| (1) | The council of a public college must perform all the functions, including the development of a college statute, which are necessary to govern the public college, subject to this Act and any applicable national or provincial law. |
| (a) | develop a strategic plan for the public college which must— |
| (i) | incorporate the mission, vision, goals and planning for funding of the college; |
| (ii) | address past imbalances and gender and disability matters; |
[Subparagraph (iv) substituted by section 8(a) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (b) | determine the language policy of the public college, subject to the approval of the Minister; and |
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 8(b) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (c) | ensure that the public college complies with accreditation requirements necessary to provide learning programmes in terms of standards and qualifications as registered on the National Qualifications Framework. |
| (3) | The council, after consultation with the student representative council, must provide for a suitable structure to advise on policy for student support services within the public college. |
| (4) | The council of a public college consists of— |
| (b) | five external persons appointed by the Minister; |
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 8(c) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (c) | one member of the academic board elected by the academic board; |
| (d) | one external member representing donors; |
| (e) | one lecturer of the public college, elected by the lecturers of the college; |
| (f) | one member of the support staff of the public college, elected by the support staff; and |
| (g) | two students of the public college, elected by the student representative council of the public college. |
| (5) | The chairperson, vice-chairperson or other office-bearers of the council may not be students or members of the staff of the college, but the secretary may be a member of staff. |
| (6) | The council must, in consultation with the Minister, appoint four additional external persons with financial, human resources and legal skills as members of the council. |
[Subsection (6) substituted by section 8(d) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (7) | The manner in which the members of the council contemplated in subsection (4) (c) to (g) are to be elected, must, where applicable, be determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette and must, in so far as it is practically possible, ensure that— |
| (a) | the functions of the council or interim council are performed according to the highest professional standards; |
| (b) | the council or interim council is broadly representative of the continuing education and training system and related interests; |
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 4 of Act No. 1 of 2013]
| (c) | the members have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the continuing education and training sector; |
[Paragraph (c) substituted by section 4 of Act No. 1 of 2013]
| (d) | the members appreciate the role of continuing education and training in reconstruction and development; and |
[Paragraph (d) substituted by section 4 of Act No. 1 of 2013]
| (e) | the council is broadly representative of the community served by the public college in respect of race, gender and disability. |
[Subsection (7) amended by section 8(e) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (8) | At least 60 per cent of the members of a council must be external persons who are not— |
| (a) | students or support staff of the public college; |
| (b) | employed by the Minister; |
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 8(f) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (c) | employed by the college. |
| (9) | A member of a council or an interim council— |
| (a) | must be a person with knowledge and experience relevant to the objects and governance of the public college in question; |
| (b) | must participate in the deliberations of the council or interim council in the best interest of the public college in question; |
| (c) | must, before he or she assumes office, declare any business, commercial or financial activities undertaken for financial gain that may raise a possible conflict of interest with the public college in question; |
| (d) | may not place himself or herself under any financial or other obligation to any individual or organisation that night seek to influence the performance of any function of the council; |
(e)
| (i) | may not have a conflict of interest with the public college in question; |
| (ii) | may not have a direct or indirect financial, personal or other interest in any matter to be discussed at a meeting and which entails or may entail a conflict or possible conflict of interest with the public college in question; and |
| (iii) | must, before the meeting and in writing, inform the chairperson of that meeting of the conflict or possible conflict of interest. |
[Subsection (9) substituted by section 8(g) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (9A) | Any person may, in writing, inform the chairperson of a meeting, before the meeting, of a conflict or possible conflict of interest of a member of the council of the public college in question of which such person may be aware. |
[Subsection (9A) inserted by section 8(h) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (9B) | A member referred to in subsections (9)(e) and (9A) is obliged to recuse himself or herself from the meeting during the discussion of the matter and the voting thereon. |
[Subsection (9B) inserted by section 8(h) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (9C) | A committee of the council with delegated functions in terms of section 50(1) may not take a decision on a matter considered by it if any member of the committee has a conflict of interest contemplated in this section. |
[Subsection (9C) inserted by section 8(h) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (9D) | A member of the council or a member of a committee of the council who contravenes subsection (9), (9A) or (9B), after the council has followed a due process, may be— |
| (a) | suspended from attending a meeting; or |
| (b) | disqualified as a member of the council or a member of a committee of the council. |
(Subsection (9D) inserted by section 8(h) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (a) | having regard to the provisions of subsections (9), (9A) and (9B) adopt a c ode of conduct to which all members of the council, all members of committees of the council and all persons who exercise functions of the council in terms of delegated authority must subscribe; and |
| (b) | determine rules and procedures for an annual declaration— |
| (i) | by each member of the council, each member of council committees and each person who exercises functions of the council in terms of delegated authority; |
| (ii) | of his or her financial interests and fiduciary roles, the latter to include but not be limited to offices, directorships of companies, memberships of close corporations and trusteeships held; and |
| (iii) | of the financial interests and fiduciary roles of the members of his or her immediate family. |
[Subsection (9E) inserted by section 8(h) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (a) | by notice in the Gazette, or by any other reasonably practicable means, invite nominations for the appointment of the members contemplated in subsection (4)(b); and |
| (b) | consider the nominations and appoint the members with due regard to the criteria contemplated in this section. |
[Subsection (10) amended by section 8(i) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
| (11) | For the purpose of this section, 'immediate family', in relation to a member, means his or her parent, sibling, child, including an adopted child or a step-child, or spouse (whether by statutory, customary or religious law), and including a life partner who is a person living with that member as if they were married to each other. |
[Subsection (11) added by section 8(j) of Act No. 3 of 2012]
