Letsie said Setas had a critical role to play in developing skills and addressing South Africa's unemployment crisis.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Tebogo Letsie. Picture: X / @ParliamentofRSA
The Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) has come under fire for failing to award bursaries within the relevant academic year, with Parliament warning that delays disrupted students’ studies and jeopardised their chances of completing their qualifications.
The portfolio committee on higher education and training raised concerns about the impact of delayed funding when Ceta and the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) presented their 2025-26 annual reports on Thursday.
The committee said Ceta appeared not to fully appreciate the consequences of failing to provide bursaries to new and continuing students when they needed financial support.
It rejected CETA’s explanation that the delays had been addressed in the subsequent financial year, arguing that late funding could not reverse the damage caused by interrupted studies and lost academic time.
“Delayed funding cannot compensate for lost academic time, interrupted studies, forgone educational opportunities and the financial hardship affected students experienced,” the committee said.
Ceta’s financial position raises concerns
The committee also expressed concern about Ceta’s financial position, including approximately R914 million in overspending against expenditure of R1.25 billion.
Ceta received a qualified audit opinion, while the committee noted approximately R956 million in irregular expenditure accumulated from previous years and R44 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
It also raised concerns about a material irregularity involving the purchase of a biometric attendance and stipend-payment system for approximately R13.26 million that was never fully operationalised.
The committee said the bursary delays were particularly damaging for continuing students, whose studies could be disrupted without financial support, putting their academic progress and prospects of completing their qualifications at risk.
Prospective students were also disadvantaged by the failure to provide funding within the relevant academic year.
Committee questions accountability
The Department of Higher Education and Training placed Ceta and the Services Seta under administration in August 2025 following governance and operational difficulties.
Both entities are expected to remain under administration until 31 January 2027.
The committee also raised concerns about what it described as a trend among sector entities of failing to implement audit action plans issued by the Auditor-General of South Africa.
It recommended that the department ensure its reporting entities comply with these plans.
Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said Ceta’s failure to hold people accountable for wrongdoing was particularly concerning.
“Ceta’s lack of consequence management is extremely worrying,” Letsie said, adding that it was taking too long for the authority to settle matters and act on wrongdoing, even when it had evidence.
He said annual reports were an important tool for assessing whether public institutions had fulfilled their mandates.
Seta’s must help tackle unemployment
Letsie said Seta’s had a critical role to play in developing skills and addressing South Africa’s unemployment crisis.
“For Ceta, this means ensuring that the skills development levies paid by employers translate into meaningful training,” he said.
“With South Africa facing a severe unemployment crisis and millions of people not in employment, education or training, the Seta’s should be among the state’s primary tools for developing skills and addressing unemployment. That is why the committee looks beyond compliance,” Letsie said.
