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Transformation of Further Education and Training
Progress Report to the Portfolio Committee on Education
25 June 2002
Public provisioning infrastructure for delivering intermediate skills
The 152 Technical Colleges (now reduced to 50 FET Institutions) represents a basic infrastructure for technical/vocational education and training;
5 500 Senior Secondary Schools focus predominantly on academic and vocationally-oriented qualifications;
68 Colleges of Education which were not incorporated into Higher Education
Lessons from implementation
The transformation process has brought the following issues into sharp focus:
Public interest in schooling, coupled with resource constraints, both fiscal and human, has skewed the focus of provincial departments to focus almost exclusively on formal schooling;
The complexities of running demand-led institutions require much more higher levels of governance, funding and quality assurance;
However, given the capacity constraints both at national and provincial levels, the system is unable to allocate sufficient resources to drive change in the college sector
Lessons from initial implementation
The position of Technical Colleges next to schools has an impeding effect on their status;
A funding framework linked to national skills targets, retention and completion rates is critical to drive accountability and responsiveness;
A structured relationship with High Education to facilitate seamlessness is important for promoting greater access to high level skills;
The new strategy
Institutional governance and funding must be discrete for school or colleges;
A common framework for learning and teaching will be the National Qualifications Framework;
To meet the HRD needs of the country at this level, we need a differentiated system of providers with specific roles and focus;
The transformation process require differentiated interventions between schools and colleges;
Defined institutional autonomy is a prerequisite for colleges to be responsive;
The new strategy for colleges should be driven within a framework of co-operative governance.
A differentiated system
Senior Secondary Schools Schools will cater predominantly for learners
between the ages of 16 - 18; Schools will be governed and funded in terms of
the South African Schools Act, 1996; The restructuring of the institutional landscape
with regard to schools will be achieved through a process of consolidation and conversion;
Selected schools will be identified as centres of specialisation (SMT, Economic Sciences, Art);
Selected technical high schools will be identified for development into FET colleges where such institutions do not.
A differentiated system
Colleges Colleges will cater predominantly for young and
mature adults; Colleges will access multiple sources of funding
based on programmes offered; Colleges will be restructured in terms of the
process of declaration of FET institutions (FET Act, 1998);
Colleges will range from centers of specialisation to multi-purpose sites of delivery;
Colleges will be expected to develop mix modes of delivery to expand educational opportunities for local communities and workers.
The inherited context
A separate framework for schools and colleges (Report 550 & 191);
The quality of learning outcomes are unequal across the ex-departments and between subjects (e.g. languages);
Hence the unequal learning experiences; Throughput and success rates are very low; In the vocational/technical sector, training
is narrow and task specific; An absence of clearly defined generic core
competences, and therefore an absence of a core curriculum;
The inherited context
Curriculum comprises of 124 subjects, with the multiplier effect of HG, SG & LG, it accumulates to 264;
However, 90% of candidates in Grade 12 offer 10 “popular” subjects, the rest are “exotic”
The majority of subjects are outdated and irrelevant to the HRD needs of a new democratic South Africa;
Assessment is not linked to curriculum development.
Limited Programme offerings - RSA
1%
37%
3%
49%
2%8%
Art/ MusicEngineeringEducare/ Soc. ServicesBusinessGeneralUtility
The purpose of the framework
A common framework to facilitate mobility across the band and between FET and HE;
Link assessment more closely with curriculum;
Promote new emphasis in fields of study which are important to the country’s health & growth;
State the principles which give direction to learning and teaching;
Qualifications (FETC)
Comprise of three components: Fundamental Learning Languages (20 x 2 = 40 credits) Mathematics (20 credits) Core Learning Defines the purpose of the qualifications Two subjects (20 x 2 = 40 credits) Elective For depth or enrichment (20 credits)
Different pathways FETC academic FETC vocationally oriented FETC occupational specific
Current situation Low enrolments
The inverted Triangle
Technikons, 1999141 000 Full-time students
Universities, 1999245 000 Full-time students
Technical Colleges122 740 Full-time
students
The new institutional landscape - Attributes
Large multi site Colleges Greater authority Niche and multi purpose colleges Quality assurance framework Greater use of open and distance learning Articulation and collaboration with HE Student support services
Funding
Sector requires additional funding
Internal & External efficiency of the system critical
75%
2%14%
9%
Public Schools
TechnicalcollegesUniversities /TechnikonsOthers...
Recommendations 50 FET colleges under the FET 98 Act 1998 by 2003 No sites of teaching and learning will automatically
be closed in the creation of the new institutional landscape
State-aided and State colleges combined National FET implementation plan adopted Interim resourcing and funding be allocated to
support the establishment and implementation of the new landscape
Develop a new funding formula FET Colleges named following a geographical basis
where possible
Schools
Establish a Ministerial Task Team to advise on: Consolidation; Conversion
What have we achieved so far?
With regard to schools Increased the overall pass rate to 61% Reduced the number of schools performing
below 20% from 1 034 to 440 Introduced CCAS which has had a positive
impact on learning and teaching Introduced national question papers to
promote common standards(English Second Language; Mathematics, Physical Science, Biology, Accounting). Introducing History in 2003
What have we achieved so far?
With regard to colleges Successfully merged the 152
colleges into 50 FET Institutions Developed institutional plans Gained the support of the private
sector in supporting institutional development
What are the challenges Phasing in OBE in 2004 Finding appropriate leadership to
reposition colleges for the skills revolution
Raising the profile of vocational/technical education and training
Facilitating the interface between FET and HE
Encourage millions of youth and adults to return to learning and continue to learn
Conclusion
“More complex reforms, such as re-structuring, represents even greater uncertainty; first, because more is being attempted; second, because the solution is not known in advance. In short, anxiety, difficulties, and uncertainty are intrinsic to all successful change. “
Fullan, M.G and Miles, M.B - Getting Reform Right: What Works and What Doesn’t, Phi Delta Kappan, June 1997.