Parliament, Saturday, 20 September 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has expressed a serious concern about inconsistent reporting by the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, regarding the release of the Duja forensic report for public consumption.
The committee received a briefing from DHET on the administrators it appointed to the Services SETA, Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) and the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA). DHET said Administrators were identified through headhunting of suitably qualified and experienced candidates.
When questioned by the Committee, Dr Sishi stated that the department intended to include in the terms of reference for the newly appointed administrator of the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) the responsibility of making the Duja report public. However, Members of the Committee highlighted that this statement contradicted Dr Sishi’s earlier remarks made during a committee meeting on 14 May 2025. The Committee cautioned that such contradictions could amount to misleading Parliament, especially given the Director-General’s role as the accounting officer of the department.
DHET further conceded that it did not have a head-hunting policy after members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education pressed the department to explain how it appointed administrators to three SETAs through headhunting.
The Minister of Higher Education, Mr Buti Manamela, said placing the CETA, Services SETA and LGSETA was consultative and legally compliant to preserve the integrity of public institutions entrusted with billions of public funds. Mr Manamela further said placing these public institutions under administration was a serious measure and having put three SETAs under administration at once was unprecedented.
However, the DHET told the committee that the Chief Executive Officers of LGSETA and CETA have instituted legal proceedings against the Minister’s decision to put them under administration.
Committee Chairperson, Mr Tebogo Letsie, expressed a concern over the department’s lack of consequence management in dealing with teething problems in the sector. “If we had a functional department, we would be talking about charging people by now. Because we don’t have consequence management, it allows people to get away with gross mismanagement of our most prised institutions and thereby compromise thousands of students.” He added.
The committee urged the department to intensify its efforts to stabilise the SETAs and to strengthen systems that will ensure all reporting entities remain consistently monitored and held accountable under the DHET’s oversight.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING, MR TEBOGO LETSIE.
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