OVERVIEW Education and
OVERVIEW Education and training Boarding schools are changing lives. One of the biggest changes to the educational landscape in Mpumalanga in the democratic era has been the establishment of rural boarding schools. Tiny farm schools were sometimes the only option available to the children of farm workers but since 1994, the following rural boarding schools have been built: Ezakheni and Izimbali in the town of Mkhondo in the Gert Sibande District Municipality; Emakhazeni and Steve Tshwete in the Nkangala District Municipality, Shongwe (in the town of Malelane) and Thaba Chweu in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. Overall, attendance figures at schools in the province have reached 98% of all seven to 17-year-olds, with a throughput rate in 2023 of 72%. Hot meals are served to one-million children at schools and about 75 000 pupils have access to scholar transport services. To cater for greatly increased numbers, the Fundza Lushaka Bursary Scheme supports matriculants who want to start a career in teaching. From 2018 to 2024, 1 200 took up the offer to become educators. Since 2022, all Grade 12 pupils and teachers in Quantile 1 to 3 schools are provided with tablets and laptops respectively. These devices are loaded with e-content and in 2024 an offline application was added to enable learning without data or connectivity. A pilot “smart schools” project has been introduced in eight schools. New public libraries have been built in Sakhile, Thubelihle, Thulamahashe and Matsamo. Tertiary progress On a hill north of the Crocodile River a complex of buildings has become the University of Mpumalanga. The official launch was in October 2013 and by 2020, the university was offering 26 qualifications to 4 200 students. The university currently offers 48 programmes in three faculties: Education; Agriculture and Natural Sciences; and Economics and Business Sciences. There are plans to add new programmes at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels and to establish the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of ONLINE RESOURCES Sasol bursaries: www.sasolbursaries.com Southern African Wildlife College: www.wildlifecollege.org.za University of Mpumalanga: www.ump.ac.za SECTOR INSIGHT A teaching bursary is proving popular. The library at Imzimbali Combined Boarding School. Law. By 2024, the plan is to offer approximately 70 qualifications to over 8 000 students. That is the year in which the university’s first doctoral graduates will be capped. Research relevant to the needs of the province can now be done at local level. Mpumalanga has three Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, with an enrolment of over 36 000. UNISA, the Tshwane University of Technology and the Vaal University of Technology also have satellite campuses in the province. The TVET colleges are located in the province’s three District Municipalities: Gert Sibande (four campuses and a skills academy), Nkangala and Ehlanzeni, which has six campuses, a skills centre and a satellite campus. ■ MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2024/25 48
Development finance and SMME support Supplier development programmes promote small enterprises. OVERVIEW The Provincial Government of Mpumalanga has several programmes designed to support small business, with a particular focus on women and young people. For its part, the private sector uses supplier development programmes to encourage small businesses along its supply chain. One example of the latter model is Mondi’s support for Philasiphile Contractors, pictured, which is based in Amsterdam. Philasiphile today manages multiple contracts, supplying silviculture services to Mondi, Sappi and Komatiland Forestry. From having one bakkie and a staff of 30, the company now employs more than 150 people to tend to 430ha for Mondi alone. The Mondi Zimele Small Business Development Initiative is a joint venture with the Jobs Fund putting up matching funding with the forestry and paper company. The aim is to facilitate sustainable black economic empowerment by providing business support services and low-interest loans to emerging businesses. The Jobs Fund is run by National Treasury. In the 2023 State of the Province Address, a provincial Job War Room was promised as a means of tackling the high unemployment rate. In the 2024 speech, Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane said that by the end of January 2024, a total of 63 478 jobs had been created through the 21 identified programmes including the Siyatentela Road Maintenance Programme, Government Nutrition Programme, School Handymen and Tourism Safety Monitors. She further reported that, since its inception in 2019, the Premier’s Youth Development Fund had disbursed R258-million to fund 182 youth-owned enterprises. The funded beneficiaries created more than 630 jobs. In partnership with the Presidential Climate Commission, the Climate Investment Fund and the World Bank, opportunities are being explored for SMMEs and co-operatives to participate in the green economy. The Premier’s Youth Development Fund allocated R92.3- million to 36 companies in the financial year to February 2023 in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining and transport and logistics. The provincial government is committed to allocating 30% of the ONLINE RESOURCES Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency: www.mega.gov.za Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative: www.mpstainless.co.za Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT The Premier’s Youth Development Fund has disbursed R258-million. provincial procurement budget to enterprises owned by women, youth and people with disabilities. Research done by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) shows that a high percentage of SMMEs in Mpumalanga are in the trade and accommodation sector. Whereas the national figure is about 43%, in Mpumalanga it is closer to 50%. Seda supports several incubators in the province: Furntech, furniture manufacturing, White River; Mobile Agro-Skills Development & Training (MASDT), agricultural training, Nelspruit; Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative (MSI), stainlesssteel processing, Middelburg (with Columbus Stainless); Timbali floriculture, Nelspruit; Ehlanzeni TVET College Rapid Incubator Renewable Technologies, Nelspruit. TVET stands for technical and vocational education training. The Gert Sibande Centre for Entrepreneurship in Evander hosts a Rapid Incubator in partnership with Seda. ■ 49 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2024/25
