You are in : Features > Contributors > Des Squire

Des Squire

The future of education and training in South Africa

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:48

The education and training scenario is undergoing major changes and there is a great deal of speculation regarding future scenarios.

The following changes have already been promulgated in terms of Proclamation 44 of May 2009 and Proclamation 56 of September 2009 respectively.

• Functions, duties and responsibilities of the Minister for Basic Education as relate to the National Education Policy Act of 1996, National Schools Act of 1996, Employment of Educators Act of 1998, SA Council of Educators Act of 2000 and the GET/FET QA Act of 2001.

• All powers and functions previously bestowed on the Minister of Labour together with all amendments related to Skills Development Act of 1998, Skills Development Levies Act of 1999, NQF Act of 2008.

In addition, in terms of a gazette (notice 1194) published in August 2009 there is a call for discussion on “a policy framework for lecturer qualifications and development in FET colleges in SA”. The reason for this is that the teacher development framework of 2007 does not include FET college lecturers.

The latest rumour (pure speculation and not verifiable) indicates the future of the SETAs is under review. This is not just for re-accreditation purposes this as seems to be the case will be for their very survival. The questions under consideration appear to be - will the SETAS survive as they currently stand, be reduced to 11, be reduced to 4 or 5 mega SETAs or be removed altogether.

Taking all of the above into consideration I personally feel some good things are happening and are likely to happen over the next few months and years. Looking at and considering all of the above as one unit makes me realise the need there is for us to work together for the survival of and for the good of education in the country.

Everyone involved in education, training and skills development have, as Theo Garrun recently said in an article appearing in The Workplace, “a vital task on their hands and need to change their mindsets if they want SA to compete on the global stage” My appeal to all is – let’s work together to get it right once and for all.

What’s currently happening in education, training and skills development is a waste of time and a waste of money. OBE has not worked and is not working and should be scrapped.

Dr Raymond Patel, speaking at the World Skills Competition held in Canada recently said “it is clear we spend too much time and effort training the softer skills while what is needed is an emphasis on the trades and technology based skills that are sorely needed in our economy”. (The SA participants in the competition performed very badly and did not win any medals in the 12 skills categories in which they competed).

To get back on track - and now is the time for change - is for all parties to ensure we deal with current issues in order to take care of future requirements and global developments. We need to get the education, training and skills development effort working for the good of those involved – the beneficiaries.

Personally, and I am sure there are many who will not agree, I would advocate the following:

• The re-opening of all teacher training colleges as we had in the past

• The training of all teachers based on GET and HET subject matter. This to exclude all training on OBE

• The Minister of Basic Education to re-introduce training of all GET learners in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic as a basic minimum together with other curriculum subject matter. Basic arithmetic should be compulsory, relevant and appropriate to the life skills needs of the learners up to grade 5. From grade 5 to 8 a higher level may be chosen as an elective subject.

• Prior to completion of the GET band (say, during grade 8/9 years) learners should be encouraged by means of open days, exhibitions, professionally conducted career guidance sessions, “bring a child to work” effort and so on, to make educated decisions in terms of career direction.

The objective would be to sell the concept of a technical education at FET as opposed to pursuing an academic education. The learners and their parents need to be given a much better understanding of the choices available. As Dr Patel points out, “we need to impress on our youth that these (trades and technology) are noble careers and a university (academic) education is not always the best rout to follow”.

• The benefits of attending and the professionalism of FET institutions must be promoted, sold, encouraged and supported. Learners who decide to take this direction on completion of grade 9 could be subsidised by government as a means of encouraging learners to pursue a technical or trade qualification. Perhaps there could be a 50/50 split between government and from the skills levies.

• At the HET level, following grade 12, learners should be encouraged to pursue a “gap year” to be spent in a business environment or to undergo a one year learnership. Companies should be encouraged to facilitate this by means of tax concessions as we currently have for learnerships. The young school leaver should receive a subsistence allowance during this period subsidised from the NSF or Skills Levies

• The HET level will then carry on based on the chosen career direction making use of universities and universities of technology. In this instance my only comment would be the learners behave as learners and be forbidden to demonstrate and go on strike. Government should subsidise all HET students and could consider a higher subsidy for those embarking on technical and trade related degree courses.

Des Squire (Director)
Applied Management Studies International (Pty) Ltd
+27 11 646 9369/9721 or 082 800 9057
dsquire@amsi.co.za