Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela responds to William Gumede’s “Close incompetent and corrupt Setas or hand them to business”
Prof William Gumede’s recent public critique of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) presents an incendiary—but ultimately misleading—view of a system designed to address South Africa’s most enduring challenges: skills, youth unemployment and economic transformation.
His solution—dismantle or privatise—misses the mark not only in policy terms but in its disregard for the tangible impact that Setas continue to make in communities across the country.
As a professor of practice, one expects an argument grounded in evidence. Instead, what we get is rhetoric loosely disguised as analysis. Gumede accuses Setas of being “cash cows for the politically connected”, unaligned with higher education or industry and “dead weight” in South Africa’s labour market.
This sweeping condemnation isn’t just inaccurate—it is ahistorical, shortsighted and dismissive of the thousands of young people, lecturers, researchers and institutions that interact with the Seta ecosystem daily.
What Setas are (and are not)
Let’s begin with a factual correction. Gumede claimed here and elsewhere that Setas replaced teacher, agricultural and technical colleges—institutions that, in his view, once formed the spine of vocational training in Apartheid South Africa. This is simply untrue. These colleges were never scrapped; rather, they were restructured and integrated into the post-1994 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
Setas, introduced in 1998 under the Skills Development Act, were never substitutes for training institutions. They were designed to bridge the gap between education and the workplace—particularly by facilitating work-integrated learning, funding occupational qualifications and aligning skills supply with labour market demand.
Moreover, Setas do not confer qualifications, nor do they run campuses. They co-ordinate funding, commission research, facilitate workplace placements and support accredited providers—TVET colleges, universities and community education institutions—to deliver structured, sector-relevant skills programmes.
Who governs Setas?
Contrary to the notion that Setas are isolated fiefdoms, each is governed by an Accounting Authority (board) that includes 14 members drawn from organised labour, industry and broader civil society. Industry, through employers’ organisations, holds 40% of board representation. Organised labour holds another 40%. The remaining 20% is allocated to professional bodies and community representatives.
In other words, the very business community that Gumede wants to hand Setas over to is already central to their governance. If governance failures exist, the private sector must share in that accountability.
So what does it mean when someone proposes a full-scale handover of public skills funding—now more than R20-billion a year—to the private sector without state oversight? It isn’t reform.
It’s deregulation. It’s a retreat from transformation. And, worse, it smacks of a thinly veiled class prejudice—that the state is inherently corrupt and incapable, and that only business can be trusted with the future of our youth.
What Setas have achieved
Let’s speak plainly: the Seta system is not without challenges. We are the first to admit that more must be done to strengthen oversight, enhance delivery and root out maladministration. But to reduce their record to caricature is an injustice to the evidence.
Consider the following:
- 327,000-plus learners benefited from Seta-funded programmes in the last year, including learnerships, internships, bursaries and artisan development.
- Over 19,000 artisans—from diesel mechanics and electricians to welders and chefs—were trained through partnerships between Setas, TVET colleges and employers.
- More than 40,000 young graduates received internships and workplace-based learning opportunities.
- Over 266,000 work-based placements have been facilitated in the last three years alone.
- 187,000 skills development opportunities were created, many targeting young people and women in rural and peri-urban areas.
- TVET and university partnerships are thriving: over 50 colleges and 26 universities receive support for curriculum development, infrastructure and lecturer training.
- Green economy skills—solar installation, water management, environmental technologies—have been developed and scaled by our Setas.
- Digital skills hubs funded by Setas are preparing young people for the fourth industrial revolution.
- Bursaries for the “missing middle”—those excluded from NSFAS but unable to afford university—are funded annually by Setas, often in critical and scarce skills fields.
Take Chieta, for example. It allocated millions in grant funding to establish the African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC) at Wits University—ironically where Gumede now lectures. When private funders refused to invest, it was Seta funding that made it possible. If the system he derides were to collapse, institutions such as the AELC would be among the first to feel the blow—and he would be among the first to call for their restoration. Setas are not symbols of dysfunction. They are lifelines. Imagine the consequences if such programmes were shut down to appease a public intellectual’s polemic.
Yes, there is a public outcry over the appointment processes of Seta chairpersons. That is precisely why our Minister withdrew the initial appointment round—to allow for a transparent, merit-based process that restores public confidence. That is leadership, not failure. Using that moment to justify a call for privatisation is opportunism dressed as reform.
The reality is this: successful skills development models around the world—from Germany’s dual system to Japan’s industry-academia collaboration—combine state co-ordination with strong business participation. They do not dump responsibility entirely onto the market.
South Africa’s future will not be built through rhetorical demolition. It will be shaped through patient, co-ordinated reform. That is why the department is driving a comprehensive modernisation programme for Setas through the National Skills Development Plan and the Medium-Term Development Plan 2029.
Our priorities:
- Enhancing monitoring and evaluation systems, including digital learner tracking;
- Expanding rural access and inclusive participation—especially for women, persons with disabilities and the long-term unemployed;
- Deepening collaboration between Setas, TVETs, universities and industry;
- Funding relevant, green and future-orientated programmes—aligned to the presidential Sona, budget and ERRP imperatives.
- Setas must adapt, yes… but they must not be erased. Their mandate—skills for economic transformation—is more urgent now than ever.
Gumede is welcome to challenge us—that is what public intellectuals should do—but he must also be held to the same standard he demands of others: that is, evidence-based argument, not ideological assertion. To paraphrase his own call: professors of practice must practice what they preach.
Let’s fix what must be fixed… but let’s not destroy what still delivers.
Buti Manamela is the Minister of Higher Education.
*This article originally featured on TimesLIVE and is published with permission
