The Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa spent more than R210 million on catering, travel, and venues during the 2024/25 financial year — yet failed to meet many of its key performance targets.
According to its annual report, the branch responsible for managing the country’s 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges spent R145 million. Despite this, it achieved only 13 of its 22 planned goals.
The report further revealed that 410 employees resigned between April 2024 and March 2025. The department attributed the high turnover to funding cuts and delays in recruitment processes.
Travel costs alone reached R174.9 million, including R10.1 million spent on international trips and R164.8 million on domestic travel. The TVET branch accounted for the largest share, spending R115.5 million — an increase of R5.7 million from the previous year.
One of the department’s objectives was to train 6,000 lecturers in digital literacy, but only 1,718 successfully completed the programme.
The university education branch also underperformed, meeting just 11 out of 26 targets. It aimed to produce 14,800 engineering graduates but managed only 11,851.
Several units within the department, including legal services and examinations and assessment, are reportedly struggling with more than 20 unfilled positions. The report noted that staff burnout and missed deadlines are becoming increasingly common.
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