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Continuing Education and Training Act, 2006 (Act No. 16 of 2006)

Notices

National Policy on Community Colleges

Section 3: Background and Context

 

 

3.1 Education is an essential component of reconstruction, development and transformation of any society. Post 1994 the South African integrated education system has played a significant role in accelerating racial integration through universal access to primary and increasingly secondary education, the expansion of early childhood development and increased access to tertiary institutions.

 

3.2 Notwithstanding the achievements in education over the first twenty years of democracy, it is observed that the system still produces and reproduces inequalities through gender, class and racial divide. These inequalities continue to undermine the vision of the South African Constitution of a prosperous, democratic, non-sexist, non-racist and equal society.

 

3.3 The challenges of inequalities based on gender, class, race, disability, geographic location, age and health status persist with regard to access to educational opportunities in the adult education and training sector.

 

3.4 The provision of education and training alone is not sufficient to significantly reduce these inequalities but the commitment to establish pro-poor institutional structural  frameworks and funding modalities are key elements that can assist to accelerate the attainment of the vision of the National Development Plan's (NDP) 2030 agenda that of an  egalitarian and prosperous society.

 

3.5 According to the Ministerial Task Team Report on Community Education and Training Centres (CETCs) 2012, the two disadvantaged groups are adults and young people who are outside of the formal economy and formal workplaces, who are not in educational institutions, who have few opportunities for access to first or second-chance learning and lifelong learning.

 

3.6 These groups include close to 12 million adults with less than grade 9 education in 2007; including the nearly 3 million young people not in employment or in education and training (NEETs) between the ages of 18-24 years who are also in need of education and training opportunities.

 

3.7 Access to education and training must be made available through viable institutions to the employed and unemployed, young and old to encourage an economically active population and community participation.

 

3.8 The White Paper for Post-School Education and Training states that, "The education and training system must find ways to cater for the needs of the millions of adults and youth who are unemployed, poorly educated and not studying. The expansion of the university and college systems will make an important difference, but will not be sufficient to meet all the needs. In any case, they are not designed for this. There are many who would not qualify to enter a university or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges".

 

3.9 It then concludes that, "A new type of institution has to be built and supported; one that can offer a diverse range of possibilities to people for whom vocational and technical colleges and universities are not possible".

 

3.10 Prior to the Function Shift of AET on 1 April 2015, the state provided AET through its PEDs. The PEDs operated Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs), most of which are located in schools and they provide institutional learning to adults on a part-time basis. In terms of the Further Education and Training Amendment Act, 2013 (Act No. 1 of 2013), PALCs have been transferred to the control of the Department.

 

3.11 Further to PALCs, there are also private adult learning centres run by faith-based organisations (FBOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) with a diverse range of offerings, which may include formal provisioning of the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC): ABET at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 1.

 

3.12 In January 2014, the Minister of Higher Education and Training launched the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training system in which key challenges facing South African higher education and training were identified. The White Paper articulates many weaknesses with regard to the current provisioning of AET due to, among other things, insufficient resources, inadequate staffing, weak infrastructure and poor articulation.

 

Nevertheless, the White Paper notes that, "Despite their weaknesses, the PALCs are currently the only public institutions with a wide distribution around the country and which provide for adults and post-school youth who are not catered for by the TVET colleges and universities. The PALCs have been merged into CETCs which is a new type of post- school institution, as envisaged in the Continuing Education and Training Act, 2006. These colleges are expected to be sensitive to the needs of their communities. They will primarily target youth and adults who for various reasons did not complete their schooling or who never attended school. CETCs will be multi-campus institutions which cluster the PALCs. They will be expanded by adding other campuses where necessitated by their enrolments and programmes. Although they will be public colleges, they may enter into partnerships with community-owned or private institutions such as faith-based organisations or other education and training centres in order to enhance their capacity to meet the education and training needs of youth and adults".

 

3.13 In addition, the White Paper supports the mainstreaming of education for people with disabilities into community education where appropriate. The 2011 census reveals that 7,8% of the population are people with disabilities . This constitutes 2,870 130 in number.

 

3.14 Access and success in the AET qualifications is low and its quality is in doubt. More concerning is the lack of impact of the qualification with regard to its contribution to skills development, poverty alleviation and unemployment.

 

3.15 The current AET provision data indicates that very few adults acquire the full GETC qualification, whereas most candidates collect only a few learning area certificates. This means that there is limited progression to further learning.

 

3.16 A further barrier to AET is the lack of accessible provisioning as tuition is usually  accorded limited hours. This is partly the result of historical policy interventions and plans that have been under-resourced and sporadically initiated. In many instances the AET centres have little or no clear institutional identity or capacity. PALCs do not have full-time staff and are staffed through short-term contracts. PALCs operate mainly in the evening and this situation does not afford adequate opportunities for effective tuition.

 

3.17 AET provisioning has concentrated on formal qualification which poses a problem to  those learners who may not necessarily want a qualification. The current AET approach and curriculum in the PALCs, focusing on general education, fails to attract large numbers of adults and youth interested not only in completing a school qualification, but also those interested in gaining labour market currency and skills for sustainable livelihoods.

 

3.18 AET provisioning has too few flexible pathways and rigidity in offerings (part or full-time) for youth and adults who have passed the age of compulsory education. There is insufficient focus on quality and there is no diversity of programme offerings.

 

3.19 Out-of-compulsory school-going age youth and adults also experience a number of interrelated barriers to participation in AET, including physiological, psychological, situational and structural barriers. Most of these are directly related to the physical and learning disabilities as well as socio-economic conditions of the youth and adults.

 

3.20 To find a lasting solution to these challenges, the Minister established a Task Team to conceptualise a workable institutional model for community education and training that is distinct in its ethos and mission, provides a diversity of programmes, qualifications or part-qualifications of which articulate with qualifications of existing institutions and is oriented towards provision for communities and ensures lifelong learning opportunities.

 

3.21 The brief by the Minister to the Task Team was to consider policy and legal implications, make recommendations on relevant programmes, investigate and propose appropriate funding modalities and suitable governance mechanisms, develop broad implementation steps to institutionalise the provisioning of community education and training, and to review relevant local and international literature.

 

3.22 The Task Team report proposes the establishment of Community Education and Training Colleges (CETCs) and Community Learning Centres (CLCs) as a third tier of institutional type alongside Universities and TVET Colleges. The CETC sector is envisaged to cater for second-chance learning opportunities for out-of-school youth and adults, by building on the current offerings of the PALCs, which offer general education programmes. They must also add to the general education programmes by offering vocationally-oriented skills and knowledge programmes leading to sustainable livelihoods outside of the formal sector. Community Education and Training Colleges will be a diverse set of institutions, offering programmes that are appropriate to their particular communities.

 

3.23 The introduction of Community Education and Training Colleges as a new institutional type is envisaged to play a pivotal role in contributing to improved levels of educational attainment among youth and adults.

 

3.24 The findings of the 2011 South African Census reveal that 15 918 454 South Africans aged 20 years and above, have not completed Grade 12. This figure represents 60% of the population in the said cohort.

 

3.25 Census 2011 data further sheds some light on the numbers of youth and adult learners nationally, including learners with disabilities as follows:
• 2 665 874 or 8.6% have no schooling;
• 3 790 134 or 12.2% have some primary schooling;
• 1 413 895 or 4.6% have completed primary schooling; and
• 10 481 577 or 33.9% have some secondary but did not complete grade 12.

 

3.26 This summarises the background and the context within which this policy on CETCs is conceptualised.