Address by Naledi Pandor, MP, Minister of Education, at the career development workshop for the 2005 recipients of the Carnegie-South Africa undergraduate women’s scholarship programme

18 January 2005

Colleagues
Students

Good evening to the recipients of the Carnegie-South Africa Undergraduate Women’s Scholarships. I am very pleased to be able to address you.

You are the third cohort of students to receive this prestigious scholarship. Congratulations on this achievement.

You have been through a rigorous selection process involving some 1600 applicants from around the country. You were selected on the basis of academic merit and were in the top 5% of your matric class. I am sure that you worked hard to achieve the examination results that you did and we are very pleased to be able to offer you this scholarship.

As you know the scholarship programme supports women studying in science, engineering, technology, actuarial science and science education, fields of study where women are traditionally underrepresented.

We encourage women to study in these fields not only because we need women with scientific and technological skills but also because women remain under-represented as teachers and scholars in these disciplines in higher education.

The retention of women in the academy remains a key challenge for higher education. Our figures for 2003 indicate that women make up 41% of all permanent academic staff in universities and technikons. However, the overall figure masks considerable “glass ceiling” inequalities. While women make up more than 50% of staff at lecturer level and below, only 17% of professors are women.

Furthermore, the bulk of research in South Africa continues to be undertaken by white men and particularly ageing white men.
This must be addressed as a matter of utmost urgency, if we are to produce the next generation of women intellectuals.

The foundation for future success has already been laid. According to our National Learners’ Record Database, by 2001 56% of all university qualifications were awarded to women. However, women still remain under-represented in engineering sciences and technology.

Now I do not need to tell you that paying for a tertiary education is an expense that few South Africans can easily afford.
It is, alas, one of the realities of education in the contemporary world that students or their families are asked to make a contribution to paying for higher education. Not so in other countries. Britain prided itself on a free higher education system but for the first time this year British universities charge tuition fees. It was a controversial move but one that in the end there was little alternative to introducing.

We understand the contradiction in asking for fees while being committed to opening the doors of learning to all. And so our government contributes directly to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which assists thousands of academically able but poor tertiary level students every year. However, there is always room for business, industry and assorted foundations to sponsor scholarship programmes.

So I would like to extend my thanks to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for providing generous funding for this important scholarship programme.

This scholarship will reduce any concern over fees and living expenses you may have. It will allow you to concentrate on your studies, and excel at them, as well as enjoy the life that university can offer. We also hope that in this way you will become role models for future generations of young women.

Your presence here is a credit to your school and to yourself. We hope that this scholarship programme will be an added impetus for excellence in schools.

This scholarship programme has been set up, in part, to address some of the many challenges facing the higher education system in this country. One of these is that of achieving equity in the higher education system.

The department of education works closely with higher education institutions to improve their gender equity profiles, requiring them to submit institutional plans with clear strategies for dealing with gender inequalities. However, through programmes such as these, we can also contribute directly to breaking down some of the barriers for women in higher education.

We hope that your expectations of higher education will be met, and that you will be able to fulfil your career goals.

The research that is planned as part of the project, and in which you will be participating, will begin to shed light on some of the factors that shape the experience of women in South African higher education, such as institutional cultures.

I am encouraged that some members of the 2004 cohort of Carnegie scholars have joined this workshop to share their experiences with you. You are most welcome and thank you for giving up some of your holiday to be with us.

In 2004 we had 98 students on the scholarship programme. I am very pleased that most are doing well in their first and second year of studies. Indeed, some have passed with distinctions. Our congratulations go to them.

It remains for me to wish you the very best in your studies over the next few years. I expect you to do well in your various fields of study and I expect some of you will go on to post-graduate study and to careers in academia. I also hope that you will stay in South Africa in the long term – even though study abroad is always beneficial - so that your expertise will not be lost to our country.

Thank you and good luck.