CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE SURVEY
2.8 GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT IN FET COLLEGES 79
2.8.1 Organisational structure of public FET colleges 81
Organisational structure is the formal system of task and job reporting relationships that determines how employees use resources to achieve organisational goals (George & Jones 2006:450). One of the most important factors affecting an organisation‟s choice of structure is the characteristics of the human resources it employs. In general, the more highly skilled an organisation‟s workforce is and the more people are required to work together in groups or teams to perform their tasks, the more likely an organisation is to use a flexible,
decentralised structure. Figure 2.1 is an example of an organisational structure that would enable the public further education and training college in the province of KwaZulu-Natal to achieve organisational goals
Functions Functions Functions
Figure 2.4 Organisational structure of a Public FET College Source Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006:54
The FET Act of 2006 stipulates that the Manager is the chief executive and accounting officer of the college. Some of the functions of the Manager include the responsibility for the day-to-day management and administration of the college, being a member of all the committees of the council and academic board, as well as performing additional functions which may be assigned by the council. The Act also stipulates that when the Manager is absent or unable to carry out his or her duties, the Deputy Manager must act as Manager, or the Member of the Executive Council may appoint the acting manager.
As indicated earlier in this paragraph, the Manager of an FET college has the role of being a manager, an accounting officer, a full member of the College
Rector
Deputy Manager Curriculum
Campus Managers Deputy Manager
Corporate Services
Assistant Managers Heads of Departments Assistant Managers
Council, as well as a member of all the committees of the College Council and Academic Board. This complex role makes particular demands on the College Manager as he or she is charged with a pivotal role of achieving balance between the interests of governors, administrators, employees, learners and a wide range of stakeholders. As colleges grow and produce a wider range of services, the size and number of their functions and divisions increase. In order to co-ordinate the activities of people, functions and divisions within the colleges, and also to allow them to work together effectively, managers will have to develop a clear hierarchy of authority.
The organisational design of the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department allows for the establishment of two Directorates for Further Education and Training (FET) within the Chief Directorate FET Colleges. According to the current departmental organogram, the Chief Directorate FET Colleges is headed by a Senior Manager, supported by two Managers, and each manager is assisted by a team consisting of Chief Education Specialists, Deputy Chief Education Specialists, administrative and support staff. The responsibility to ensure smooth implementation of policies in public FET colleges rests with the Chief Directorate FET Colleges.
In order to redress the historical imbalances generated by inequalities in education provision, the Ministry of Education and the Provinces had to ensure that resources were allocated and deployed according to the principle of equity so that the same quality of learning provision was achieved for all people.
Opportunities for training and advancement, especially in relation to scarce skills, should be provided by FET Colleges to reverse the current, skewed under- representation of blacks, women and the disabled. It therefore becomes important for the public FET college to develop and maintain an organisational structure that will make it possible for the Chief Directorate at a provincial level to provide specialised support in their obligations to achieve organisational goals.
Figure 2.5 Organogram representing the administration of FET Colleges at Provincial level
Source KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education FET Colleges scene 2009/2010 : 5.
Whatever the provincial arrangements, there has been a discernable trend at national level to encourage institutional autonomy. This has been prompted largely by the policy intention of making further education and training more flexible and responsive to individual and community needs and to anticipate changes in market demand. Analyses and reports on further education and training from many countries suggest that institutions too readily give way to bureaucratic inertia and that programmes are offered more because of the availability of staff and equipment than because of any clearly identified need. In response, various initiatives have been introduced to foster more market-oriented and competitive FET provision. Measures taken include the decentralisation of institutional management, the granting to public FET colleges of greater
2 x Deputy Directors
4 x Assistant Directors
3 x Administrative personnel Director Curriculum
2 x Deputy Directors
4 x Assistant Directors
Director Service Delivery Management
3 x Administrative personnel
Chief Director
institutional autonomy and managerial authority, and direct employment of staff by FET institutions. It should be noted that greater degree of autonomy does not mean that FET colleges have a license to do as they wish rather, they are subject to a number of disciplines, including the requirement to produce a corporate business plan, the external accreditation of programmes, and regular external inspections, organised either by Provincial or National Education Departments, Umalusi or independent co-ordinating agencies.
A key feature of the Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006 has been the granting to FET colleges of substantial autonomy. College Councils are appointed by the MEC for Education in each province, on the basis of nominations by identified stakeholder groupings. In the Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006, it is stipulated that external stakeholders, and not college personnel, must form a clear majority in Council that organised business, labour and community constituencies must be assured representation in Council, and that provision should be made for representation of specific constituencies and interest groups in accordance with the particular mission and role of each public FET institution.
Figure 2.6 An example of the composition of College Council Source Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006 : 54.
College Council
Chairperson Principal
External persons appointed by the MEC One lecturer elected by
college lecturers
One external member representing donors One student member elected
by SRC
One member of the Academic Board
A key criterion for the appointment of external College Council members should be their ability to promote a responsive and entrepreneurial ethos in colleges, to bring about the transformation of colleges in accordance with the values and objectives of a democratic, non-racial South Africa to assist colleges in formulating their strategic missions and plans, and to oversee the management of the college and its financial affairs (Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006:52). The Further Education and Training Act 16 of 2006 also stipulates that specific attention should be given in the appointment of College Councils to race and gender representivity.
Given both the inequalities and inequities of the past, and the inability of the previously fragmented FET band to respond in a coherent and effective manner to the social and economic needs of the country, strong emphasis should be placed on institutional as well as human resource development and capacity- building. This study will determine how the college managers use their authority to motivate diverse employees with the prospects of promotion and increased responsibility within the chain of command. This study will therefore explore how public FET colleges use organisational structures to prevent differential treatment and the steps managers take to ensure that diversity, in all respects, is effectively managed for the good of all college stakeholders.