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IN THE NEWSSAQA’s National Standards Bodies (NSBs) endthree year term with good resultsThe NationalStandards Bodies, established in terms of the South African QualificationsAuthority (SAQA) Act (No 58 of 1995) have in three years registered 103Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs), covering the most important nationalpriority areas in education and training, in addition to registering 64 newqualifications and 1878 new standards. Thisis according to the Chairman of the South African Qualifications Authority(SAQA), Dr Mokubung Nkomo, who thanked the representatives of SAQA’s 12National Standards Bodies for their enormous contribution to the development ofquality standards in education and training. DrNkomo says that the NSB term of office is three years, allowing for renewal ofthe structures and for new ideas and persons to be introduced every three years. “The representatives of the NSBs have now ended their three-year term with SAQA andnew representatives have been appointed to continue the good work started in thefirst cycle.” “They have played a pivotal role in getting the process started and deliveringtangible results”, says Dr Nkomo. The key responsibility of NSBs within the SAQA structure is to define and recommendstandards and qualifications to SAQA for registration on the NationalQualifications Framework (NQF). “In the short three-year term these NSBs – who represent six stakeholder groups,i.e. government, organised business, organised labour, education providers,critical interest groups and community and learner organisations, haveregistered 103 Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs) covering the most importantnational priority areas. Examples of a few of these priority areas are,education training and development, management, security, financial management,project management, and early childhood development, to name but a few.” “The 64 new qualifications and 1878 new standards that the NSBs have registered covereducation training and development, tourism, travel and gaming, early childhooddevelopment, schooling, mining, information technology, banking and insurance,adult basic education and training, language and communication and mathematicalliteracy.” “The registration of these qualifications represents a significant achievement in thedevelopment and establishment of a national quality assured system that meetsglobal standards.” “It is imperative that we set empowering and liberating standards that map viable learning pathways thatsupport life-long learning and produce thinking, productive citizens whoparticipate effectively in a vibrant economy,” says Dr Nkomo. The NQF resulted from a need to broaden the effectiveness of the country’s educationand training system in order to redress the imbalances of the past, ensuringthat the country grows and remains competitive in the global economy. SAQA, which came into being through the SAQA Act (No 58 of 1995), is responsible foroverseeing the development and implementation of the NQF. Its keyresponsibilities are to ensure that South Africa has an education and trainingsystem of the highest quality that is world class. It is a means for transforming education and training in South Africa and was designedspecifically to combine education and training into a single framework bybringing together separate education and training systems to form a single,national system. Policy Documents for ETQAs and ProvidersThe Authority has approved two documents, entitled Quality Management Systems for Education and Training Providers and Criteria and Guidelines for the Registration of Assessors, as policy and guideline texts. Quality Management Systems for Education and Training ProvidersThis document unpacks the concept of a quality management system (QMS). To this end, two main areas are given extensive coverage, namely the broad QMS models and the core criteria of aQMS. The following QMS Models are covered in the document:
The attention of the reader is then drawn to the core criteria of a quality management system, which are described in detail. The core criteria explained in the document are as follows:
Management system policies New SAQA MemberThe Minister of Education, in consultation with the Minister of Labour, has in terms of Section 4(4) of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995), appointed Professor Thea L Voogt as a co-opted member of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Professor Voogt, who is a chartered accountant and associate professor in accounting at the Rand Afrikaans University, has been appointed specifically for her financial expertise. National Learners’ Records Database – the "electronic NQF"The document is in no way intended to be prescriptive to providers. On the contrary, it is designed to provide providers with broad guidelines on which to base their QMSs, irrespective of the QMS model or combination of QMS models they choose to adopt. Criteria and Guidelines for the Registration of AssessorsThis document provides broad guidelines on the registration of constituent assessors by ETQAs, a function that forms part of the ETQAs’ quality assurance mandate. The issues covered in the document are as follows:
The requirements for registration as an assessor, which are discussed quite extensively in the document, are as follows:
Finally, the document provides information on individuals who could qualify as registered assessors. ETD practitioners include teachers, trainers, and lecturers, while non-ETD practitioners could be colleagues, supervisors and managers. Both documents are available on the SAQA website and the printed versions of these documents are expected to be available by November 2001. At the 38th SAQA meeting held on 10 October 2001, she was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson of the SAQA Finance Committee. The Authority and the SAQA Office wish to congratulate Professor Voogt on her appointment and look forward to utilising her expertise in advancing the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework and ensuring good governance of SAQA.. Recognition of Prior Learning. Achieving the Objectives of theNational Qualifications FrameworkWhat is Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)?RPL is the process whereby someone is given credit for skills, knowledge and capabilities that he/she may already have, regardless of where these skills have been learnt. It is recognised throughout the world that people never stop learning. They learn in their workplaces, in their communities, in their leisure activities and in any other situation that they may find themselves. However, these forms of learning were never previously recognised formally in South Africa. RPL – a priority in the emerging education and training system of South AfricaIn education and training in South Africa, RPL is considered to be an integral part of the new system. This is true to the extent that with every new qualification registered on the National Learners Records Database (NLRD), an indication must be provided as to whether it can in part, or wholly, be achieved through Recognition of Prior Learning. Some of the reasons for this are:
RPL – a SAQA priorityThe South African Qualifications Authority considers RPL as a priority. For this reason there are currently three RPL processes under way:
In order to get a sense of RPL practice in South Africa, SAQA has undertaken a scoping of pilots and projects that are currently under way. This information will be used to establish a ‘help desk’ at the SAQA offices. For any further information or inputs, please contact the following:
News from the Resource and Information CentreSAQAhas a resource and information centre, located in its Brooklyn offices inPretoria. TheCentre owns a collection that focuses mainly on national qualificationsframeworks, including those of other countries such as New Zealand, Australia,United Kingdom and more, and education in general. More specifically, it includes works on assessment, curriculum,outcomes-based education, and lifelong learning. There are also books onmanagement, leadership and customer services. Thecollection includes books, periodicals, conference proceedings, reports andaudio-visual material. There are tapes for the blind, carrying information onthe SAQA Act, NQF: An Overview, and the ETQA and NSB Regulations. Whilethe Centre provides a support service to SAQA staff and its stakeholders, it isalso open to members of the public for use as a reference library.Researchers, students, government departments, and other interested parties arewelcome to use it. Shouldyou wish to obtain more information on the Centre or to make an appointment tovisit us, please contact Ms. Ntsiki Gumbe at (012) 482-0836. SAQA WebsiteIn order to disseminate information to all its stakeholders and the public ingeneral, SAQA has a website - http://www.saqa.org.za.The website carries information on the history of the NQF, its objectives, thedifferent directorates at SAQA and their functions, SAQA publications andinformation on the SAQA sub-structures such as the NSBs, SGBs, and ETQAs.Notices that are published in the government gazette for public comment are alsoposted on the website. What’s newThe site has a What’s New page. Here you will find the latest documents that havebeen placed on the website. This information presently includes the SAQA2000/2001 Annual Report, and the papers that were presented at theQualifications Africa conference. This page also leads to pages with pressreleases, speeches and events related to SAQA. Contact usWewish to make our services as useful and effective as possible and we wouldtherefore appreciate your comments, concerns, suggestions, etc. on the websiteand its contents. A feedback form is available from most of the pages for thispurpose. You can also contact the website manager, Ms. Ntsiki Gumbe at (012)482-0836 or e-mail her at ngumbe@saqa.co.za. Please pass on any comments or suggestions to the SAQA CommunicationsOfficer, Ms. P. Baloyi; Qualifications and unit standards that have been approved by the SAQA Authority forregistration.
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