Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela said universities must change how they teach and test students. He said graduates need to be ready for a world shaped more and more by artificial intelligence (AI).
Manamela spoke on Tuesday at a national webinar called “The Intellectual Directions of Higher Education in South Africa”. Nelson Mandela University and the University of the Free State hosted the event. Rosebank International and Higher Education Media Services also helped run it.
“If a machine can produce a plausible essay in seconds, our response cannot be limited to finding a better machine to detect it,” the Minister said.
Manamela said generative AI can help with research, translation, administration and teaching. He said it also carries risks.
According to the Minister, AI can repeat bias and make up false evidence. He said it can also make people more dependent on systems owned by private companies.
He warned that students may mistake a smooth answer from a machine for an argument they truly understand.
Manamela said universities should rethink the way they assess students. He said tests should check if students can ask a worthwhile question and weigh up evidence. They should also show if students can make ethical choices, work with others and use knowledge on new problems.
The Minister said South Africa must build African skills in AI. He said this needs research infrastructure, open resources, African-language technology and trustworthy data.
He said the country should not stay forever dependent on technology built in other parts of the world.
“Digital transformation should not mean that our universities become permanent consumers of knowledge infrastructures designed elsewhere,” the Minister said.
Manamela said the future of higher education needs an honest talk about funding, access and the purpose of universities.
He said the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has opened higher education to more students. But he said NSFAS has weak administration.
He also said the gap between its financial promises and the money available keeps growing. According to Manamela, this affects the health of the whole system.
Manamela said student support and funding for institutions cannot be treated as separate issues.
“If we protect institutional balance sheets by excluding capable young people, we have betrayed the public mission,” he said.
“South Africa does not need 26 copies of the same university, each competing to look like a particular international model,” the Minister said.
He said the country needs a connected system of different institutions, each with its own strengths. He said all of them must be committed to quality.
Manamela said university rankings can give useful information. But he said rankings should not guide the whole higher education system.
The Minister also spoke about decolonisation. He said it is “neither a slogan for strategic plans nor a rejection of every idea originating elsewhere”.
He said something is lost when African languages are missing from serious scholarship. He said teaching resources in many languages and digital tools can widen access and open up new ideas.
Manamela said universities should not be distant from nearby communities. He named communities facing water shortages, unemployment, failing infrastructure or preventable disease.
He also called for stronger partnerships between universities, technical and vocational education and training colleges, and community colleges. He said employers, labour and civil society should be part of these partnerships.
The Minister said this would help create pathways into work and support research and innovation.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SAnews.gov.za. Image: GCIS via SAnews.gov.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.