ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE PROVIDERS OF EDUCATION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT (APPETD)

APPETD would like to give comments on the FET Bill about issues that are affecting the private providers of Further Education & Training. There are issues that are well intended by the bill but in the long run they may put many private providers out of business.

The issue of becoming a Limited Company does not auger well with many private providers who know the struggles of registration and accreditation to the various statutory and government bodies. Private providers are willing to comply with this regulation if they are given enough time to re-align with the new regulations/act (a certain number of years to meet the necessary requirements).

The private providers would like to assist in a better life for all in South Africa;

However, the laws that are promulgated are hammering the small provider out the business. The Bill seems to have forgotten about the SMMEs within the FET sector or industry. The SMMEs need support or laws that give a certain period for compliance, rather than the current unfriendly deadlines experienced by many private providers.

The notion of the Fidelity Fund/Financial Surety is a big challenge to private providers since it has not been tried and tested. All private providers must comply with this requirement whilst public providers are exempt from this requirement. The question then becomes, are private providers not equal in front of the law?

Funding should be learner based rather than institution based. Let the learner/student make the informed choice about the institution that can best serve his/her interest.

The challenge in our new democracy is to avoid unintended consequences, we have seen how giving "severance packages" in the public sector led to massive skills and capacity loss in the sector. APPETD believes private providers can contribute immensely in developing the required skills and education in South Africa if they are given the opportunity to do so.

Regards

Tony Khatle: CEO: APPETD