Question NW990 to the Minister of Basic Education
08 June 2020 - NW990
Sukers, Ms ME to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1) Whether the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (UMALUSI) is responsible for (a) curriculum development for existing qualifications, (b) the (i) development and (ii) introduction of new qualifications and (c) the development of the curricula for new qualifications; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case; (2) whether she has found that there is any uncertainty with regard to the overlapping statutory mandates of UMALUSI and her department for conducting input-based assessment of independent schools, but not providing sufficient assistance on how to improve; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the relevant details of the uncertainty and (b) steps has she taken to resolve such uncertainty?
Reply:
(1)(a) No, responsible professional bodies such as the Department of Basic Education (DBE) are responsible for the development of curriculum/policy (National Education Policy Act, 27 of 1996)
(1)(b)(i) UMALUSI is not responsible for the development of new qualifications, but it is the responsibility of the DBE, and UMALUSI quality assures qualifications after which it submits them to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) for registration on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
(1)(b)(ii) DBE is responsible for introducing a new qualification that it has developed.
(1)(c) As indicated above, the DBE is responsible for the development of curricula for new qualifications and not UMALUSI. The latter is responsible for the quality assurance of both the curricula and qualifications.
(2) There is no uncertainty regarding the statutory mandate of UMALUSI and the Department of Basic Education regarding independent schools. The Regulations regarding the criteria for the Quality Assurance, Accreditation, Monitoring of Independent Schools and Private Assessment Bodies, published in Government Gazette no.41206 of 27 October 2017, clearly stipulates the role of UMALUSI and the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). The PEDs are responsible for the registration of independent schools which gives them the approval to operate as a school and thereafter they must be subjected to the accreditation process of UMALUSI which determines whether the independent school has the capacity to offer and manage the relevant qualification and the related curriculum. The Department has also developed Guidelines for the Registration and Accreditation of Independent Schools, which has been endorsed by Heads of Education Committee (HEDCOM) and needs to be approved by Council of Education Ministers (CEM) and this will further assist independent schools in understanding the relationship between registration and accreditation. The independent schools are supported by both the PEDs and UMALUSI to meet the criteria for registration as an independent school and to be accredited to offer the qualification. The DBE has also established a HEDCOM sub-committee for Independent Schools which addresses all concerns of the independent schooling sector at a national level.