Education in South Africa today is characterised by the use of acronyms to such an extent that the lay person often finds it nearly impossible to understand the gist of the message.
| CHE |
Council on Higher Education - Provides advice on HE issues to the minister; responsible for: quality assurance through HEQC accreditation; publishing and disseminating HE information including the annual report to parliament on the state of HE. |
| DE |
Distance Education - A mode of education where the learner and the teacher are not physically together and where learning takes place independent of place, space or time. |
| DoE |
Department of Education |
| DoL |
Department of Labour |
| ETD |
Education, Training and Development |
| ETQA |
Education and Training Quality Assuror - According to legislation, all education delivery has to be quality assured. To facilitate this certain bodies have been designated as overseers. |
| FET |
Further Education and Training - All post-school education and training other than university (higher education) education. This includes skills training and vocational and occupational education. |
| HE |
Higher Education - Post-school education and training at university level, including comprehensive universities and Institutes of Technology |
| HEQC |
Higher Education Quality Committee - A standing committee of the CHE responsible for the Quality Assurance of all Higher Education institutes and programmes |
| IMS |
Information Management System - Electronic systems designed and developed by educational institutions to keep track of student performance, management information and any other information necessary to maintain student records. |
| NAP |
New Academic Policy - A document originating from the DoE spelling out the policy for establishing and maintaining high quality sustainable education in South Africa. |
| NEPAD |
New Partnership for Africa's Development |
| NLRD |
National Learner Record Database |
| NPHE |
National Plan for Higher Education -The government plan for higher education. |
| NQF |
National Qualifications Framework - Creates the integrated national framework for learning achievements. Facilitates access to and mobility and progression within education, training and career paths. The aim of the NQF is to facilitate the accumulation and transfer of credits and qualifications between the different training sectors in South Africa. |
| PQM |
Programme and Qualification Mix - To avoid duplication and over-supply of qualifications emanating from public training institutions, the DoE applies certain criteria to allocate and fund subsidies from certain programmes to certain institutions. |
| PHEIs |
Private Higher Education Institutions - These are institutions that are accredited by the HEQC and which operate as private institutions, either for-profit or as non-profit organisations. These institutions get no state subsidies but are governed by the same Higher Education Act as the public institutions. They are also subject to the same stringent Quality Assurance criteria as the public institutions. |
| QA |
Quality Assurance - The processes and mechanisms in place to assure that deliver of quality education is commensurate with international standards. These processes are both internally managed and externally monitored. |
| RPL |
Recognition of Prior Learning - A procedure whereby previous formal learning, incidental learning and work and life experience are presented by means of a portfolio of evidence to be evaluated against criteria for a qualification. This is done in order to facilitate entry into the formal acquisition of a qualification in the case where it would not be possible to do so, for example because the learner was previously disadvantaged. |
| SAQA |
South African Qualifications Authority - SAQA ensures that South Africa has a standards setting system; a quality assurance system; a comprehensive information system on learners and qualifications. |
| SERTEC |
Certification Council for Technikon Education |
| SETAs |
Sectoral Education and Training Authorities |
| UMALUSI |
ETQA for the Further Education and Training Band |
| WPSR |
Workplace Skills Plan |
| WSP |
Workplace Skills Plan |
