Alexandra Technical School, Johannesburg Monday, 15 May 2000
European Union Ambassador, Mr Michael Laidler
Representatives of the donor community
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I welcome you all.
Celebrations are always associated with special events. Today we are celebrating Partnerships in quality education and training and as well as yet another milestone in the life of the South African Qualification Authority.
The primary partnership we are celebrating today is the generous contribution of the European Union to the people of South Africa through its support for SAQA. SAQA’s mission is to ensure the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework which ultimately contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the country as a whole. It is only with this kind of support that we are able to reconstruct and develop our education and training system so that the injustices of the past can be adequately addressed.
With our commitment to building a system of education and training which is in keeping with the transformation objectives of the NQF, a system that reflects the educational values of the ‘New South Africa’, particularly equity, transparency, quality and accountability, I am sure that the next three years of funding by the European Union to SAQA will cement the relationship between South Africa, SAQA in particular, and the EU, and as a result also will enhance the promotion of democratic values which is a pressing global concern.
I will shortly address myself to proposals around the NQF and a review of the Framework. But first I would like to reiterate that the NQF was a bold and new approach to education and training. It represented an important step forward in our vision for the restructuring and re-organisation of our education and training system. It created a framework for learning achievements, and enhanced access to mobility and quality within education and training. It should open doors of opportunity for people whose academic or career paths have been needlessly blocked because their prior knowledge, acquired informally or through work experience, has not been recognised for admission to further learning opportunities or for employment purposes.
As has been said many times before, learning must lead to employment if we are to achieve a better life for all. The economic future of our country relies on the steps we now take to make our education and training system fit for the 21st Century. Of course preparing our people for employment is simply not enough. As a Government we need to work in close cooperation with all levels of government, the private sector and civil society to ensure that jobs become available and that employment levels increase. I empathise with the objectives of COSATU who have raised to new heights their concerns about the lack of employment creation.
Despite large-scale job-eliminating initiatives made possible by technological and information related developments I do not believe that we are reaching a stage of the "End of Work". Nevertheless jobs are increasingly under threat and we have to examine all avenues open to us, as well as the way in which we organise work and prepare people for work, to ensure that job creation will be a reality rather than a dream.
In this context it fair to say that SAGA has made significant progress in ensuring the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework. As a consequence of the importance of the NQF to our learning revolution and our post-apartheid socio-economic reconstruction and development, the first post-apartheid legislation passed by parliament was the South African Qualifications Authority Act, of 1995.
The functioning of institutions of the Department of Labour namely the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and institutions of the Department of Education particularly the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) as well as formal schooling, Further Education and Training (FET) and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) is directly linked to SAQA requirements.
SAQA in its capacity as the central common factor in all these initiatives has a great responsibility in making South Africa a learning nation – promoting life-long learning among our citizens and improving the quality of education and training in South Africa, both in respect of the establishment of credible and valid qualifications and standards as well as in the provision of quality lifelong learning for all learners.
Since 1996, SAQA has formulated policy to establish a national standards setting system as well as a national quality assurance system. These policies have been developed in consultation with key stakeholders in education and training including government, organised business and organised labour, providers of education and training including private providers, critical interest groups including professional bodies and statutory councils and community organisations. These processes are in keeping with the democratic principles of participation and consultation and ensures transparency and public accountability for all its decisions.
In terms of SAQA’s development, it has now reached a significant point. The groundwork has been done in terms of legislation, the publication of regulations and the primary policy documents. The main direction of SAQA has been determined. It has already begun the process of implementation and the real impact of SAQA’s work is now beginning to be seen in South Africa.
As I have already noted, the significant quality assurance bodies that will be accredited and function in terms of the requirements of SAQA have already been established or are in the process of being established and are beginning their work. As recent media coverage suggests, private higher education providers are becoming aware of the necessity for and the time need to show commitment to the provision of quality education and training if they are to operate in our society. Public institutions too must be aware of their obligations in this regard.
In terms of the setting of standards, there are 5883 qualifications currently recorded at SAQA. This list includes those qualifications offered at the 21 public universities and the 15 technikons.
These qualifications are in the process of being revised so that the required learning outcomes and assessment criteria of those qualifications are clear to all stakeholders in education and training. By 30 June 2000 all these qualifications will be in the mutually agreed outcomes-based format and will have met the requirements for interim registration on the National Qualifications Framework. As a result of this process, for the first time in our history, learners will know what they have to do to be successful; providers of education will know their obligations to learners are especially in respect of assessment; employers will know what to expect from candidates who have been awarded particular qualifications.
I do not believe that any policy or strategy or set of regulations are ever set in concrete. In the period 1994 to 1999 we developed a great deal of policies and frameworks to completely revamp our education sector. We achieved much more than most people would have ever believed possible.
We have now had some time to work with the implementation of our policy framework and as part of an ongoing review I have been examining various aspects of our system such as Curriculum 2005, the size and shape of the higher education sector and values in education.
In line with this I have held discussions with the Minister of Labour who has a joint responsibility for the National Qualifications Framework about progress being made with the Framework. I have also held discussions the Executive Committee of SAQA and we have agreed on the need to review progress with the implementation of the NQF. The Minister of Labour and I have therefore resolved to convene a review team to look at the NQF and to review our experience with it with the intention to making any changes or enhancements that may be necessary. Where there is confusion and a lack of clarity we hope to ensure that the NQF is more broadly understood and more evenly interpreted. We will shortly announce the appointment of the review team together with its terms of reference.
We need to pose a number of questions to the review team:
Firstly to what extent does the NQF remain merely a myth outside of an inner circle given our commitment that the NQF is a vehicle for the poor and for the vast majority of our people who basic and functional literacy and other skills? Secondly, How has the NQF changed the lives of ordinary people? And thirdly, given the change in emphasis under the leadership of President Mbeki to focused, integrated and targeted urban and rural development aimed at poverty alleviation, how is the NQF being re-focussed behind the government’s development initiatives?
As today’s theme suggests, SAQA is primarily concerned with establishing partnerships in quality education and training. The Authority itself consists of representatives from all major national role players in education and training and systems. The systems, policies, processes and structures have all been established through participation and in consultation with the national stakeholders. In this way, for the first time in this country the education and training system addresses the needs and concerns of society as a whole and is not concerned only with the interests of the few. There is a natural tension that exists when large social institutions function in partnerships and often there are areas of contestation. SAQA views itself as an honest broker in the mediation of tensions and resolution of situations in which competing stakeholders may have a conflict of interests, encouraging our social partners to critically reflect on the issues and their own practices.
In the past it is a fact that many members of our society were excluded from decision-making processes that had a significant impact on their lives. Those with little or no voice in these decisions were often those who also had limited or no access to quality education and training. Those affected were the previously marginalised sectors of our community i.e. blacks and women. SAQA has made a purposeful effort to ensure that these sectors of our community play a far more substantial role in the SAQA decision-making processes.
To illustrate the point, of the four hundred and thirty two (432) South Africans who volunteer their time as members of National Standards Bodies (NSBs) acting on behalf of their national constituencies, black persons hold 57% of the seats while 33% of the seats are held by women. Although these percentages do not yet reflect the demographics of our country completely, SAQA has ensured a substantial improvement in the participation of these sectors in important decision-making structures. Furthermore SAQA is committed to increasing the participation of these sectors when new appointments are made to the NSBs in July 2001.
I would like to urge SAQA to continue focussing its attention on the policy goals upon which it was established. Its role to enhance the articulation of policy should not be underestimated. At the same time we have to be cautious that we do not adopt ‘a one size fits all’ approach. Different situations often require different solutions. We need rather to look for innovative solutions to issues rather than insisting that providers need to fit in to a rigid regulation whether they like it or not. For instance unit standards may not be more appropriate to some educational approaches and disciplines than others. It is not always possible to apply the same approach to, for example, Engineering as one would apply to Philosophy. We cannot allow a sort of evangelical zeal to close the door to manner in which we do assessments or regulate qualifications in higher education.
It requires that our policies and implementation strategies are in line with the reality of our system. In the final analysis we do not want to end up with a system so rigid as to disadvantage those that we most need to assist such as the poorest of the poor in our society.
I know that over recent months SAQA has been inundated with applications and assessment work. To some it is seen simply as a growing bureaucracy, another cog or clog in the education machine. Clearly it is not that but during this initial period we have to assess what the logistical requirements are. At times SAQA may have been overwhelmed but certainly not defeated.
In closing, I should once again emphasise that the contribution of the European Union to SAQA means that SAQA is in a position to take on the enormous challenges facing it and achieve its declared goals and deliverables. This launch signifies the support and commitment of local and international organisations to the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework and the building of a fair and equitable, quality education and training system in South Africa. We, the life-long learners in South Africa ourselves, appreciate the support that we receive from our international partners. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our funders whose generous contributions enable this new member of the international community to take up its rightful position and promote the global principles of good, democratic governance through educating and training our citizens within a system of quality, life-long learning.
I thank you.