The new minister of Higher Education, Transformation and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Since his appointment as Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande has indicated that there are problems in higher education that need to be rectified. One of the problems he has identified is transformation and he will not doubt mount a programme to rectify that. My experience of other universities is mostly based on what I read in the press and I would have to agree that transformation is probably still a problem and one that needs to be addressed. However I seriously doubt that this is the case at UKZN.

So I would hope that Dr Nzimande sees what I see in UKZN and not only recognizes what has happened here, but commends it. He of course does not have to stop there as there is always room for improvement.

To make me really happy, the minister could also:

• Re-introduce a State subsidized bursary scheme for teachers.
• Re-establish Teacher Training Colleges for Primary School teachers.
• Ensure that the education of High School teachers is discipline based to at least their second year of university study.
• Think about whether KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) needs and deserves more Universities than it currently has. One only has to compare the demographics of KZN with those for the Western Cape and Gauteng and the disparities are plain for all to see.