“South Africa still has a post-school education and training system which does not offer sufficient places to the many youth and adults seeking education and training. Expansion is needed, in terms of numbers of available places, and in the types of education and training available,” Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said, speaking at the launch of the White Paper on Post-school Education and Training.
Nzimande announced plans for a new type of institution, called community colleges, to be introduced to cater for South Africans who never attended school and therefore could not apply at colleges or universities.
Proposed in the department’s cabinet-approved blueprint, the colleges would be multi-campus institutions incorporating existing public adult-learning centres such as Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, which would be renamed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
“Through the White Paper we seek to improve alignment between universities, technical and vocational colleges, and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), in an effort to improve student and learner mobility across these sectors,” he said.
“The system envisaged must provide paths for articulation between various qualifications: there should be no dead-ends for students; there should always be a way for someone to improve their qualifications without undue repetition and hindrances.”
The White Paper sets out strategies to expand on the current delivery of education and training in South Africa until 2030.
Nzimande said by 2030 his department aimed to have 1.6 million enrolments in public universities, 2.5 million in TVET colleges, and 1 million in the community colleges.
“The quality of education in colleges will be monitored on an ongoing basis. The quality councils will assure the quality of assessments, and the New South African Institute for Vocational and Continuing Education and Training will fulfil a developmental, monitoring and evaluation role,” Nzimande said.
