CHAPTER SIX

Governance, institutional development and legislation

This chapter outlines a new framework for FET governance, institutional development and legislation. The framework is based on the concepts and principles outlined in chapter 3, in particular the principles of co-operative governance, co-ordination, state steering, and institutional autonomy. 

1. The present position

1.1 The FET band in the NQF brings under one umbrella all learning programmes that follow GET and precede HE. It is a simple, integrative concept. However, as the Green Paper has shown, the organisation and governance of FET are anything but simple and coherent.

1.2 The most significant changes in FET governance since 1994 have stemmed from our democratic Constitution, under which the separate racial and ethnic departments of state, institutions and governance structures were outlawed. While this fragmentation no longer pertains, the organisation and governance of FET continue, nonetheless, to be marked by both vertical and horizontal divisions.

1.3 The division of responsibility for education and training between the labour and education portfolios, in particular, is a significant complicating factor with respect to the achievement of a fully integrated education and training system. The Skills Development Bill proposed by the DoL will establish separate structures for the governance of training across the different bands of the NQF, and separate mechanisms for the funding of training, including the new learnerships which education and training providers will provide in terms of prescribed learnership agreements.

1.4 The principle of an `integrated approach' to education and training underlies the South African Qualifications Authority Act (Act 58 of 1995), and the assumption behind the NQF is that a single national learning system can and will be brought about. While co-operation between the education and labour portfolios, and across the education and training divides, is possible and does take place, the reality is that the DoE and the DoL presently have substantially different responsibilities and modes of operation with respect to FET.

1.5 A different allocation of responsibilities and functions exists within the education sphere, between the national and provincial authorities. The provincial education authorities are responsible for funding and running FET in schools and colleges, while the national Ministry has overall policy responsibility and responsibility for norms and standards. The Minister has concurrent legislative responsibility with provincial MECs.

1.6 To complicate matters further, many of the institutions in the FET band offer programmes which extend downwards into GET or upwards into HE. Almost no provider offers only FET. Providers in the FET band, then, do not fall neatly, for the purposes of governance, into a single FET category. Moreover, as will be seen in the concluding section of this chapter, systemic and institutional weaknesses among FET providers are such that changes in governance, and the development of a coherent policy framework for FET, will be little more than paper exercises, unless accompanied by significant system change and institutional development.

1.7 In short, the integration of education and training, policy coherence, governance of the band, and co-ordination of provision, cannot be realised within the framework of existing arrangements or of existing systemic and institutional capacities. At the same time, constitutional constraints, and the separation of portfolio responsibilities, place difficulties in the path of integration and co-ordination.

1.8 The governance measures outlined below, while they fall short of the goal of a fully integrated approach to education and training, seek within the given constraints to bring about greater coherence and co-ordination, through the development of new advisory and governance mechanisms, new strategic planning processes, and a principled and pragmatic approach to system change and institutional development. The Ministry believes that the measures outlined here constitute a significant, and vitally necessary, step in the right direction. Indeed, nothing less is required, if the challenges outlined in the first five chapters of the Green Paper are to be met.

2. Principles

2.1 The philosophical and practical bases upon which the governance proposals rest are outlined in the first five chapters of the Green Paper. These chapters, broadly speaking, provide the context and motivation for the proposals which follow. However, it is important to restate here the core principles and beliefs which directly inform these proposals.

2.2 These may be summarised as follows:

• The national government is responsible for determining FET policy in the interests of the country as a whole.
• Government will most effectively carry out its role, especially in as complex and diverse a field as FET, through a strategy of `steering'. In general terms, this means that government will not seek to direct the system, for example through centralised planning, but that it will guide its development through a range of co-ordinating and consultative mechanisms, incentives, and monitoring and reporting requirements. At the national level, state steering will involve the determination of broad policy, the setting of national priorities and targets, the use of earmarked funding, and the monitoring of performance. At the provincial level, the education authorities will guide the development of the FET system through the determination of provincial policies and goals, consultation with providers and stakeholders, the review and approval of institutional and sectoral plans, the allocation of funds, and the monitoring of performance.
• The inclusion of the social partners in advisory structures, together with other measures, is intended to promote flexibility and responsiveness and to foster a robust partnership for change. Government needs to act in partnership with stakeholders, in a system of participatory governance, in order to develop balanced and effective policies, to mobilise skills and resources, and to involve stakeholders in the process of transformation.
• A balance must be found between the roles of the state and the market in shaping the development of the system. Government has responsibility for policy, and provides much of the funding for public FET institutions. However, the private sector is a major stakeholder and contributes significantly to FET provision. Apart from the direct interests of the private sector in FET, the market has a role to play in promoting flexibility and responsiveness and in driving up quality.
• Governance must provide a mechanism for ensuring policy coherence and system co-ordination in accordance with national needs and priorities. It must at the same time be flexible and responsive to varied and changing contexts and demands, including different provincial, regional and local situations, and it must be based upon the division of powers provided for in the Constitution.

3. A new governance framework

3.1 National governance

3.1.1 The Ministry and Department of Education

The national government has responsibility for ensuring the social and economic development of our young democracy, and for promoting the welfare and advancement of all our people. Education and training in general, and FET, in particular, have a critical role to play in under-pinning the country's macro-economic policies and development strategy, and in laying the foundations for a more just and equitable society. The national government, accordingly, has a vital interest in and responsibility for the development and implementation of effective national FET policy.

The Minister of Education is responsible for the determination of national policy for education and training in schools and colleges in the FET band. The Minister is also responsible for determining norms and standards, including funding norms, curriculum requirements and quality assurance mechanisms. The Minister, accordingly, will:

• determine the broad goals and objectives for the transformation of publicly funded schools and colleges in the FET band
• guide the development of the FET school and college sectors through the establishment and operation of an effective governance, financial and regulatory framework for FET
• consult with the Minister of Labour with a view to co-ordinating national policy for education and training in the FET band
• exercise his/her powers and responsibilities with a view to meeting the constitutional requirement that the state, through reasonable measures, make FET progressively available and accessible, and
• report annually to Parliament on the state of FET in the country.

In exercising these responsibilities, the Minister will, as provided by the National Education Policy Act, 1996, consult with the Council of Education Ministers (CEM). The Minister will also be advised by the proposed NBFET, as set out below and will appoint the members of the Board, including the Chairperson, following a process of public nominations.

The DoE will:

• provide professional support to the Minister with regard to the development of national FET policy, taking into account the advice of the NBFET
• maintain professional relations with the DoL and other departments of state, and participate in the proposed Inter-Departmental Committee
• provide secretarial services to the NBFET
• maintain an effective and up-to-date FET education management information system
• co-ordinate a management development strategy for FET
• monitor and advise on revisions to the FET funding norms and funding formula
• administer national examinations for FET colleges and co-ordinate quality assurance functions, and
• in consultation with the NBFET, develop guidelines for the review by provincial advisory bodies of FET college plans and provincial aggregated plans for the FET school sector.

3.1.2 The National Board for Further Education and Training

The establishment of the NBFET is a central element of the Ministry's proposals for a transformed and reinvigorated FET system.

FET, it has been noted, sits at the crossroads between GET, work, and HE.

While a fully integrated education and training system is not immediately achievable, given current realities, the NBFET will foster relationships and build consensus between government and its social partners, strengthen the linkages between FET programmes and providers and work, and promote innovation, quality, flexibility and responsiveness.

The Ministry expects the Board to play a leading strategic role in conceptualising and promoting the development of a new, responsive national FET system. The Minister will consult the Board on the development of the national policy framework for a transformational FET system, the determination of national goals and objectives, the establishment of a regulatory framework and steering mechanisms, and the development of effective strategies for transformation.

The functions of the NBFET will be to:

• advise the Minister on national FET policy, goals and priorities
• advise the Minister on norms and standards, including funding norms and the terms, purposes and conditions of earmarked grants
• receive reports on FET from provincial advisory bodies
• monitor and report annually to the Minister on the goals and performance of the national FET system, and
• analyse and disseminate information about FET.

The Board will be headed by a Chairperson, appointed by the Minister of Education after consultation with the Minister of Labour. The Chair will be supported by an Executive Committee, which will be responsible for guiding the work of the Board and overseeing its management and administration.

The Board will be supported by a secretariat, headed by a Director located in the DoE.

Members of the Board will be appointed by the Minister following a process of public nominations. Members will be appointed on the basis of their expertise with respect to FET, their understanding of the critical role of FET in national reconstruction and development, and their commitment to the development of a transformed, responsive, high quality FET system. In making appointments to the Board, the Minister will give due consideration to the issues of race and gender representivity.

While some members of the Board will have been nominated by stakeholder bodies, they will be appointed by the Minister in their personal capacities. All members of the Board will be expected to attend to the interests of the FET system as a whole, as well as to their own field of experience.

In order to promote the integration of education and training, encourage the co-ordination of government policy, and enhance the contribution of FET to social and economic development, membership of the Board will include the following representatives of government departments, nominated by the Minister or political head of the department concerned:

• the Co-ordination and Implementation Unit in the Presidency
• the Department of Labour
• the Department of Trade and Industry
• the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
• provincial Departments of Education, nominated through the Heads of Education Department Committee (HEDCOM) (2 or 3 representatives)
• The national Department of Education.

The following statutory bodies will be represented on the Board:

• the Council on Higher Education
• the National Skills Authority
• the South African Qualifications Authority
• the National Youth Commission.

The number of members representing state departments and statutory bodies will comprise not more than half the membership of the Board, excluding the Chairperson.

3.1.3 Inter-governmental co-ordination and co-ordination within government

The co-ordination of education and training policy in the FET band is, as noted earlier, complicated by the horizontal and vertical division of responsibility, between the DoE and the DoL, on the one hand, and on the other, the national and provincial education authorities. The Ministry, therefore, has given considerable thought to the question of inter-governmental co-ordination, and to the implementation of a coherent but flexible governance framework for FET.

Horizontal Co-ordination:

The establishment of SAQA, through legislation jointly sponsored by the Ministers of Education and Labour, demonstrates that horizontal co-ordination, between the education and labour portfolios, is achievable in some circumstances. SAQA has responsibility for promoting quality assurance and quality management throughout the education and training system, including FET.

However, it is not yet clear how the education portfolio is to be represented on the National Skills Authority (NSA) proposed in the Skills Development Bill of the DoL, or on the SETAs. The Minister of Labour may choose to exercise his discretion in this regard, but no provision is currently made for statutory representation of the Education Ministry. These issues will need to be resolved.

Clearly, if co-ordination between the DoE and the DoL cannot be fully achieved, there is a need for complementarity between the education and training strategies adopted by the two Ministries. Further, there is a need to include other, key government departments in the shaping of a national human resources development (HRD) strategy. To this end, the Ministry proposes to invite nominations from other departments of state to the NBFET. In addition, the Ministry supports government's decision to establish an Inter-Departmental Committee on Human Resources Development, as approved by the Cabinet following its consideration of the Skills Development Bill.

The Inter-Departmental Committee, to be jointly convened by the Ministers of Education and Labour, will include:

• the Minister for Public Service and Administration
• the Minister for Health
• the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
• the Minister of Trade and Industry
• the Minister of Minerals and Energy
• the Minister for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development.

Vertical Co-ordination:

Co-ordination between the national and provincial education authorities is shaped by the provisions of the Constitution with respect to the control of education and training, other than HE, and by the provisions of the National Education Policy Act, 1995.

The Minister consults with the CEM on national policy and norms and standards for education and training conducted at the provincial level, including FET. MECs should be assisted by provincial FET consultation bodies which will advise the MEC on provincial strategies and priorities for FET, and on the approval of institutional and sectoral plans for public colleges and schools respectively.

Cross representation between the NBFET and the CHE will assist in dealing with issues which are of common interest to FET and HE, such as:

• issues of articulation and transfer between the bands
• entry requirements and admissions policies for HE
• accreditation and inter-institutional collaboration
• quality assurance, and
• the policies affecting those institutions - such as the present technical colleges - which straddle the FET and HE bands.

3.2 Provincial governance

The roles and responsibilities of provincial education authorities under the Constitution have been alluded to earlier. Consultation between the national and provincial authorities occurs via the mechanisms of the CEM and HEDCOM.

In the following sections, proposals for the governance of FET in the provinces, and the relationships and linkages between the national and provincial levels, are set out. These proposals take as points of departure the provisions of the National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996) and the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996). In addition, they provide for the establishment of provincial advisory bodies for FET, the determination of provincial goals and objectives within the framework of national FET policy, and the review and approval of FET plans.

3.2.1 Provincial MECs and Departments of Education

The MEC for Education has constitutional responsibility for education and training in FET schools and colleges in the province. Accordingly, the MEC:

• determines provincial FET policy, within the parameters of national policy
• ensures that the state, through reasonable measures, makes FET progressively available and accessible
• guides the development of the FET school and college sectors, by approving an aggregated plan for the school sector, and the institutional mission and plans of FET colleges
• determines financial allocations to FET, in accordance with national and provincial policies and in accordance with national norms and standards, and
• reports annually to the provincial legislature on the state of FET in the province.
• The role of the provincial Departments of Education is to:
• provide professional support to the MEC with respect to the development of provincial FET policy. In providing this support, a department will take into account the advice of provincial advisory bodies for FET (see below)
• allocate funding for FET schools and colleges
• administer FET schools, in accordance with the provisions of the South African Schools Act of 1996 and other provincial laws
• develop an aggregated plan for FET schooling in the province
• approve FET college plans, on the advice of the provincial advisory body, and (when the new funding framework is fully applied) enter into a specific funding contract with each college on the basis of its plans
• maintain an effective and up-to-date education management information system, and
• register private schools and colleges.

The provincial Departments of Education will need to ensure that organisational structures and capacity are in place to direct, plan and monitor provincial FET strategy.

The NBFET and the national DoE will be available to assist and advise the provincial Departments of Education in order to establish the systems and build the capacity necessary for the co-ordination and monitoring of FET at the provincial level.

3.2.2 Provincial advisory bodies

Provinces are responsible for funding and running FET in schools and colleges. It is the decisions and policies of the provincial education authorities that will shape the development of the FET system in the province, and determine the extent to which this accords with provincial social and economic requirements and objectives.

To be meaningful, the involvement of stakeholders is necessary not only at the national level, where national policy and norms and standards are determined, but at the level where direct executive and financial responsibility for provision is exercised.

The active involvement and participation of both government and civil society must be consistently followed through in all nine provinces. This means that provincial MECs must establish, within a reasonable period of time, and where they have not already done so, advisory bodies which will advise the MEC on FET.

Provincial advisory bodies for FET will:

• advise the MEC on the implications for provincial FET of national policies, targets and priorities
• advise the MEC on provincial FET policy, goals and priorities
• consider the Annual Report on FET from the NBFET
• prepare an Annual Provincial Report on FET
• monitor the performance of the provincial FET system
• advise the provincial DoE on the approval of college plans
• review an aggregated plan for FET schools in the province and submit comments to the MEC, and
• publish and disseminate information about FET.

4. Institutional governance

4.1 Schools in the FET band

4.1.1 The South African Schools Act, 1996, is the basis for the governance of all public schools, including schools in the FET band.

4.1.2 The Ministry encourages schools in the FET band to consider as criteria for the appointment of members of school governing bodies the need to strengthen the ties between schools, communities and employers as well as between schools and HE.

4.2 Publicly-funded colleges

4.2.1 In order to promote the development of a vigorous, enterprising, innovative FET college sector, the Ministry has as a goal the progressive devolution to colleges of substantially increased autonomy, under the terms of a new Further Education and Training Act. The Act will recognise only two types of FET college: public and private. It will provide for the composition, powers and functions of College Governing Councils, Academic Boards, Student Representative Councils and management of all public FET colleges.

4.2.2 In terms of the Act, the present, rigid distinctions between college types, including the distinction between state and state-aided colleges, will fall away. All FET colleges will in principle be enabled to offer FET programmes across the full spectrum of provision, in accordance with their mission, the needs of their clients and stakeholders, and their resources and capacity. The Ministry expects that while some colleges may become open access, comprehensive institutions along the lines of the community college model, others may focus more specifically on meeting the needs of particular industries, economic sectors or communities. Colleges will be free to reflect the mission and role of the institution in the institutional name.

4.2.3 While the Ministry is committed to the development of an expanded and vibrant college sector, as a key component of a transformed FET system, it is also acutely aware of both systemic and institutional weaknesses in the sector, as it is presently constituted.

4.2.4 In order to address these concerns, and to ensure a sound foundation for a future college system, there must be a systematic reorganisation of the college sector, a programme of capacity building and institutional transformation and a progressive devolution of powers to institutions, in a phased programme of implementation, and on the basis of their demonstrated capacity to exercise such powers effectively and responsibly.

4.2.5 The governance of FET colleges will have three main elements:

• the establishment of representative College Councils, with powers to approve the college's mission, plans and budgets, appoint and dismiss college staff and management, and enter into legal agreements
• the establishment of Academic Boards, representative of the teaching staff and academic leadership of the college, with responsibility for determining the instructional programmes of the college and for establishing internal monitoring and quality assurance procedures, and
• the establishment of Student Representative Councils, to give expression to the interests and concerns of students, and to represent the student body on the Academic Board and College Council.

4.2.6 College Councils will be appointed by the MEC for Education in the province, after a process of public nomination. External stakeholders will form a majority of at least 60% of the membership of Council. In appointing external members of Council, the following principles will be observed:

• The Chairperson of Council and other office bearers may not be members of the staff or management of the institution concerned.
• Organised business, labour and community constituencies must be assured effective representation on Council.
• Provision must be made, in the appointment of the Council at each institution, for the representation of specific constituencies and interest groups in accordance with the particular mission and role of the college concerned.
• Teaching and non-teaching staff must be represented on Council.
• The student body must be represented on Council.
• External members of Council will be appointed in the first instance on the basis of their ability, as evidenced by their experience, expertise and stature in their field or community, to guide the processes of institutional transformation, promote a responsive and entrepreneurial institutional ethos, assist college management in the development of the institutional mission and plans, and oversee the management of the college and its financial and other affairs.
• Specific attention will be given in the appointment of College Councils to the promotion of race and gender representivity.

4.2.7 In some cases, a single Colleges Council could be made responsible for the governance of two or more colleges. This may occur either at the request of the Councils of the colleges concerned, or where the MEC for Education considers this to be in the best interests of the institutions or in the public interest. In the latter case, the MEC will be obliged to consider representations from all relevant parties before reaching a decision.

4.3 Private providers

Private providers will be required to register with the provincial Departments of Education, and will be subject to quality assurance mechanisms determined by the Minister.

4.4 Work-based training

Enterprise-based training is governed in terms of the relevant labour legislation. The proposed Skills Development Bill of the DoL will establish a NSA, and SETAs, with responsibility for regulating and funding training, including learnership agreements.

5. Institutional development

5.1 The developmental challenge

5.1.1 The governance of FET, policy coherence, and strategic planning to meet national, provincial and local needs and priorities, ideally should rest on a foundation of effective and efficient institutional providers of FET, in public schools and colleges. In the new South Africa, however, no such foundation can be assumed. The transformation of education and training is under way, but far from complete, and the irrationalities, waste and injustices of apartheid remain everywhere visible. The effects of past policies endure in the authoritarian management cultures, poor institutional ethos, lack of commitment to teaching and learning, and negative individual values and attitudes that are in evidence in many of our FET schools and colleges and in parts of our training system.

5.1.2 For these reasons, the Ministry believes that the transformation and development of FET institutions, together with staff and management development, is integral to the establishment of a new governance, policy and planning framework. Without change within FET institutions and in the people who live and work there, and without restructuring of the institutional arrangements and institutional landscape that characterise the sector, the new co-ordinated system cannot come into being.

Accordingly, the Green Paper sets out below a framework for transformation which addresses systemic and institutional change as well as HRD.

5.2 The present FET system

5.2.1 Well-managed and effective FET institutions do presently exist. However, the challenge that faces FET is not simply to preserve so-called centres of excellence but to harness the full creative potential of all FET institutions and staff. A strongly developmental approach will be needed to address the many problems and difficulties which the legacy of the past poses for the present and the future of FET.

5.2.2 In the Ministry's view, four major challenges must be met, if South Africa is to develop a coherent, co-ordinated and responsive FET system:

• Institutional capacity must be developed.
• Organisational cultures must be transformed.
• Systemic change must be promoted, through new institutional linkages and the reorganisation of the institutional landscape.
• Staff and management development must be strongly promoted.

5.3 Developing institutional capacity

5.3.1 The vision of a new FET system confronts FET schools and colleges with new challenges and opportunities. Meeting these will require a systematic and sustained programme of institutional capacity building. While government will play an important role, the clients and stakeholders in FET - employers, parents, communities, and the education and training providers themselves - will bear a considerable part of the responsibility for change.

5.3.2 Some of the areas in which institutional capacity building will be needed include:

• management capacity development
• management and information systems
• strategic planning
• marketing and recruitment
• student information services and counseling
• student admissions, placement and tracking
• provision of technology and equipment for applied learning
• distance education co-ordination
• co-ordination of learnerships
• industry-responsive fee-for-service training and other services, and
• applied research and development.

5.4 Changing organisational cultures

5.4.1 While some FET providers have developed organisational cultures which are based on the principles of democracy and transparency, which promote participation, and which facilitate flexibility, responsiveness and innovation, many more have not. Authoritarian management, hierarchical work organisation, and rule-bound and unimaginative work practices which are insulated from the experience of learners and the needs and demands of work, are all too prevalent in our FET system. Changing organisational cultures is therefore a central task in the construction of a new FET system.

5.4.2 Changing the culture and ethos of organisations requires more than capacity building; it requires changing the values, meanings and practices of organisational life. This is a major task for the Ministry, the NBFET, the provincial education authorities, institutional leadership and external stakeholders, for which resources must be made available in the new funding framework.

5.5 New institutional arrangements

5.5.1 New institutional arrangements, and a reorganisation of the institutional landscape, particularly with respect to the FET college sector, are prerequisites for the development of a more efficient and effective FET system. This view is based upon the following:

• Limited human and other resources, and the need to achieve economies of scale, call for greater co-operation and resource-sharing between institutions.
• In some cases, where institutions may not be viable in their present form, the state may need to intervene to bring about the necessary institutional reorganisation through, for example, the combining of institutions into multi-campus providers, institutional mergers, or even, in certain cases, closure.
• New institutional linkages, in the form of partnership and consortium arrangements, and new institutional groupings, in the form of clustering or mergers, may in certain cases serve to promote redress, strengthen institutional capacity, encourage necessary changes in the institutional culture, and enable institutions to extend their programme mix to meet new demands or opportunities.

5.5.2 The Ministry believes that significant opportunities exist for sharing and co-operation, not only with respect to infrastructure or resources, but as regards goods and services. Institutions could, for example, form purchasing consortia, share the administrative or support services provided by one institution, or jointly out-source particular functions. Similarly, institutions might join together to offer particular programmes, to develop a community outreach initiative, or to establish an open learning model.

5.5.3 A number of possibilities have been considered for the reorganisation of schools in the FET band. The underlying concern of the Ministry is to broaden the range of learning opportunities available to young people, and to strengthen the linkages between schooling and work, whilst ensuring that a foundation is laid for lifelong learning and for progression into HE.

5.5.4 Linkages between schools in the FET band, between colleges and schools, as well as between FET colleges, could broaden considerably the learning opportunities available to youth of school-going age as well as to young adults, the employed and the unemployed.

5.5.5 In the longer term, the provision of post-compulsory schooling by public schools and colleges may result in growing convergence between the two institutional forms, and at least in some cases, the transformation of secondary schools into colleges.

5.5.6 With respect to the FET college sector, the Ministry is of the view that government must take responsibility for reorganising the institutional and systemic landscape, as a necessary first step towards the creation of an expanded, responsive, high quality college system. Such reorganisation will need to be based upon sound information, provided through a detailed situational analysis of college provision at the provincial level, and be undertaken in consultation with the institutions and stakeholders concerned.

5.5.7 Depending on the circumstances, a range of options could be considered, to promote efficiency and effectiveness, ensure responsiveness, address equity and redress considerations, and to enable the FET college system to meet the challenges of expansion and diversification. Clustering arrangements, partnerships and consortia, the establishment of multi-campus institutions and institutional mergers and closures are all possibilities.

5.5.8 To facilitate the reorganisation of the FET college sector, the Ministry will, in addition to undertaking a situational analysis of the colleges in collaboration with provincial education authorities:

• propose the submission of three- to five-year development plans by all FET colleges. These plans should be considered by the provincial education authorities and the provincial FET advisory bodies, as an important preliminary step towards the reorganisation of the college sector in the provinces
• establish a national quality framework and system of performance indicators, and 
• introduce a national grading mechanism to identify and categorise levels of institutional capacity, as a basis for the phased devolution of delegated powers.

5.6 Staff development

5.6.1 Staff are a key strategic resource for FET, and account for the major share of the education budget. The challenge with respect to staff development is to create a new institutional and work ethos, characterised by co-operation, multi-skilling, teamwork, flexibility, quality and service orientation. In addition good management is of fundamental importance to the quality and vitality of all education and training systems and the new management paradigm has been spelled out in the Ministerial Task Team Report: Changing Management to Manage Change in Education (1996).

5.6.2 Staff and management development initiatives will need, among other things, to:

• encourage continuing professional development of teachers and trainers
• empower managers to move away from narrow, rules-driven modes of operation, and to develop initiative, decision-making and strategic planning skills, as well as inter-personal and leadership skills
• build policy, strategy and system management capacity at the national, provincial and institutional levels
• empower institutional governing bodies to carry out their roles and functions in an effective and proactive manner
• provide management training for institutional heads and senior administrative staff in leadership, human and labour relations, financial management, resource generation, quality assurance and other areas
• promote equal opportunity and equity, with a view to ensuring that staff and management come to reflect the wider demographic composition of society
• provide training in curriculum planning, design, and development, learning materials development and evaluation, and innovative teaching methodologies and assessment strategies
• build capacity in community liaison and needs assessment, and
• promote linkages with the private sector, through internships, mentoring arrangements and other strategies.

5.6.3 The funding framework must set aside resources for staff development and management capacity building. Benchmarks for institutional performance in this respect should be developed, and linked to institutions' three- to five-year development plans. Institutional management and staff will need to ensure that a new culture, of autonomous, continuous professional development is established. Progress in this regard will need to become part of institutional quality assurance and quality promotion strategies and of staff and management performance appraisal systems.

6. Legislation

6.1 To give effect to the new FET system outlined in the Green Paper, and to the governance proposals outlined in this chapter, the Ministry will introduce a Further Education and Training Bill.

6.2 The FET Bill is to be read together with the South African Schools Act, 1996, which provides the governance and funding framework for schools, and with the National Education Policy Act, 1996, which provides for the national and intergovernmental consultation framework.

6.3 Regulations to be drafted in terms of Section 11(1)(b) of the National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996) will provide for the establishment of the NBFET.

6.4 The new FET Bill will provide for:

• the conceptual framework for FET and its mission
• the planning and funding framework for FET
• the recognition of two categories of FET colleges: public and private
• the establishment of College Councils, Academic Boards and Student Representative Councils at public colleges
• the powers, functions and accountability of College governing bodies and college management, including the power to determine the college's mission and its strategic plans, and
• clarification of the role of FET colleges with respect to the provision of HE programmes.

7. Implementation

7.1 The new FET governance system will be introduced in phases. The NBFET will be established at an early stage, to provide stakeholder input and national leadership, in conjunction with the national DoE, and under the overall direction of the Minister, for the transformation of FET to meet new national needs and priorities.

7.2 The NBFET and the national DoE will assist as appropriate with the establishment of provincial advisory bodies. Provincial advisory bodies for FET will be introduced in all provinces by a date to be determined by the Minister. During the transitional period, provinces will proceed at their own pace in introducing provincial advisory bodies.

7.3 Notwithstanding this latter provision, aggregated school sector plans, and FET college plans, will be submitted to the national or provincial advisory councils, as applicable, in accordance with the timetable determined by the Minister for the implementation of the new framework.

7.4 The Ministry will consult with the NBFET, and work closely with provincial education authorities and advisory bodies, to develop and encourage new institutional linkages and relationships, and where necessary to reorganise and restructure existing institutions. Earmarked funding will be set aside for staff and management development and capacity building at the national, provincial and institutional levels. Through these and other means, the Ministry will over time ensure that strong and vibrant institutions are enabled to take their place, and play an effective role, in an expanded, responsive, high quality FET system.

What this chapter means in practice

The national education authorities, under the leadership and direction of the Minister, and the provincial authorities, under the guidance of the MEC for Education, will oversee the transformation of FET, through the development and co-ordination of national and provincial policies and through the processes of strategic planning.

The social partners, and stakeholders in FET, will have an important role to play in advising on national and provincial policies and plans and in monitoring and reporting on the state of the FET system. New advisory bodies will be established.

The Ministry will take active steps to build institutional, staff and management capacity, in order that all FET providers are enabled to play their full part in a transformed FET system.

The FET college system will be reorganised into two categories: public and private. Powers of self-management will be devolved to public colleges as their capacity is developed. Public colleges will develop strong institutional missions, either as specialised institutions or as broad-based community service institutions.

The new governance and legislative framework for FET will be established, especially through the FET Bill and the NBFET and FET consultative bodies at provincial level.

Contents | Chapter1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Appendicies