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SAQA & the NQF

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• Qualifications Guide

What is the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)?

SAQA is the body responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

SAQA has three main deliverables that are key to implementing the NQF. They are:

• a standards setting system which comprises the Directorate Standards Setting and Development and the Consultative Panels and the Standards Generating Bodies,
• a quality assurance system,
• and a comprehensive information system – the National Learners Records Database.

When learners know that there are clear learning pathways which provide access to, and mobility and progression within education, training and career paths, they are more inclined to improve their skills and knowledge, as such improvements increase their employment opportunities . The increased skills base of the workforce has a wider implication namely the enhancement of the functional and intellectual capability of the nation, thereby increasing our chances for success in the global community.

SAQA oversees the standards generating process, ensures that qualifications are in line with the NQF and accredits the ETQAs.

SAQA must advise the Ministers of Education and Labour. The Authority is required to perform its tasks after consultation and in co-operation with all bodies and institutions responsible for education, training and certification of standards which will be affected by the NQF. It must also comply with the various rights and powers of bodies in terms of the Constitution and Acts of Parliament. The office of SAQA is responsible for implementing the policies and decisions of the Authority.

 For more information on SAQA, visit:

www.saqa.org.za

What is the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)?

The NQF is the set of principles and guidelines by which records of learner achievement are registered to enable national recognition of acquired skills and knowledge, thereby ensuring an integrated system that encourages life-long learning.

The world is an ever-changing place, politically, geographically and technologically. To succeed or even survive in a globally competitive world, a country must ensure that it has a national education and training system that provides quality learning, is responsive to the ever-changing influences of the external environment and promotes the development of a nation that is committed to life-long learning. The NQF is a strategy in response to these demands. It provides a framework within which the South African qualifications system is constructed, representing a national effort at integrating education and training.

The objectives of the NQF as outlined in theSAQA Act No.58 of 1995 are as follows:

• To create an integrated national framework for learning achievements;
• Facilitate access to, and mobility and progression within education, training and career paths;
• Enhance the quality of education and training;
• Accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities;
• Contribute to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of the nation at large.

If you would like more information about the NQF, visit:

www.nqf.org.za

Some useful terms:

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Recognition of Prior Learning is a process whereby people’s prior learning can be formally recognised in terms of registered qualifications and unit standards, regardless of where and how the learning was attained. RPL acknowledges that people never stop learning, whether it takes place formally at an educational institution, or whether it happens informally.
• National Learners’ Records Database (NLRD)
  An electronic information system that assists the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to manage the National Qualifications Framework
• Standards Generating Body (SGB)
  A body registered in terms of the SAQA Act, responsible for establishing education and training standards or qualifications, and to which specific functions relating to the establishment of national standards and qualifications have been assigned
• Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA)
  A body responsible for the organisation of education and training programmes within a specific sector
• Accreditation
  The certification, usually for a particular period of time, of a person, a body or an institution as having the capacity to fulfil a particular function within the quality assurance system set up by SAQA
• Assessor
  A person who is registered by the relevant ETQA body to measure the achievement of specified National Qualifications Framework standards or qualifications