ALE Country Profile
South Africa
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The 2013 White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (PSET) is the principal policy for Adult Learning and Education (ALE) in South Africa.
This policy provides for the establishment of Community Education and Training Colleges. These colleges were set up to serve the most marginalised and vulnerable communities, who often do not qualify for admission to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges or to universities and recognises the essential role of non-formal adult education alongside formal approaches. They also serve to assist learners to progress to TVET colleges or universities and/or to improve their skills for employability.
There are nine community colleges - one in each province - and they have incorporated 3,279 adult education and training centres. Whereas historically the focus of Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs) was primarily on the provision of literacy and numeracy, today the Community Colleges offer a diversified programme mix which includes formal qualifications, occupational qualifications, and part qualifications and skills through the establishment of networks and partnerships with community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations, such as the Catholic Institute of Education.
There are a number of policies and plans specifically related to community education and training, including the 2006 Continuing Education and Training Act which governs policy for Community Colleges. The National Policy on Community Education and Training Colleges (2015) acted as a transitory policy framework for the migration of the function of the AET (Adult Education and Training) sector from the Provincial Departments of Education to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) with effect from 1 April 2015. The National Plan For Post-School Education And Training (NPPSET) 2021-2030 sets out a roadmap for implementing the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
The National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 also considers the country’s educational needs; it ‘envisages that by 2030 South Africans should have access to education and training of the highest quality. The education, training and innovation systems should cater for different needs and produce highly skilled individuals; and graduates of the post-school system should have adequate skills and knowledge to meet the current and future needs of the economy and society’.
ALE in South Africa is governed by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Public Works are also involved. The main government programmes for ALE are the General Education and Training Certificate (GETCA) and the National Senior Certificate (NSC). Both are formal qualification programmes equivalent to 9 or 12 years of schooling.
Community Colleges receive 4% of the national PSET budget. The quality of teaching and learning infrastructure varies greatly from place to place, as does the supply of teaching and learning materials. Programmes struggle with high dropout rates, exacerbated by the perception of often-weak connections between programme curricula and the needs and interests of communities.
The Adult Learning Forum (ALF) is one organisation lobbying for better conditions for adult educators. Read more about ongoing efforts to improve conditions of service for adult educators here and here.
A number of South African universities offer courses for the professionalisation of the ALE sector, including Walter Sisulu University (Advanced Diploma in Adult and Community Education and Training Teaching and Post Graduate Diploma in Adult and Community Education); Durban University of Technology[IB1] (Advanced Diploma in Adult and Community Education), among others.
The government has awarded a Research Chair to the University of Johannesburg, co-hosted with Nelson Mandela University: Community, Adult and Worker Education. The Chair has been influential in working with the government in the development of a strategy for non-formal education (NFE) and adult educator development. Nelson Mandela University also has members on the Ministerial Task Team on ALE.
Workers’ education organisations such as the Development Institute for Training, Support and Education for Labour (DITSELA) and the International Federation of Workers Education Association (IFWEA) also play a key role in strengthening the ALE sector nationally.
International organisations, such as DVV International, work closely with local partners and government on strengthening non-formal education (NFE). These NGO and CSO partners and social movements work in a wide range of ALE-related NFE fields, such as food sovereignty and security, the ecological crisis, water, energy, GBV, HIV & AIDS and community health. The Women’s Circle is one such example. For further reading on the work of DVV International’s partners in South Africa please click here.
Some businesses and companies privately fund ALE activities, mainly via the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). This is often linked to various national legislation and is mainly in the field of TVET and work-related education. However, in recent years there is a growing recognition that NFE is also essential to meet the diverse educational needs of adults and youth.
Further information on the history of ALE in South Africa can be found here and here.
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