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National Initiatives which Identify of the Roles of the Government and the Social Partners in Promoting the Expansion and Diversification of Training - South Africa
Source: Joint Education Trust
The formation of Joint Education Trust (JET) in 1992 was spearheaded by the Private Sector Initiative (PSI), a consortium of 20 leading South African companies, with a commitment of R500 million over a period of five years. The PSI joined forces with government, community organisations, including the leading political parties, labour unions, business and education organisations, recognising that although coming from different perspectives all these organisations shared a common goal: to improve the quality of education and to transform the existing system into one more equitable for all South Africa’s citizens. Thus JET was established as a partnership that would co-ordinate the efforts of different sectors of society within an overall framework for fundamental change in the education and training system.
Since 1992, the Joint Education Trust (JET) has managed the disbursement of R400 million to 400 selected non-governmental and community-based organisations across five sectors of the education and training fields from the South African private sector. Funds under management on behalf of overseas donors, totals R600 million.
JET is dedicated to:
Working in four areas where it supported over 400 NGOs working in teacher development, early childhood development, adult basic education and youth development, JET adopted a sectoral approach to grant making, characterised by the establishment of quality assurance mechanisms for grantees within each sector, and periodic sector-wide evaluations.
In addition to these grant-making activities, JET began to diversify its services following the election of South Africa’s first democratic government in 1994. Thus, it began to offer project management services to donors, generally in partnership with the national and provincial Departments of Education. Through these programmes, the Trust currently manages funds totalling some R400 million from a variety of local and offshore donors, on projects in the fields of school development, further education, adult education and workforce development, higher education, and youth development. Research and evaluation are integral to JET’s work in all these sectors.
JET's primary focus is on schools and teachers in South Africa. This affects various levels of school development, teacher education, learner assessement studies, special projects and Higher Education improvements.Co-operation between Netherlands and South Africa
Purpose
The purpose of the CENESA 11 programme is:
Programme Implementation and Management
The programme is implemented at the national DoE and in the North-West, Northern Province and KwaZulu-Natal The activities in the programme will be delivered as a partnership between the four participating departments of education and Dutch implementing agencies. These include SLO, CITO and CINOP at present and may include others such as BEV, VVO and COLO as the programme develops furthers. The programme is managed by and implemented in partnership with two key intermediary organisations, JET (in South Africa ) and Nuffic (in the Netherlands )
Programme Focus
The programme will focus on two major areas of work: 1) General Education and Training (GET) and 2) Further Education and Training (FET). Within these two areas, the programme will focus on the following sub-themes:
GET sub-themes:
FET sub-themes:
With respect to the development of co-operation in the higher education (HE) sector, it should be noted that collaboration would concentrate on management capacity development, teacher training and development and quality assurance (including internationalisation issues)
Approved Projects
To date, two projects were approved by the CENESA Steering Committee in February 2001.
The overall objective of the GET project is to built capacity in the departments of education of the NP, NW and KZN in the fields of curriculum development, assessment and school development resulting in a visible contribution to quality improvement of education. This project is implemented in partnership with SLO and CITO, both are Netherlands based development organisations. The target beneficiary groups for this project are departmental officials at provincial and district levels.
The aim of this project is to launch a four-year pilot project in 2 clusters of FET colleges in each of the 3 provinces which will link RPL admission processes with the learnership pilots implemented by the relevant SETAs and the national and provincial DoEs and DoLs. The project will seek to achieve this goal by; (a) ensuring that all 6 colleges develop and put in place RPL procedures, (b) developing user friendly RPL instruments, (c) producing relevant curriculum and training college/provincial staff on implementation of RPL procedures within the context of a learnership. The project is implemented in partnership with CINOP, which is a Netherlands based organisation.
Overall project activities
Duration
August 2000 - December 2004
Implementing agency:
JET and Nuffic
Funding
R24 million from the Netherlands Government
District Development and Support Project (DDSP)
Purpose
This is a district and school development project working in 469 primary schools in 4 of the poorest provinces: EC, KZN, NC and NP. It approximates Imbewu in its model of school development, although it does not work at the Provincial head office level – a major focus for Imbewu - and its modus operandi is very different.
Project management
The Research Triangle International (RTI) won the US AID contract to manage DDSP. JET is a member, together with Khulisa and CEPD, of a consortium subcontracted to RTI. Activities in each province are co-ordinated by a Provincial Programme Director (PPD), and all other services are contracted out to NGO consortia.
JET supplies 2 grants managers to the project office in Pretoria and receives an overhead on their salaries. All three subcontractors serve on a management committee which meets monthly, and also attend quarterly meetings of the PPDs and service providers. In addition, the subcontractors may be contracted to provide technical assistance on specified tasks.
Activities
August 99 – Sept 02
Funding
$20 million from US AID
Purpose
Mahlahle is a four-year district development partnership project between JET and the NPDE. Mahlahle is implemented in the North Eastern Region comprising the Phalaborwa and Giyani Districts. The purpose of the project is to improve the quality of learning and teaching in the GET phase by developing capacity and systems at the regional, District, school and classroom levels. The first phase focuses on the development of Management, Administration and Governance systems and phase two implementation introduces programmes aimed at improving educator practice and learner performance in Maths, Science and Language. The JET Board has contributed approximately R18,7 million to the project and the DG Murray has contributed R300, 000 for the 2001/2002 period. The project seeks an additional R9,5 million from other donors.
Rationale
Years after the inauguration of a democratic government, followed by the structural transformation of apartheid education and development of world class policies in education, the quality of public schooling has remained largely unchanged, “characterised by disorder, ill-discipline and poor matriculation results year after year” (DoE:1999/2000 Action Plan). In an attempt to address these problems and to move away from isolated school based, INSET or student enrichment programmes, the DoE has embraced the concept of systemic institutional development, with emphasis being put on developing capacity and systems at the various levels of the education system.
The District has been identified as the most critical level with the potential to support improvement in education. However, like schools, it is characterised by a lack systems and poor capacity in terms of expertise and human resources. Therefore, the department is in the process of piloting and developing models for improving the quality of education by integrating school and classroom level interventions with systems/capacity development at the District/ Regional and Provincial levels. Mahlahle and the conceptual framework behind it is informed by these developments and broader educational concerns. It brings together lessons learned from previous experiences and other systemic projects, which are already in an advanced stage of development.
Activities
Duration
November 1999 – December 2002
Implementing Agency
JET
Funding
In November 1999, the JET Board approved R3,5 million to kick-start Phase 1 implementation and in August 2000, the JET Board approved R10 million to strengthen Phase 1 implementation and to kick start implementation of Phase 2. A further R3,5 million was approved in May 2001 and a final contribution of R1,6 million was made in August 2001. The NPDE contribution to the project is estimated at R390, 000 and the NPDE will absorb additional activities to the value of R610, 000. In addition, the DG Murray Trust has contributed R300,000 towards the project. This leaves the project with a shortfall of approximately R9,5 million to be raised from other donors.
Presentations are being made to local and international potential donors and those that have expressed some interest are being followed up.
Purpose
This is a Dutch funded school development project that works with 75 primary schools in the Vryheid Region, in KwaZulu-Natal . The purpose of the project is to train and support teachers in three learning areas namely: Mathematics, Science, and Language with the inclusion of School Management and Governance. In planning the training programme to be delivered, the project team, in conjunction with department representatives, decided that the emphasis should be on assisting teachers with the new and central skills required by the new curriculum, while simultaneously addressing issues of "content knowledge" in these learning areas.
Rationale
This project was launched two and half years ago with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning, and management and governance system at the institutional level in the Vryheid region. The KZN-DEC decided to focus on the selected region because of its poverty level and poor learner performance and teacher competence in many of the schools. Therefore, the project is aimed at addressing critical areas of need, as identified by the Department and the participating schools.
The project is in the third year of operation and was initially managed by another third party organisation.In August 2000, the Royal Netherlands Embassy requested JET to take responsibility for overall programme and financial management for the remaining eighteen months. A Steering Committee and Management Committee comprising the KZN-DEC, RNE, implementing organisations, the Project Manager and JET supervise project planning, implementation and monitoring.
Project Activities
The activities outlined below are directly linked to JET's role in the project. The activities can be summarised as follows:
August 2000 - March 2002
Implementing agency
The KZN-DEC with support from JET and contracted NGOs
Funding
R9,5 million
Purpose
The Resource and Training Programme for Educator Development is a project of the National Department of Education whose aim is to built an inclusive education and training system in South Africa . The project is currently piloted in three Provinces, namely, KZN, EC and NW. Only one district per Province has been selected to participate in the pilot. Within the participating district, two clusters comprising four to six educational institutions have been identified.
Rationale
Research undertaken by the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) showed that just over 41 000 learners experiencing learning difficulties are enrolled in special schools. This figure represents about 0.34% of learners with special needs education and training.
In addition, mainstream schools often accommodate learners with special needs in segregated settings, which result in social isolation from peers and the community at large. In many of the mainstream institutions, the accommodation of special needs learners is often not accompanied by specialised facilities to enhance the learners’ growth and potential.
The total numbers of ‘special needs’ learners who receive appropriate education and training in special or ordinary schools is very limited compared to the estimated need. The project is therefore informed by these considerations; (a) the need for capacity to deal with special needs effectively and (b) the need for an inclusive education and training system that does not, directly or indirectly, undermine the constitutional rights of learners.
Activities
The activities of the project can be summarised as follows:
Duration
April 2000 - December 2002
Implementing Agency
National DoE, Provincial DoEs and Service Providers, with assistance from JET
Funding
R13 million from DANIDA
Learnership and Training for the Youth
It is a sad fact that a large number of youths in South Africa are unemployed and without the necessary skills or relevant education to get jobs.JET facilitates youth development and has initiated a division for Lifelong Learning, to directly address the problems of the youth sector.
Eastern Free State Learnership Project
Purpose
This skills development project aims to provide structured education opportunities leading to professional qualifications, to unemployed youth in the Eastern Free State . Working with relevant SETAs, the Provincial Departments of Education and Labour, FET colleges, small businesses and local business development agencies, the project will develop structured skills programmes, which will provide the pathway to fully-fledged Learnerships, incorporating extensive workplace-based experience for learners.
Our long-term vision is to develop successful models of educational delivery, relevant to FET level skills programmes and learnerships, which can be replicated for delivery at other sites across South Africa .
Rationale
The basis for this project lies in that part of JET's mission which is to strengthen the relationship between education and the world of work. It also builds on many years of grant making aimed at the delivery of skills training and enterprise education for unemployed youth.
In 2000 a detailed feasibility study conducted by the EWET organisation and funded by JET, suggested that a new Learnership Project based in the Eastern Free State was viable. The feasibility study suggested a programme that could lead to registered qualifications in the economic sectors of Wholesale and Retail, Information Technology, and Finance and Accounting. The size, scope and innovative framework of the project was presented to the JET Board at a meeting in November 2000. An in-principle decision was taken by the Board to fund the project in the amount of R10,2m on condition that other potential partners, who are core to the project, express shared ownership, and the capacity to generate the balance of the required resources.
Main Activities for the period January to July 2001
In the current phase of project planning we have focused on those activities which will help to lay a solid foundation for the project and to secure partnership agreements and co-funding by not later than the end of July 2001. These include the following:
Budget and Funding
Indicative budget estimate three year budget for 1000 learners at R27m. JET board approves R10,2m in November 2001, conditional on co-funding agreements with other core partners. Further planning activities budget approved for 2001 R701,895.
Grant-making for Learnerships Development
Purpose
The purpose of this limited grant making programme is to support the continued efforts of some of JET's most successful grantees to reposition themselves in terms of new policy and regulations, and to contribute to the development of Learnership models in the field youth development and enterprise education.
Rationale
Many of the organisations supported by JET in the past have a distinguished track record of innovation and delivery in the field of youth focussed skills training and entrepreneurship education. This places them in an important position to contribute to national, provincial and local strategies aimed at youth development and job creation. The full gambit of regulations and funding provision for Learnerships have not yet been decided by government and even if these are forthcoming before the end of this year, it is unlikely that NGOs and Colleges will see the benefits thereof before 2002.
In January 2001 the DLL approached the Board for an in-principle agreement to provide funds in the amount of R1,2m for the purpose of grant making to selected organisations - those which have the ability to make a distinctive contribution to innovation in the field of Learnerships for unemployed youth in the SMME sector. The following criteria were identified:
Main Activities
In order to facilitate the provision of grants to qualifying organisations the DLL will undertake the following activities:
Budget and Funding
R1,5m approved by the JET Board
RPL Programme Development And Service Delivery
Purpose
To enhance the capabilities of administrators, faculty staff, and education and training practitioners to deliver quality programmes and services for adult learners in Further and Higher Education institutions and in the workplace.
Rationale
The successful provision of lifelong learning and workforce development opportunities to adult workers is fundamentally dependent on the leadership and capacity of education and training providers in the workplace and in the formal institutions. This includes the development of RPL inclusive policies and procedures; the facilities and staff to advise and counsel adult learners; the negotiation and design of new curricula and programmes; assisting learners in the development of portfolios of evidence based on their prior formal and experiential learning; the implementation of effective assessments for the purposes of RPL; and the provision of efficient administrative and learner support systems etc.
Our focus will be on the development of inclusive policy models and related training courses through which academic staff and workplace based educators can build their capacity and systems to be able to offer an effective menu of RPL related services to adult learners. In addition we would want to work closely with the new statutory bodies responsible for quality assurance (QA) in the education and training system.
Main ActivitiesFrom the beginning of 2001 to mid-2002, the Assessor Training (AT) and Portfolio Development (PD) Courses will be adapted and produced. There are two focusses for this work: one on assessors who are also academics in FET and HE Institutions; the other on occupationally (workplace) based assessors.
We have initiated a discussion with CAEL and De Paul University on the possibility of adapting their on-line assessor training course for delivery in South Africa . The revised course will be piloted with a group of South African academics, FE educators and adult learners. We also intend to initiate the development of a work-place based assessor training course.
During 2000, a portfolio development course was designed for the Sapekoe Tea Estate pilot project, with the assistance of CAEL consultants. Additional work to be undertaken is a relatively minor piece, and entails the adaptation of the Sapekoe course into a generic course targeted at the FE level. Once work with individual institutions begins, the PDC can be customised to the institution’s particular context.
Also in 2000 we were contracted to assist the New Tyre Chamber of the MERSETA to assist them in the design and implementation of an RPL pilot project. This included the development and delivery of an Assessor training Course. This contract, has been extended in 2001 to make provision for the development and implementation of training for 50 occupationally based assessors across the sector.
In order to deliver both the AT and PD courses in future we will need to b registered and accredited as a private education and training provider through the new Section 21 Company which has been established as JET Education Services.
Once the Assessor Training courses have been piloted, they will be actively marketed to institutions, companies and private training providers. After the pilot phase we will run these courses on a cost recovery basis and hope to be fully self-supporting by 2003.
The purpose of this activity would be to support the design and implementation of criteria, processes and support systems for ensuring quality RPL practices across all formal and workplace based education and training providers.
The main activities would be to seek contracts/consultancies with QA bodies; as well as to design and assist with the implementation of 2 pilot projects that would seek to implement QA systems within a partnership context.
It should be noted that a short-term contract for the South African Nursing Council was secured. This entailed the development of an RPL implementation and quality assurance guidelines document. As a result of the quality of the work done, M Buchler has been invited to co-author a chapter on RPL for an education and training handbook for healthcare educators, the publication of which is being co-funded by the Department of Health and JUTA.
Our plan is to extend this support over the next two years both within the 'workforce development pilot project' and at existing and new sites. Each institution qualifying for grant funding will need to undertake research, planning, staff development and evaluation activities that will support and improve RPL delivery for learners at the institution. Criteria for funding will be developed within the context of nationally targeted areas, and which will also complement the RPL research agenda.
A model based on regional RPL provision and collaboration between institutions will be explored in order to establish whether such a model is academically, administratively and financially feasible. Many of the activities relating to capacity building at the academic and administrative levels are similar to an institution-based model of RPL provision. Preliminary discussions around the feasibility of such a model being based in KwaZulu Natal have already been raised with the Eastern Seaboard Association of Tertiary Institutions, with the possibility of expanding the regional model to include colleges in the FE sector.
Budget and Funding
In total we anticipate expenditure in the amount of R3,689,900 for these activities of which the JET Board has committed R2,414,900. Our request to the Ford Foundation is for complementary funding in the amount of R1,275,000. Other contracts secured in 2001 include MERSETA, R300,000; CTP, R20,000; SA Nursing Council, R4,500 and SAQA, R110,000.
RPL: Research, Advocacy and Networking
Rationale
The challenges and complexities associated with the integration of RPL principles and practices into the education system calls for a high level of quality research and development activity in the workplace and in the more traditional centres of learning and teaching. To be effective this work needs to articulate with a broader agenda for policy development and curriculum planning, through which the conditions for expanded lifelong learning opportunities can be ensured.
Objectives for 2001 - 2002
The overarching purpose for research, advocacy and networking activities is to create a more favourable climate for the development of an open, accessible, responsive, high quality and adult friendly learning system in South Africa . Linked to this, our first objective is to enhance the quality of reflective practice in the field of RPL and the allocation of resources for RPL in the system. Our second objective is to strengthen the links between policy makers, practitioners and learners operating across a wide diversity of institutions and sites of learning.
Main Activities for 2001 - 2002
The activities which would serve the above objectives and which would constitute the main elements of a research, networking and advocacy agenda for the next two years, are as follows:
Budget and Funding
JET Board: R1,300,500. Ford Foundation: Pending R602,000
Systematic Assessment Instruments for Learners (SAIL)
Purpose of the SAIL Project
To develop standardised instruments which assess core competences in literacy and numeracy at the Foundation Phase. Such instruments will allow systemic assessment of the state of education in the country and provide:
Rationale
The assessment of learning outcomes is crucial for assessing the health of the education system. Without such tools of diagnosis the system is ‘flying blind’. Luis Crouch, adviser to the Department of Education for the past three years, claims that the South African education system currently operates ‘largely unaided by the use of indicators’. This he argues is like flying a Boeing 747 with no altimeter, no speed gauge, no radar, no compasses etc. - ‘exhilarating but prone to surprises’.
Recent classroom-based research and programme evaluations have begun to alert us to the surprises. A number of PEI research reports commissioned by the Department of Education provide evidence that the schooling system is failing to impart basic skills in the Foundation Phase. This suggests that there is an urgent need to conduct systemic assessment at this and other levels of the school system in order to obtain objective and accurate information on learner progress.
Activities (January – March 2001)
In 2000 the JET Mahlahle numeracy and literacy tests were administered to Grade 3 learners in five provinces. In the period January to March 2001 the results of the tests were analysed and reports written on all but the Mahlahle Project.
Funding
JET Phase 1: R521 500
Phase 2: R527 420
Phase 3: R1 386 680
Phase 4: R624 400
Total: R 3 060 000
JET recognises the need for adult education and further training - for adults who are either in the workplace - or for unemployed adults wanting to enter it.In many instances, workers have gained access to higher education and
tertiary education.
Over the past few years, government has supported skills development programmes
for the employed and unemployed members of the South African workforce.
A Menu of JET Education Services
Skills Audit and Preparation Workplace Skills Plan
It is important for an employer to know the capacity which its human resources already have before factoring in any development intervention. A skills audit begins a systematic development of the human capital of organisations. In the performance of a skills audit, JET will:
Preparation for Skills Training
The Dipaakanyo Workshop prepares employees for career planning, goal setting and to achieve these goals from skills training. It is a three day programme and can accommodate a maximum of 25 participants under the guidance of two trained facilitators. At the end of the three days, participants will:
Individual Advising and Counselling Sessions
Following the Dipaakanyo Workshop, these individual sessions provide the opportunity for each employee to examine his/her personal career goals and learning agenda in a supportive environment with a knowledgeable career/education professional. Three sessions, separated by at least one week to allow for information gathering and reflection, are recommended. This service includes:
JET will provide the the following services:
A Computerised Tracking and Reporting System
JET has secured from CAEL in the US exclusive implementation of its Tuition Administration and Management Systemä (TAMS) adapted for South African use.
DIPAAKANYO Returning to Learning
Recent changes in the economic and social climate have resulted in retrenchments and redeployment. It is within this scope that the Department of Labour has suggested a social plan and skills development policy framework. The Joint Education Trust, with a long track record in support of Adult Basic Education and Skills Training, is now moving its focus into the provision of Advising and Counselling Services which will assist workers to make sound choices and take full advantage of education and training, job-creation and employment opportunities available.
The Dipaakanyo Workshop
Who should take this workshop?
Goals of the workshop
To help participants:
Workshop Themes
The three-day Dipaakanyo workshop covers the following themes:
Quality Assurance – An International Track Record
The three-day Dipaakanyo Workshop and supporting advising and counselling services have been adapted for the South African workforce from the very successful Returning to Learning model designed and delivered in the United States by The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). Since 1984, this model has been customised for workers in American employment sectors as diverse as clothing manufacturing, forestry, auto manufacturing, banking, telecommunications, municipal and state government, energy and
Benefits to Clients
Workforce Advising and Support Services Project
Purpose
This project will create options, systems and financing for 1000 retrenched workers to obtain education and training, advising and related support services to assist them with the acquisition of skills necessary for employability. It will also build a system that can be used to expand workforce development services to other employed and unemployed adults in future. For this purpose it will:
Rationale
The current policy and legislative framework, namely Skills Development Act, Social Plan along with the funding sources, like Work Security Fund; Job Creation and National Skills Fund creates a positive environment for adult education and training opportunities to emerge. However, even in the midst of a climate favourable towards workforce development, there are barriers that must be overcome in order for these initiatives to be a success.
A well-designed workforce development programme will aim to overcome these barriers and enable adult learners to take full advantage of the new opportunities arising from the National Skills Development Strategy and related systems.
Main ActivitiesThe main activities envisaged for workforce development projects are as follows:
Community-Higher Education Service Partnerships
Community-Higher Education Service Partnerships or CHESP is about involving communities in education, empowering them and ensuring that their educational needs are met.
This means:
The project is funded by the Ford Foundation, the JET Board and the Kellogg Foundation.
In April 1999 JET approved a Planning Grant to eight HEIs to develop institution-wide policies and strategies for community engagement through mainstream academic programmes. Each grant was linked to 6 specific outcomes:
1. Identifying Partners
All participating HEIs identified at least one community and one service sector partner. Generally, community partners were defined as a specific geographic community. Service sector partners included NGOs; chambers of commerce and industry; private sector corporations; and local, metropolitan and provincial authorities.
2. Formation of Partnership Structures
At each participating HEI, the CHESP planning process was facilitated by a CHESP core group, consisting of at least one community member, one academic, and one service sector representative nominated by the university in consultation with its community and service sector partners. In order to build the capacity of these teams, JET, in collaboration with the Leadership Centre of the University of Natal, developed a graduate programme in Leadership Capacity Building. Nine of the twelve modules in the programme were completed by December 2000. Each module was designed to inform the planning and development process in participating communities, HEIs and service sector agencies.
3. Community Situation Analysis
In contrast to the more usual deficit-based approach, CHESP adopted an asset-based approach to the situation analysis, focusing on the identification of assets within each community which could be used to further the aims of the CHESP. Typical assets included: schools; clinics; businesses; churches; community associations; NGOs; recreation and sport facilities; skills and capacities within the community; and, in rural settings, physical resources such as rivers; dams; springs; reservoirs; and boreholes. Development priorities included local economic development; development of community infrastructure; capacity building and skills training; development of recreational facilities; health services; crime prevention; tourism; and conservation of the natural resources.
4. HEI Audit of Community Service
In order to match community assets and development priorities with HEI initiatives, all participating HEIs conducted an audit of their existing community service activities. The audit revealed that all HEIs are engaged in a wide range of community service initiatives.
Key benefits of community-based learning identified in the audits include:
Key obstacles to community-based learning identified in the audits include:
5. Strategic Plan for Community Engagement
Building on the outcomes mentioned above, most participating HEI completed a strategic plan for operationalising their policy on community engagement. The development of these plans necessitated extensive consultation and collaboration with participating community leaders, academics, academic planning officers, members of the HEI Executive, and service sector representatives.
All strategic plans were approved by the HEI Executive as an institution-wide strategy for community engagement. The plans also served as a proposal to JET for a CHESP Implementation Grant. Resulting from these plans, JET will be supporting the development and research of approximately fifty pilot community-based academic service-learning programmes across a wide range of disciplines during 2001.
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