The National Qualifications Framework Brochure

SAQA’s Mission

To ensure the development and implementation of a National Qualifications Framework which contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large.

What is the NQF, and how did it come into being?

The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a Framework on which standardsand qualifications, agreed to by education and training stakeholders throughoutthe country, are registered. It came into being through the South AfricanQualifications Authority Act (No. 58 of 1995, Government Gazette No. 1521, 4October 1995), which provides for ‘the development and implementation of aNational Qualifications Framework’. The structure of the NQF is outlinedbelow:

What is the purpose of the NQF?

The NQF is a means for transforming education and training in South Africa.It has been designed to

• combine education and training into a single framework, and bring together separate education and training systems into a single, national system;

• make it easier for learners to enter the education and training system and to move and progress within it;

• improve the quality of education and training in South Africa;

• open up learning and work opportunities for those who were treated unfairly in the past because of their race or gender; and

• enable learners to develop to their full potential and thereby support the social and economic development of the country as a whole.

Who will implement the NQF?

The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), which also came into beingthrough the SAQA Act, is responsible for overseeing the development andimplementation of the NQF. However, all South Africans who have a stake ineducation and training, have the responsibility for ensuring that theimplementation of the NQF is successful – providers of education and training(e.g. schools, training centres), those who ensure the quality of that educationand training, and of course learners themselves.

SAQA itself comprises 29 members. These 29 Authority members represent avariety of education and training constituencies. The SAQA Act identifies thosesectors which can nominate representatives, and the Minister of Education inconsultation with the Minister of Labour appoints the Authority members.

How will SAQA oversee the development and implementation of the NQF?

• In the NQF, all learning is organised into twelve fields. These in turn are organised into a number of sub-fields. SAQA has established twelve National Standards Bodies (NSBs), one for each organising field. Members of NSBs are drawn from six constituencies: state departments, organised business, organised labour, providers of education and training, critical interest groups and community/learner organisations. Up to six members from each of these constituencies serve on an NSB. The NSBs recommend standards and qualifications for registration on the NQF to SAQA.

• Each of these NSBs is responsible for recognising, or establishing, Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs). SGBs in turn develop standards and qualifications and recommend them to the NSBs for registration. SGBs are formed according to sub-fields, and members of SGBs are key role-players drawn from the sub-field in question. For example, the SGB for Teacher Educators is made up of school teachers, professional teacher bodies, university, college and technikon teaching staff, etc.

• SAQA accredits Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies (ETQAs) to ensure that the education and training which learners receive is of the highest quality. ETQAs in turn accredit providers to offer education and training in accordance with the standards and qualifications registered on the NQF.

• The SAQA Office which is responsible for implementing the decisions of the Authority, is headed by the Executive Officer. There is a Standards Setting division and a Quality ~Assurance division. Other divisions include a Resource Centre, Communications and Secretariat, and the division for the Evaluation of Educational Qualifications.

• Two sets of Regulations have been published under the SAQA Act to enable SAQA to oversee the implementation of the NQF: the National Standards Bodies Regulations (Government Gazette No. 18787, 28 March 1998) and the Education and Training Quality Assurance Bodies Regulations (Government Gazette No. 19231, 8 September 1998). In addition, SAQA has drafted criteria and guidelines for the generation and evaluation of standards and qualifications and for the accreditation of ETQAs and providers. All these documents have been published on the SAQA website, and are available from the SAQA offices.

Who benefits from the National Qualifications Framework?

• Learners: benefit from quality education provision of qualifications that enjoy national recognition and where appropriate, international comparability;

• Workers: benefit from clear learning paths in the qualification structure, to facilitate and support life-long learning and career advancement;

• Employers: benefit from a work force, competent in the skills and attitudes required in the competitive global economy of which South Africa is a part;

• Society: benefits from a proud, learning nation with the intellectual ability to adapt swiftly to change, especially technological change.

• Building our new nation demands the establish-ment of an integrated education and training system which acknowledges the achievements of all learners equally and supports a learning nation.

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