South Africa's Telecommunications & Postal Services Minister Dr Siyabonga Cwele has pointed to Huawei's Seeds for the Future program as a model of how businesses can help the country find a solution to fee protests that have disrupted learning at universities across the country during the 2016 academic year.

The Minister expressed this view during the send-off ceremony for the first first ten university students, sourced from five of SA's public higher learning institutions, who are travelling to Beijing and Shenzhen on a two-week study trip courtesy of Huawei.

"I think more companies are realising that South Africa has got good institutions of training and that is why more of them are putting their factories here as well as their innovation centres like we have seen with General Electric. Huawei is investing more than two hundred million rand putting an innovation centre for Africa here in South Africa, which they will include in their new campus. We are encouraging them and we hope more companies will do the same as it helping them with a skilled workforce that can produce more of their products."

Dr Cwele adds that while the first group of students selected for the Seeds for the Future program are from previously disadvantaged universities with a high technology focus, plans are afoot to extend the programme over the next five years to more universities.

"Our aim is to identify students in their first year or in matric who have got interest and give them bursaries or grants so that they can acquire ICT skills because these skills cut across all sectors. Even if you are a lawyer you will need ICT skills. We are not throwing them in the deep end. When they come back we would like to link them with private sector companies like Huawei and others who are willing to cooperate with us. We would also like to link them with our own state-owned companies so that they can work there, even if it is during holidays, in order to gain practical experience."

A submission in August by Wits University - where a large part of the 'fees must fall' strife has taken place this past year - to South Africa's Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education Funding noted a slump in the contribution made by corporate SA into post-school education over the last few years.

The University called for a systematic mechanism that channels private sector funds to all universities because the private sector as a whole is a beneficiary of graduates produced from South African universities.

"Although Wits does not represent all South African universities, it may be useful to take note of the actual breakdown of private sector funding. Statistics provided by the Development and Fundraising Office (DFO) at Wits, show that whereas in 2010, the university received R185 673 386 in total funding, by 2015 that figure had increased to R222 569 962. The overall increase in funding is however offset by the fact that funding by the "Corporate" sector has actually decreased from R50 995 666 in 2010 to R36 949 144 in 2015." explained the University.

Continent-wide footprint

Students from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe from part of the more than 15,000 students from 150 universities in 67 countries who have taken part in the Seeds for the Future program.

Steven Wu, CEO of Huawei South Africa says the group of students from South Africa will be imparted with knowledge on 5G, LTE, and cloud computing during their stay in China.

"It prides us to finally see this initiative kick-off in South Africa as well. The question often arose when this will happen for South Africa? We are glad that through our focus in investing in local institutions of higher learning, and our perseverance in strategic partnership with the DTPS, the breakthrough is in the horizon, and we wish our young talent returns with the required optimism and skills"