The employment of foreign nationals in institutions of higher learning when there are qualified South Africans to fill the positions came under attack in parliament on Wednesday at a joint meeting of the higher education and home affairs committees.
MPs across the political spectrum believe that foreign nationals are being employed in the sector over South Africans, echoing similar concerns in other sectors of society. However, higher education & training committee chair Tebogo Letsie stressed that this concern should not be regarded as xenophobia.
The department of higher education & training provided figures showing that foreign nationals represent a small percentage of permanent employees at universities, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges and community colleges.
Audited data for 2024 showed there were 65,585 permanent staff at universities, only 4.6% of whom were foreign nationals, which deputy director-general for university education Thandi Lewin said was low in terms of international comparisons.
These employees could have permanent residence status or critical skills visas and were mainly concentrated in research and teaching.
Unaudited data indicated there were 94,049 temporary university employees: 84,722 South Africans and 9,327 foreign nationals (9.92%).
“We are not prioritising foreign nationals,” Lewin stressed.
In the TVET sector there are currently 278 (1.3%) foreign nationals (107 of whom are non-South Africans, with the remaining 171 having been naturalised or having permanent residence) out of 22,000 employees, deputy director-general for TVET colleges Sam Zungu told MPs.
Acting director-general Thembisa Futshane reported there were 38 foreign nationals (0.3%) of the full staff complement of lecturers in community and training colleges.
Letsie said there is a belief that institutions of higher learning are prioritising the employment of foreign nationals in positions that are not on the list of critical skills.
Labour laws
What is of concern, he added, is the non-compliance by academic institutions with labour laws, which require that employers must satisfy themselves that there are no South Africans with suitable skills to fill a post before employing foreign nationals.
An example, Letsie said, is the plethora of CFOs — not a critical skill — employed by institutions of higher learning, an allegation disputed by departmental officials.
MPs were also concerned that foreign nationals should be required to transfer their skills to South Africans.
Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela stressed in his opening remarks that a delicate balance has to be maintained between internationalisation and localisation in the staffing of institutions of higher learning. He conceded, however, that the discussion over the employment of foreign nationals is legitimate and valid and speaks to the concerns of South Africans about employment, fairness and transformation.
Manamela noted that foreign nationals represent 12% of permanent academic staff in public universities, a figure that has remained stable over many years. They are not displacing South Africans in permanent academic posts. However, weaknesses when it comes to the appointment of temporary academics need to be addressed.
“Internationalisation is not a loophole to bypass local employment because it is a strategic instrument to strengthen research, postgraduate supervision, innovation and academic collaboration, particularly on our continent but also in the Global South.
“It should not be an issue of internationalisation versus localisation. There has to be a delicate balance,” the minister said. The government is investing in the development of South African academics at scale, with over R2bn being invested in various programmes to achieve this.
Skills list
Lewin pointed to the positive benefits of the government’s academic internationalisation policy in terms of research and knowledge transfer.
Home affairs director-general Tommy Makhode said his department collaborated with the department of higher education & training and universities on the compilation of its critical skills list, last updated in 2023. Those with skills on the list gain the points necessary to obtain a visa.
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