CHE is an independent statutory body
established by the Higher Education Act of
1997. Its mandate areas are:
-
Advising the Minister of Education
on request or pro-actively on all
higher education policy issues
-
Assuming executive responsibility
for quality assurance and
quality promotion within higher
education
-
Monitoring and evaluating
whether and how higher education
policy goals are being realized,
including reporting regularly on the
state of higher education in South
Africa
-
Contributing to the development
of higher education through a
range of activities, including
conferences, seminars and
publications.
This is the 9
th Annual Report of the CHE for submission to Parliament through the
Minister of Education. This Annual Report covers the financial year April 2006 - March
2007 and presents the work and progress of the CHE in the execution of its mandatory
responsibilities.
As chairperson of the CHE, I am pleased to signal the satisfaction of the Council with
the performance and achievements of the organisation, including its quality assurance
committee, the HEQC. In spite of a number of potentially destabilizing events, the
organization completed its schedule of work at the expected high levels of
professionalism and efficiency. In the past year, the founding CEO of the organization,
Prof. Saleem Badat, left the CHE to take up the position of Vice-Chancellor at Rhodes
University. In addition, the period under review saw a new CHE being instituted with a
mix of new members as well as some members of the previous Council to ensure a
balance of new direction-setting and continuity in the work of the Council. It was also
a year when the Minister of Education signalled very clearly to the CHE her priorities in
higher education and her interest in the CHE contributing to a better understanding of
the performance of the higher education system in respect of key policy goals. The
Council, the HEQC Board and the Secretariat are already busy with the development of
a programme of work that will respond directly to emerging priorities in the higher
education system in addition to maintaining the Council's routine functions and tasks.
On behalf of the Council, I would like to record my gratitude and appreciation for the
invaluable contribution made by Prof. Badat to conceptualizing and shaping the work
and identity of the CHE since its inception. His passionate commitment to the
development of higher education in this country, the vision and intellectual rigour that
he brought to the work of the CHE, and the networks that he helped to forge in order to
maximize the impact of the CHE's work have laid critically important foundations for
the current and future work of the Council.
The departure of Prof. Badat and the difficulties experienced in filling the CEO position
would have left the CHE in a leadership vacuum had it not been for the willingness of
the Executive Director of the HEQC, Dr Mala Singh, to step in as Interim CEO. On
behalf of the Council, I would also like to express my appreciation for the commitment,
integrity and generosity with which Dr Singh provided intellectual leadership for this
organization for most of the reporting period.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing members of the CHE for
their valuable contribution to shaping the work of the CHE in the last four years. My
thanks also go to the members of the current Council and the HEQC Board, the dedicated
and hardworking Secretariat, and all other external collaborators and partners for their
immense and highly professional contribution to the work of the CHE and the HEQC.
It has been my privilege to have been associated with the work of the CHE since my
appointment as Chairperson in 2002. In the period since then, I have seen the CHE build
on its strengths as an organisation that discharges its mandate in an intellectually
rigorous, efficient and consultative way. It has made its distinctive mark as a significant
organization which has impacted on the higher education system through its advice,
monitoring and quality assurance activities. As outgoing Chairperson, I am confident
that the CHE's tradition of professionalism, dedication to its work in the service of social
development and social justice, and interactive style with key stakeholders will continue
into the future. My every good wish for its continuing valuable contribution to the
development of South African higher education and South African society.
Saki Macozoma
Chairperson
Council on Higher Education
June 2007
