Chapter 2. The history and current state of Community Education and Training in South Africa

2.1. Adult (basic) education and training

Since the start of democracy in South Africa, adult education featured among the policy priorities of the government.1 However, it was not until the 2000 Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Act that the adult education system was regulated. The ABET Act introduced learning and training programmes at level 1 to 4, with level 4 being equivalent to Grade 9 in the initial education system or NQF level 1 (see Table 2.1, for details on the levels). These ABET programmes are provided in Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs) (which have recently been renamed as Community Learning Centres) and in registered private learning centres. Adults can obtain a General Education and Training Certificate: Adult Education and Training (GETC: ABET) at the NQF level 1. While ABET enrolment can help individuals prepare for the GETC: ABET, enrolment is not a requirement for taking the exam. According to Umalusi, the council for quality assurance in general and further education and training, around 56 000 GETC: ABET certificates were issued in 2016/2017.

The scope of adult education was later expanded to also include training at the Grade 10 to 12 level (i.e. upper-secondary education), changing its name from ABET to Adult Education and Training (AET). Adults can obtain a Senior Certificate (Amended), which is registered at the NQF level 4 (i.e. the same level as the National Senior Certificate (NSC), generally referred to as Matric).2 While the Senior Certificate (Amended) is very similar to the NSC, it does not allow graduates to continue to university.3 In 2016/2017, Umalusi issued just over 66 000 Senior Certificates (Amended).

The GETC:ABET and the Senior Certificate (Amended) are expected to be replaced soon by the General Education and Training Certificate for Adults (GETCA) and the National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA) respectively. The main difference between the GETCA and its predecessor lies in its curriculum, which will be better targeted towards adult learners. The NASCA introduces similar changes to its curriculum, and will allow graduates to access higher education (provided they obtain the required pass marks). The certificate is also more flexible: Participants may register for any number of subjects per examination sitting, provided they complete the qualification within six years. There are no minimum education requirements4 for the NASCA, but it is recommended to have a documented Grade 9 pass or a GETCA.5

2.2. Basic skills and second chance Matric programmes

The Kha Ri Gude Literacy Campaign managed to substantially reduce illiteracy among adults

As a response to the low skill levels of many South African adults, the South African government launched in 2008 the Kha Ri Gude Literacy Campaign. The campaign is being phased out since the end of 2016/2017. The aim of the campaign was to reduce the illiteracy rate by 50% by 2015 (i.e. reaching 4.7 million people), as such empowering socially disadvantaged people to become self-reliant and able to participate more effectively in the economy. The programme provides 240 hours of training to all participants, free of charge. The focus of the training is to teach people to i) read and write in their mother tongue, ii) use spoken English, and iii) develop a basic number concept and apply arithmetic operations to everyday contexts. At the end of the training, participants should achieve an equivalence of Grade 3 in the basic schooling system (i.e. AET level 1, see Table 2.1). The programme also has a life skills component, which puts emphasis on themes that are central to the participants’ socioeconomic context, such as health or income generation. The campaign provides inclusive education, and specific efforts are made to target vulnerable groups, like women, old-age individuals, youth and people living with disabilities. With around 40 000 learning centres across the country, often in informal settings, the campaign has been able to reach learners from rural areas and informal settlements. In the period 2008/09 to 2016/17 the campaign reached almost 4.4 million South Africans (Figure 2.1), 62% of them being female, at a cost of ZAR 4.2 billion.

Figure 2.1. The Kha Ri Gude campaign reached many illiterate South Africans

Number of participants and share of women

Source: Department of Basic Education (2017[1]; 2017[2]).

The Kha Ri Gude programme relies on volunteers to work as programme educators and facilitators. Annually around 40 000 volunteers were actively working on the programme. Only individuals with at least a Matric qualification are recruited as volunteers, and all volunteers receive basic training related to various aspects of adult education. The volunteers receive a monthly stipend, provided they meet certain criteria (e.g. submitting learner assessment portfolios). In the period 2008/09 to 2016/17 the programme created work opportunities for almost 350 000 volunteers, and 217 of them were awarded Funza Lushaka bursaries to obtain a full teaching qualification.

An extensive monitoring and evaluation system has been set up to ensure the effectiveness of the Kha Ri Gude campaign. Educators are monitored by supervisors, and these supervisors are in turn monitored by coordinators.6 In addition, participants are continuously assessed in literacy and numeracy, using learner assessment portfolios. These tests are marked by the volunteers, and further moderated and controlled by the supervisors and coordinators. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) furthers verifies a sample of the portfolios to ascertain the general integrity of the marking. Participants who successfully complete their portfolio receive a certificate at AET level 1, and are actively encouraged to register for Adult Education and Training at the primary and lower-secondary level (AET 2-4). (McKay, 2015[3])

The Kha Ri Gude campaign received several national and international awards, including the Unesco Confucius Prize for Literacy, acknowledging the innovative and inclusive character of the programme. The campaign successfully reached out to a large and diverse group of illiterate adults, and the average completion rate is higher than what is generally observed in literacy programmes (McKay, 2015[3]). In addition to helping to eradicate illiteracy, the programme also created work opportunities and income generation for a large number of volunteers, therefore contributing to poverty alleviation. Some negative points were, however, brought to light by a performance evaluation of the Auditor General of South Africa, including fruitless and wasteful expenditure, part of which was the result of fraudulent behaviour of a number of volunteer educators.

2.3. Building a Community Education and Training system

Acknowledging that the provision of education and training opportunities for adults and young people who dropped out of school before completing was inadequate, the Department for Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Green Paper for Post-school Education and Training articulated the idea of creating a community education and training system (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2012[5]). The Green Paper argues that the Adult Education and Training (AET) system does not satisfy the needs of adults interested not only in completing their schooling, but also in acquiring labour market or sustainable livelihood skills. At the same time, the AET system does not harness the potential for development and social cohesion that exists in some community and popular education initiatives. To address these issues, the Green Paper proposed to develop a Community Education and Training (CET) system that would absorb the public adult learning centres (PALCs) and gradually expand to other skills programmes.

The ideas from the Green Paper were, after public consultation, further formalised in the 2013 White Paper (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2013[6]), which sets a goal of 1 million students in CET institutions by 2030 (compared to 265 000 students in public adult learning centres in 2011). The main features of the CET system are described as:

• Role: Facilitate a cycle of lifelong learning in communities by enabling the development of skills (including literacy, numeracy and vocational skills) to enhance personal, social, family and employment experiences. Assist community organisations and institutions, local government, individuals and local businesses to work together to develop their communities by building on existing knowledge and skills.

• Setup: Multi-campus institutions that cluster the PALCs. Other campuses will be added where necessary based on enrolments and programmes.

• Curriculum: CET institutions will build on the current offerings of the PALCs to expand vocational and skills-development programmes and non-formal programmes. Non-formal programmes will be geared to the needs and desires of local communities and their organisations, including community-based cooperatives and businesses

• Cooperation with community institutions: CET colleges and their campuses should make an effort to draw on the strengths of the non-formal sector (particularly their community responsiveness and focus on citizen and social education), in order to strengthen and expand popular citizen and community education. They may enter into partnerships with community-owned or private institutions.

• Teacher quality: A qualifications policy for adult educators will be put in place that describes appropriate qualifications and sets minimum standards for these qualifications. Universities and TVET colleges will be supported to develop capacity to train adult educators.

• Funding: The DHET will provide the core funding of the colleges, including for core permanent teaching and administrative staff, and this has to be complemented by funds from SETAs, the National Skills Fund (NSF) and the private sector where appropriate and available. CET colleges may charge fees for some of the programmes that they provide, especially for those funded by SETAs, the NSF or the private sector. In general, as far as possible, youth and adults attending CET colleges will be fully funded, whether by the DHET or from other sources.

In April 2015 the first nine CET colleges were opened, one in each province, clustering the existing 3 276 PALCs. The PALCs were renamed as Community Learning Centres (CLCs). The nine colleges serve as administrative hubs, whereas the CLCs are delivery sites of CET. The long-term goals is to have a CET college in each of the 52 district municipalities, and a CLC in each of the 226 local municipalities. The CET system forms a third pillar in the post-school education and training system (see Figure 2.2).

Since the publication of the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training, the DHET has released (draft) policies and frameworks on a range of topics related to the CET system, including curriculum development, staffing norms, monitoring and evaluation, and student support services (see Annex A for a full overview).

In July 2017, the Ministerial Committee on the review of the funding frameworks of TVET Colleges and CET colleges published a report on the funding framework for CET. It concludes that the current adult education and training system is of very poor quality, and that the current mode of operation and available funding does not allow for significant quality improvements. A steady process of reform and incremental growth is needed, starting with a proper holding operation and a new CET implementation plan. The main recommendations from the report are described in Box 2.1.

Figure 2.2. The post-school education and training system

Institutions, programmes and student enrolment

Note: Official data on enrolment in private colleges is not split into CET and TVET. The allocation of students to CET and TVET in this table is done based on the qualification category of the students in private colleges. Students in Nated, NCV and occupational programmes are allocated to the TVET sector, students in AET-type of programmes are allocated to the CET sector. Part of the students in SETA-supported workplace-based learning programmes will also be enrolled in public or private TVET institutions, and will hence be double-counted in this overview.

Source: Department for Higher Education and Training (2016[7]).