UMALUSI

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UMALUSI

• Quality Assurance of Adult Education and Training

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GENFETQA Act(No 58 of 2001)

• Quality Assurance of Providers
• Accreditation of private AET providers
• Monitoring of PDEs in respect of PALCS
• Umalusi must develop criteria for AET
  accreditation ministerial approval
• Both private and public providers must meet
  criteria

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GENFETQA Act(No 58 of 2001)

• Umalusis accreditation of providers linked to
  registration process as described in the ABET Act
  No 52 of 2000
• The act requires the following, any person who
  is required to register as a private centre in
  terms of the Adult Basic Education and Training
  Act No 52 of 2000, must apply to the Council for
  accreditation in the manner determined by the
  Council.

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GENFETQA Act(No 58 of 2001)

• QA of Qualifications and Assessment
• Monitor the suitability and adequacy of
• standards and qualifications GETC, FET quals
  (e.g. ASECA), and others
• Quality assure and certify exit point assessments
  GETC (and FETC)
• Umalusi MAY accredit assessment bodies ABET
  assessment bodies

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UMALUSI

• Issues
• Quality Assurance of AET

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Provider Accreditation

• Current situation
• Two Acts are not clear on what a provider is
• ABET Act leans towards institutional (centre)
  focus for registration / makes it illegal for
  individuals to provide ABET
• GENFETQA Act refers to the accreditation of a
  person, body or institution

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Provider accreditation

• Many AET centres (Mainly PALCs) also offer FET
  provision matric and some skills training
• The Constitution and the ABET Act makes PALCs the
  benchmark for private provision
• No registration process in PDEs for private
  providers
• Umalusi provisionally accredits AET providers in
  absence of registration

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Provider Accreditation

• Issues
• Who does Umalusi accredit? Institutional form
  versus programmes and individuals or both? Only
  those offering formal qualifications? What about
  those offering non formal and informal
  programmes?
• How does one accommodate the demands and
  imperatives of ABET 1- 4 as well as school and/or
  skills in a single accreditation process?

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Provider Accreditation

• Can PALCs set the standard? Common standards?
• Can Umalusi act in terms of full accreditation in
  the absence of the registration process?
• Do the Acts (ABET and GENFTQA) need review and
  amendment?

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Monitoring Standards and Qualifications

• Current situation
• Policy reform OBE, unit stds, and learning
  areas decentralised approach (Learning prog
  development, SBA etc)
• ABET level 4 programmes assessed through national
  examinations centralised approach

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Monitoring Standards and Qualifications

• GETC examination sets external standard in the
  absence of a national curriculum
• Variant stds in GETC exam papers lack of
  national curriculum, varying interpretations of
  level descriptors and unit stds - no norm in
  standardisation process since 2001
• Narrow focus of provision discrete delivery
  selected unit stds or full GETC or skills
  training and non formal / informal courses

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Monitoring Standards and Qualifications

• Current situation
• No adult option for matric at NQF 4
• No capacity to evaluate and approve every
  learning programme of every AET Provider

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Monitoring Standards and Qualifications

• Issues
• How does one begin to address inconsistencies in
  the interpretation of standards? Developing a
  national curriculum?
• Should the current qualification be revisited in
  terms of form (unit stds and learning areas) and
  content (relevance)?

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Monitoring Standards and Qualifications

• Is an adult alternative for matric a desirable
  option?
• How does Umalusi engage with curriculum
  development given the unresolved status of NQF
  review?
• Is there too much emphasis on formal ABET
  qualifications? How does one encourage
  diversification and vibrancy in the programme
  mix?
• Should only formal registered qualifications be
  quality assured?

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Quality Assurance of Assessment

• Current situation
• External, national examination sets the standard
  for the GETC
• Umalusi quality assures and certifies the GETC
  (ABET) and FETC (Voc) / new NSC

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Quality Assurance of Assessment

• Large numbers of learners are assessed only
• through portfolio assessments with no formal
• recognition from Umalusi (Dont meet
  requirements of GETC)
• SBA lack of consistency lack of national
  curriculum and poor assessment competencies of
  facilitators

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Quality Assurance of Assessment

• Issues
• Does one decentralise assessment progressively
  (OBE model) or build on the existing external
  examinations model?
• Does one QA assessment bodies that dont have
  exam systems for formal qualifications GETC?
• How does one address the inconsistencies in SBA
  assessments?

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Summary Current thinking

• Build on existing models of QA
• External assessment model (with SBA component)
• Differentiated AET evaluation and accreditation
  system common stds for public and private

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Summary Current thinking

• Quality assure programmes through assessment
  promote central curriculum development
• Promote alternative matric for adults
• Address legislative issue
• Promote vibrant and diverse AET

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Umalusi

• THANK YOU