FREE STATE PROFILE (South Africa)

Lochner Marais University of the Free State Bloemfontein, SA

OECD Roundtable on Higher Education in Regional and City Development, 16 September 2010

[email protected]

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Map 4.7: Areas with development potential in the Free State, 2006 Mining SASOLBURG Location PARYS DENEYSVILLE ORANJEVILLE VREDEFORT VILLIERS FREE STATE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

VILJOENSKROON KOPPIES CORNELIA HEILBRON FRANKFORT

BOTHAVILLE Legend

VREDE Towns

EDENVILLE TWEELING Limited Combined Potential KROONSTAD Int PETRUS STEYN MEMEL

ALLANRIDGE REITZ Below Average Combined Potential

HOOPSTAD WESSELSBRON WARDEN ODENDAALSRUS Agric LINDLEY STEYNSRUST Above Average Combined Potential WELKOM HENNENMAN ARLINGTON

VENTERSBURG HERTZOGVILLE VIRGINIA High Combined Potential

BETHLEHEM Local municipality BULTFONTEIN HARRISMITH THEUNISSEN PAUL ROUX KESTELL SENEKAL PovertyLimited Combined Potential WINBURG ROSENDAL CLARENS PHUTHADITJHABA BOSHOF Below Average Combined Potential

FOURIESBURG

DEALESVILLE BRANDFORT MARQUARD nodeAbove Average Combined Potential SOUTPAN

VERKEERDEVLEI FICKSBURG High Combined Potential CLOCOLAN EXCELSIOR

JACOBSDAL PETRUSBURG BLOEMFONTEIN

THABA NCHU LADYBRAND LOCALITY PLAN TWEESPRUIT Economic BOTSHABELO

THABA PATSHOA

KOFFIEFONTEIN OPPERMANSDORP Power HOBHOUSE

DEWETSDORP

REDDERSBURG

EDENBURG WEPENER LUCKHOFF FAURESMITH houses JAGERSFONTEIN

VAN STADENSRUST

TROMPSBURG

SMITHFIELD DEPARTMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT & HOUSING PHILIPPOLIS SPRINGFONTEIN Arid SPATIAL PLANNING DIRECTORATE ZASTRON SPATIAL INFORMATION SERVICES

ROUXVILLE

BETHULIE

GARIEP DAM 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 I Kilometers COMPILED BY: SW Slabbert 2 SOURCE: CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

DATE: May 2006

1 Lesson learned from the Self evaluation report: who are we and what is happening • The Free State’s land-locked, arid/semi-arid climate, historical dependence on agriculture and mining, peripheral location, and its apartheid history have all shaped the region • Population growth / economic growth lower than national averages • Middle of the range provinces in South Africa • Lack of a secondary sector – negative impact on HEIs • Planning systems promote competition not collaboration

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The Higher Education System

• Regional engagement not part of national policy guidelines • Huge expectation of HEIs not matched by funding • Role of unstable politics • Emphasis on internationalisation without seeing the link with regional engagement • Change vs stability

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2 Loss? FREE STATE SCHOOLS School count 2008 / Learner count 2007 Primary Secondary Combined Intermediate Special and Headcount Headcount (Grade 1-7) (Grade 8-12) (Grade 1-12) (Grade R-9) Specialised for Primary for Schools Secondary Schools 1 040 255 96 244 20 385 850 265 181

HEIs: 37 000 1) GAP? FREE STATE FET COLLEGES FREE STATE HE2) INSTITUTIONS No real 2008 (Universities) 2008 intermediary Institution HeadcountFET: Student 28 000Institution Headcount Enrolment Student Enrolment3) Declining Motheo 13 000 (3 campuses) Sec: 265 000UFS 26 188trends Goldfields 5 000 Main 3) 23Limited 298 capa- (2 campuses) Primary: 385 Qwaqwa000 2 806 Flavius Mareka 6 700 city Vista (South) 84 (3 campuses) 4) Inability to Maluti 3 000 CUT 10 895 (7 campuses) Main impl.8 579 policy Welkom 2 109 Total 27 700 Kimberley 207

Research

• In terms of research output, the region compares fairly well with the rest of South Africa. • The numbers of regional NRF-rated researchers, patents and THRIP facilitated industry collaborations compare less satisfactory to other regions • Most research funding mechanisms are managed from a national level, and although these systems are open to regional innovation and utilisation, they are not necessarily aligned to regional development objectives. • No articulated and/or coordinated long-term collaboration between HEIs; which results in limited alignment of regional R&D needs and specific research agendas of HEIs.

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3 Teaching and Learning

• The regional education, training and labour- market systems lack coherence. • Various formal and informal learning programmes that address issues of regional priority - these were neither specifically planned nor were they related to a strategic focus on regional issues by a department or a faculty • School system in crisis • Intermediary sector not functioning well

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Social, cultural and environmental development

• Community engagement is not well-defined, underfunded. • It is still done on an ad hoc basis. • To some degree it is difficult to distinguish between community engagement and some of the teaching and research activities undertaken by HEIs. • Very few (if any) of the programmes are multi- disciplinary in nature. • There is very little monitoring and evaluation of programmes in this respect. • Existing programmes are seldom made visible.

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4 Capacity building and cooperation

• Some successes in terms of Recognition of Prior Learning • Generally collaboration is ad hoc • Two universities struggle to work together • Statutory framework is required

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Next Steps

• OECD Review visit in October 2010

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