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Minister says SA needs to cultivate new generation of intellectuals

───   SABRINA DEAN 11:41 Sat, 25 Oct 2014

Minister says SA needs to cultivate new generation of intellectuals | News Article

Bloemfontein - Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor revealed in Bloemfontein last night that the bulk of South Africa’s research outputs are produced by men over the age of fifty.

She was delivering a public lecture hosted by the Department of Education at the University of the Free State, focusing on tertiary education and issues of research and development.
 
Pandor told the audience men over fifty have turned South African universities into one the world’s most efficient research sectors but that in order to become a knowledge based economy, South Africa needs to expand its science system by cultivating a new generation of intellectuals.
 
According to Pandor, 60% of all research outputs of the higher education system are produced by just five of South Africa’s 23 universities.
 
The Universities of the Free State and North West are meanwhile counted among the seven producing 33% of research outputs, while the remaining institutions produce only 7%.
 
Pandor added that SA has set a target of 100 000 PhDs by 2030 to improve research capacity.
 
She says we will need to train 6 000 PhDs per annum to reach this target, but are currently falling well short with only about 1 800 PhDs being produced annually.
 
Sabrina Dean/OFM News

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