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FAQ's - General Education

What is the DoE's role?
The Department of Education is the government department responsible for education at a national level. All private institutions and their programme offerings are required to be registered with the DoE.

What is the DoL's role?
The Department of Labour plays a significant role in reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality. Its policies and programmes are developed in consultation with social partners and are aimed at:

  • Improved economic efficiency and productivity
  • Skills development and employment creation
  • Sound labour relations
  • Eliminating inequality and discrimination in the workplace
  • Alleviating poverty in employment
What is the role of SAQA?
The South African Qualifications Authority is a body of 29 members appointed by the Ministers of Education and Labour. Its functions include:
  • Ensuring that standards and qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) are comparable with international standards and qualifications.
  • Overseeing the development of the NQF by formulating and publishing policies and criteria for the registration of the bodies responsible for establishing education and training standards or qualifications.
  • Overseeing the implementation of the NQF by ensuring the registration, accreditation and assignment of functions to the above mentioned bodies, as well as the registration of national standards and qualifications on the framework. It also aims to ensure that provisions for accreditation are complied with. Where appropriate registered standards and qualifications are internationally comparable.
What is the NQF?
The National Qualifications Framework is the set of principles and guidelines which facilitate the registration of learner achievement. Its purpose is to give national recognition to those who have acquired certain skills and knowledge and, in so doing, ensure an integrated system that encourages lifelong learning.

Qualifications and standards registered according to the NQF establish the learning outcomes that a learner is expected to have demonstrated.

The NQF has eight levels which are divided into three bands:

  • the General Education and Training (GET) band, which includes ABET (Adult Basic Education and Training) and compulsory schooling;
  • the Further Education and Training (FET) band, and
  • the Higher Education and Training (HET) band.
NQF LEVEL BAND QUALIFICATION TYPE
8

HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 Post-doctoral research degrees
Doctorates
Masters degrees
7 Professional qualifications
Honours degrees
6 National first degrees
Higher diplomas
5 National diplomas
National certificates
FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING CERTIFICATE
4

FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING CERTIFICATE

 National certificates
3
2
GENERAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING CERTIFICATE
2

GENERAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 Grade 9; ABET Level 4
National certificates

What is Further Education and Training (FET)?
Further Education and Training (FET) is that area of learning which, in the past, provided qualifications such as Standards 8 to 10 (provided by schools and technical colleges) and the National Technical Certificates (NTCs) 1 to 3 (usually provided by technical colleges). The Further Education and Training band refers to the qualifications between levels 2 to 4 on the National Qualification's framework.

What is Higher Education (HE)?
Higher Education refers to all learning programmes providing qualifications higher than grade 12 or its equivalent in terms of the National Qualifications Framework, and includes tertiary education. The HE band currently constitutes levels 5 and above on the NQF.

What is the Council on Higher Education's function?
The Council on Higher Education (CHE) is responsible for quality assurance in higher education in South Africa. This responsibility is discharged through the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). The mandate of the HEQC includes quality promotion and capacity development, institutional audit and institutional and programme accreditation.

What is UMALUSI?
UMALUSI is responsible for quality assurance in the general and further education and training bands of the NQF. The Council ensures that the education and training providers have the capacity to deliver and assess qualifications and learning programmes in light of the expected quality standards.

What is a SETA?
A Sector Education and Training Authority is a body established under the Skills Development Act (RSA, 1998c) whose main purpose is to contribute to the improvement of skills in South Africa through achieving a more favourable balance between demand and supply, and by ensuring that education and training:

  • acknowledges and enhances the skills of the current work force and ensuring that
  • new entrants to the labour market are adequately trained;
  • meets agreed standards within a national framework;
  • is provided subject to validation and quality assurance; and
  • where appropriate, is benchmarked against international standards (NTB, 1999).
What is an ETQA?
An Education and Training Quality Assurance body is responsible for monitoring and auditing the level of achievement of national standards or qualifications offered by providers and to which specific functions have been assigned by SAQA.

Can a Training Provider be accredited by more than one ETQA?
All providers, regardless of the sector in which they are active, can be accredited by only one ETQA. the need arises, it is the responsibility of this constituent ETQA to establish Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with other ETQAs if their providers are offering programmes that fall outside of the primary focus of that ETQA. MoUs may be concluded, for example, in terms of the following:

  • approval for programmes offered by their constituent providers which fall within the area of responsibility of other ETQAs;
  • joint quality assurance of programme delivery where such programmes overlap with the primary focus of two (or more) ETQAs; and/or
  • sharing of responsibilities and expertise.
What is the difference between Registration and Accreditation?
Registration means to be registered as a provider in terms of relevant legislation.

Accreditation means the certification, usually for a particular period of time, of a person, a body or an institution as having the capacity to fulfill a particular function in the quality assurance system set up by the South African Qualifications Authority.

While the term 'registration' is associated with the "right to practise", 'accreditation' is associated with the "ability to practise".

What is the difference between a Qualification and a Learning Programme?
A qualification is a learning outcome or the formal recognition of the achievement of learning. It is characterised by learning outcomes - critical cross- field and specific outcomes - which provide the learner with opportunities for lifelong learning. All qualifications need to be registered on SAQA's National Qualification's Framework.

A learning programme is the process one embarks upon with the aim of achieving a qualification. It is a provider-specific course or programme offered to learners against a particular qualification and is subject to quality assurance by an accredited ETQA and therefore cannot be registered on the National Qualifications Framework.

What is a specific outcome?
Outcomes are the statements of desired education and training results directly related to a particular course/ programme. They are the demonstrable and assessable end products of a learning process as they specify what learning is to be achieved.

What are the critical cross-field outcomes?
Critical cross- field outcomes are statements of what learners know and how they integrate "generic abilities" - elements such as problem solving, decision making, communication - to demonstrate achievement.

What is a Skills Programme?
A Skills Programme, a type of short learning programme that is occupationally based and when completed will constitute credits towards a qualification registered in terms of the National Qualifications Framework.

What is a Short Course?
A short course is a type of short learning programme through which a learner may or may not be awarded credits, depending on the purpose of the programme.

A Credit-bearing short course is a type of short learning programme that awards credits in relation to the course's contribution to a particular programme, unit standard and/or (part) qualification. These contain less than 120 credits, e.g. Skills programmes leading to the achievement of credits in relation to a qualification;

A Non-credit-bearing short course is a type of short learning programme for which no credits are awarded e.g. Programmes where less than 1 credit can be awarded.

What is a Learnership?
A learnership is a contract between a learner, employer and a training provider leading to the acquisition of National Qualifications and/or credits towards National Qualifications. Such a contract combines theory and practice and exist for a specified period.

What is a Unit Standard?
A unit standard is a description of the outcomes of learning for which the learner will receive credit.

What is a Credit?
A credit is the value given to unit standards and qualifications and is based on the number of 'notional' hours it takes an average learner to achieve the outcomes of that unit standard. One credit is equal to 10 notional hours.

What is RPL?
Recognition of Prior Learning is the formal identification, assessment and acknowledgement of the full range of a person's knowledge, skills and capabilities acquired through formal, informal or non-formal training, on-the-job or life experience.

What is OBE?
Outcomes-based education is a method of teaching that focuses on what students can actually do or demonstrate after they are taught. All curriculum and teaching decisions are made based on how best to facilitate the desired outcome.

What is Experiential Learning?
Experiential learning is knowledge and/or skills learned through experience, rather than through a formal course or class.

“Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”

Malcom S. Forbes