[Message from the Honorable Minister of Education, Prof. Kader Asmal]: Once again I am pleased to provide a message of support for the Guide to South African Universities and Technikons, particularly at a time when we are embarking on a new era with our plans for Higher Education in South Africa. Increasingly we have become aware of the need for higher education graduates who can make a significant contribution to the reconstruction and development of our country and, in this period of globalisation, the rest the world. With the dawn of a new century we need also to ensure that our system of higher education is relevant to the challenges we face in the years ahead. The onset of the 21st century has brought Minister of Education changes in the social, cultural and economic relations spawned by the revolution in information and communications technology. At the centre of these changes is the notion that in the 21st century, knowledge and the processing of information will be the key driving forces for wealth creation and social and economic development. Therefore we are driven by government policy that recognises the importance of human resource development. This involves the mobilisation of human talent and potential through lifelong learning, to contribute to the social, economic, cultural and intellectual life of a rapidly changing society. We need high-level skills training to provide the human resources to strengthen our region's enterprises, services and infrastructure. This requires the development of professionals and knowledge workers with globally equivalent skills, but who are socially responsible and conscious of their role in contributing to development efforts and social transformation. Finally we need to ensure the production, acquisition and application of new knowledge. This is essential for growth and competitiveness, and in turn is dependent on continuous technological improvement and innovation driven by a well-organised, vibrant research and development system which integrates the research and training capacity of higher education with the needs of industry and social reconstruction. Graduates from our higher education institutions have consistently shown that the quality of the education they receive is of a world class standard. Indeed, many developed countries try to lure our graduates away to work in their countries. Increasingly international students have recognised the value of our education system and are choosing to study in South Africa. We welcome them not only to our educational institutions but also to our beautiful country and the vibrant society that South Africa is today.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:28744 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA), Mason, Andy |
| Publisher | International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, book |
| Format | 84 pages, electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission from IEASA. Permission to use material contained in the university profiles must be obtained directly from the institutions concerned. The information in this publication was compiled from a variety of sources, and opinions expressed should not necessarily be taken to represent those of IEASA or HESA., International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) |
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