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Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has presented a R149.2 billion budget aimed at improving skills training, strengthening TVET colleges and helping more young people find work after studying.
Delivering Budget Vote 17 in Parliament on Tuesday, Manamela said the department's priorities for the 2026/27 financial year would focus on digital transformation, the “skills revolution” and reshaping the country's post-school education and training system.
This year's budget marks 50 years since the June 16 uprising in South Africa, Manamela said, adding that today's youth want more than just access to education.
He said, “The youth of 1976 fought for the right to learn. The youth of 2026 demand more. They demand the right to learn, the right to skills, the right to innovate, the right to work and the right to participate meaningfully in the economy of their country.”
The budget supported President Cyril Ramaphosa's call for a massive overhaul of the country's skills system, particularly TVET colleges, Manamela said. “The President called for a dual training model that links classroom learning with workplace experience.”
He acknowledged that although access to higher education has expanded significantly since democracy, the system still faces major shortcomings. “The problem we face is not just that South Africa needs more education. The problem is that the link between education, skills, work and industrial growth is too weak and in some places broken.”
Manamela said many graduates are leaving institutions without finding work, while employers continue to report a lack of technical and professional skills. “Access without success is not enough. Success without employment is not enough. And skills without economic absorption is not enough.”
He said the department would focus strongly on TVET colleges, apprenticeships and workplace training in what the government is calling a “skills revolution”.
From January 2026, 24 new vocational qualifications were introduced in TVET colleges and the government plans to increase the number of students studying practical and technical courses.
The department also plans to train 500 TVET lecturers, set up five regional industrial skills compacts and finalize a TVET turnaround strategy by September next year.
Manemela said universities would receive R100.1bn from the budget, while TVET colleges would get R14.7bn and community education and training colleges would get R3.3bn.
Manmela acknowledged that community colleges are underfunded.
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding is expected to increase from R48.8bn this year to R54.6bn by 2028/29. The minister said the government is also working to stabilize governance at NSFAS and SETAS (sector education and training authorities) following ongoing concerns about management and accountability.
“We have moved forward decisively on NSFAS. Where the institution has failed the public trust, we have acted within the law to restore order, protect students and take corrective action,” he said.
A large portion of the budget will also go towards digital transformation of the post-school education system.
Manamela said the department planned to expand online education in TVET and community colleges, improve digital career guidance services and launch more programs involving artificial intelligence, data science, cyber security and software development.
“We will create curriculum and partnerships in artificial intelligence, data, software, analytics and cyber security,” he said.
The minister also called on businesses to work closely with the government and colleges to help train youth and create workplace opportunities.
“The private sector cannot remain a spectator to skill development. Industry must become a co-creator of the required skills,” he said.
Manamela said the department's main goal is to ensure that youth can move from education to jobs and economic opportunities.
“South Africa's young people are not the ultimate beneficiaries of this system. They are the cause of this system,” he said.
Times Live