The Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane says she did not appear before Parliament as scheduled on Friday because she had other commitments.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has rejected the apology that she has submitted. The committee had asked Nkabane to appear before it to account for the debacle surrounding the appointment of chairpersons of the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) boards.

She took flak last month after it emerged that some of the board chairpersons were said to be politically connected with others being officials of her department.

Nkabane says she could not cancel her commitments.

“After the cancellation of my trip due to not getting authorisation from the President, I made other commitments to attend a GBVF programme. I don’t want to say I was or wasn’t supposed to, but I did extend my apology to Parliament, letting them know that I have already made other commitments, may I please avail myself on Tuesday? On the bright side, I did receive a letter on Friday stating that on Tuesday I need to avail myself in Parliament so that I can account so that citizens of this country can hear my side of the story and not what is being said on social media,” she adds.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has described the Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane‘s failure to appear before Parliament as an act of defiance.https://t.co/296yQT61gL pic.twitter.com/7oNpfDpbAQ

— SABC News (@SABCNews) July 19, 2025