Information Flows in the South African Post-school Education and Training sector: a focus on university and government stakeholders

The Post-school Education and Training (PSET) system in South Africa is comprised of a diverse range of education and training institutions, and institutional types. This study provides an overview of the state of data collection, analysis, reporting and dissemination in the public universities and government agencies. The aim of the study was to build an understanding of current practices and how these can be enhanced in order to strengthen the evidence base of planning in the system. Two survey instruments (one for institutions and one for government agencies) were designed and targeted the stakeholders of interest in the PSET system to gather information. The information was analysed with reference to Terenzini’s three intelligence tiers. The study revealed uneven institutional capacity across the system to operate at all three intelligence tiers with only 14 institutions demonstrating the capacity to use web-based systems to formulate targeted interventions to enhance performance. Capacity to conduct analytical research on patterns of institutional performance is also uneven. The flow of information from the DHET appears to be driven predominantly by reporting requirements. The study concludes that more attention needs to be paid to building a culture of collecting, sharing and using evidence for planning, policy and other forms of decision making.