| (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; |
| (iii) | include safety measures for a safe learning environment for students, lecturers and support staff; and |
| (b) | determine the language policy of the public college, subject to the approval of the Member of the Executive Council; and |
| (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 Member of the Executive Council; |
| (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 Member of the Executive Council, appoint four additional external persons with financial, human resources and legal skills as members of the council. |
| (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 Member of the Executive Council by notice in the Gazette or in terms of a provincial law 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) amended 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) amended 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) amended 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. |
| (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 Member of the Executive Council; |
| (c) | employed by the college. |
| (9) | The members of a council or an interim council— |
| (a) | must be persons with knowledge and experience relevant to the objects and governance of the public college in question; and |
| (b) | must participate in the deliberations of the council or interim council in the best interest of the public college in question. |
| (10) | The Member of the Executive Council must— |
| (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. |
