News24 reports that the chairperson of the TVET colleges governors' council told MPs on Wednesday it was a miracle that some TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) colleges were still open given their lack of funding.  

MPs from across the political spectrum reacted with concern to Dan Mabuyakhulu's presentation.  "Colleges are highly underfunded and it is a miracle that none have closed doors.  We can only thank colleges' councils for the prudent manner in which they govern colleges," Mabuyakhulu said.  Earlier in the day, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) told MPs that allocations for university education would grow by close to 6% over the 2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, but allocations for TVET colleges would grow by less than 2% over this period.  Mabuyakhulu said not providing TVET colleges with adequate funding was not in line with government policy.  TVET colleges should be the biggest sector in post-school education, he stated.

• Read this report by Jan Gerber in full at News24

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