THE ASSOCIATION OF FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA (AFETISA) [THE COMMITTEE OF TECHNICAL COLLEGE PRINCIPALS (CTCP) IN TRANSITION] PRESENTATION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON THE ADULT GENERAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING BILL, 2000

INTRODUCTION

The Association of Further Education and Training Institutions of South Africa (AFETISA) [Committee of Technical College Principals (CTCP) in transition] thanks the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity to present their comments regarding the amendments to the Adult General Education and Training Bill, 2000. AFETISA is an association of institutions which are currently technical colleges, but which will, in the near future be declared public Further Education and Training institutions, according to national criteria. AFETISA membership comprises the institutions, which are represented by the Heads of the institutions.

COMMENT

  1. AFETISA/CTCP agrees that every person has the right to a basic education and that too many adults have not accessed education in such measures as to render them literate and numerate. We concur with the notion that the best way to break the back of illiteracy amongst adults is to regulate it in legislation.

  2. Technical colleges in general have been involved in providing learning/skilling opportunities for adults since the inception of this type of institution. Technical Colleges offer formal programmes to learners above 16 years of age, who have a Grade 9 qualification. The technical colleges however, have developed and offer formal orientation programmes, which have a strong numeracy and literacy focus to learners who have not achieved a Grade 9. We also offer a range of non-formal short and skills courses to adults without any formal qualifications. These courses cover a range of competencies, such as building skills, cooking skills, language skills, clothing production skills, engineering-related skills, and arts and cultural skills.

  3. Therefore, since the Technical Colleges have wide-ranging experience in providing adult education and training programmes, the creation of a separate type of institution to accomplish that for which an infrastructure already exists in the Colleges, is superfluous to the extreme. Should the Adult Learning Centres be legislated to become separate institutional types, this addition to the number of institutional types in South Africa would be counter productive and invite a host of problems into education and training provision.

  4. The envisaged Further Education and Training "mega" institutions would be eminently equipped to cater to the literacy and numeracy needs in the various communities they serve and enhance the cost-effectiveness of adult general education and training provision, by alleviating the already stretched capacity of the DoE in terms of human and financial resources.

  5. By linking adult learning centres to schools only would not be achieving best practice in serving the interests of the target population. AFETISA/CTCP anticipate a strong resistance from the school sector mainly because of lack of experience in the environment of adult education and training

  6. We therefor advise the minister to consider broadening the scope of the FET institution to include the provision of GET for adults in a multi-site delivery mode and provide the funding mechanisms to enable the FET institutions to continue the provision of GET to adults.

  7. We recommend that the public and private Adult Learning Centres must register with the Department of Education, and be accredited by one of the bodies recognised by the South African Qualification Authority for the purpose of quality assurance of adult general education and training. This will alleviate the present situation where many of these centres operate with very little accountability in terms of the quality of the programmes they offer, their financial sustainability, or the certification of their learners.

  8. We recommend that where such adult learning centres exist in close proximity to a technical college/FET institution, that they are clustered under the management and governance of the college. This will ensure that they become accountable, that they are subject to a quality management system, and that the adult and out-of-school learners have the opportunity to progress in a learning pathway in the College.

  9. The importance of the College as a provider of the adult general education and training programme, and programmes thereafter, is that Colleges already cater significantly for adult learners, and out-of-school learners, whereas Technicons and Universities require at least a Grade 12 with exemption, before any learners can access the institutions.

  10. In terms of the aims of the National Qualifications Framework, the College would be the natural starting point for adult learners, to progress in their learning pathway, should they begin their adult general education and training programme at a college.

In summary our recommendations are:

  1. The Adult Learning Centres are not legislated and/or declared as a separate institutional type.

  2. All providers of adult general education and training must register with the DoE, and be accredited to offer programmes/courses through a SAQA recognised body.

  3. Adult Learning Centres should ideally be incorporated into the existing technical colleges/FET institutions, for reasons of quality management, accountability, and learner progression on the NQF.