Speaking at the launch of the centre and graduation ceremony at Umgungundlovu TVET on Tuesday, 11 April, Nzimande said the launch of the centre is one of the vital components of the Department of Higher and Education and Training’s attempts to build a new community based approach to vocational education and training.
The minister said policies that have been put in place since 1994 have been based on social justice with an emphasis on human rights, social inclusion, access, fairness and equality.
“Our country is faced with a challenge of creating opportunities for the many unemployed, who may have little or no formal education or many of whom need to be redirected via a skills intervention process towards areas of the economy where they are most needed.”
He said at the same time, there are many people who are employed or self-employed but cannot gain due recognition of their skills due to a lack of formal qualifications.
“The establishment of this centre to focus on recognising prior learning is a great attempt at addressing the plight of people performing valuable work, yet without the due reward.
“This centre has a primary focus on early childhood development, which is key to developing the foundational skills in our children to afford them the basis for success in the schooling education system,” he said.
The minister challenged the college to build on the initiative of the Education Training Development Practitioner Sector Education Training Authority (ETDP SETA) and to extend it to all spheres of the college.
Nzimande noted that many of the recipients of this initiative of the ETDP SETA and Umgungundlovu TVET College entered the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme without having matric. The certificates awarded to them are at NQF level four, which gives them the equivalent of a matric.
“With these certificates, [graduates] can now access the National Qualifications Framework, which affords them an opportunity to access the education system and to further their studies at higher levels and in directions of study that they choose,” the minister said.
He said the collaboration between a SETA and a TVET college is a prime example of the value of educational programmes that are being delivered in the TVET space, which are needed to “encourage more of our people, both school leavers as well as adults, to participate”.
SAnews.gov.za is a South African government news service, published by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). SAnews.gov.za (formerly BuaNews) was established to provide quick and easy access to articles and feature stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government mandates.
Go to: http://www.sanews.gov.za
