Question NW254 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
07 March 2017 - NW254
Van der Westhuizen, Mr AP to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training
(1)Has the Council on Higher Education recently evaluated the contents of the Bachelor of Education degree currently being offered by the University of Zululand; if so, (a) what was the outcome of the evaluation(s) and (b) on what date were the recommendations finalised in this regard; (2) has the specified university been enrolling students for the specified degree for the (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 academic years; if so, how many students have registered for the specified degree in each specified academic years; (3) has accreditation been granted for the specified degree; if not, (a) what are the implications of the non-accreditation on students currently studying towards the specified degree and (b) what assurance can he give Mr A P van der Westhuizen that students will not be disadvantaged in respect of the period during which tuition was offered while the programme was reported not to have been accredited; if so, (i) on what date was accreditation granted and (ii) would the accreditation apply retrospectively?
Reply:
In 2007 the Council on Higher Education (CHE) conducted a review of academic and professional programmes in education. The outcome of this review for the University of Zululand (UniZulu) for the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Foundation/Intermediate Phase was that it was accredited with conditions and the programme was put on notice of withdrawal. At the time, the university was required to review its education programmes and resubmit them for evaluation. Partly in response to the CHE review, the Department reviewed the teacher education policy and published a new policy (The Policy on Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications in 2011). UniZulu, like all other universities, was required to redevelop all their teacher education qualifications to meet the requirements of the new policy. UniZulu redeveloped its B.Ed and submitted to the CHE.
- The CHE has evaluated the new Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) aligned Bachelor of Education degree designed in line with the new policy on teacher education qualifications offered by the University of Zululand. The Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the CHE accredited all the submitted B.Ed programmes on 9 February 2017, with between one to four short-term conditions. These conditions must be met within three months of the accreditation letter. The institution is permitted to offer the qualification and register students on the new HEQSF aligned programme in 2017.
- (a) In 2015, there were 5 052 enrolments for the B Ed qualification at UniZulu and in 2016, there were 5 076 enrolments (preliminary 2016 data - still to be audited). (b) It is not possible to provide 2017 enrolments at this time.
- (a) Not applicable. (b) Accreditation has been granted for new qualifications as specified above. These new HEQSF aligned B.Ed programmes may only be offered after 9 February 2017. These specific qualifications may not be retrospectively awarded. Students registered in prior years were registered on the old Norms and Standards for Educators (2000) aligned qualifications. The accreditation of the old B.Ed qualifications, while on notice of withdrawal, were never disaccredited by the HEQC. Therefore all B.Ed students registered at UniZulu prior to 2017 were enrolled in accredited programmes and were not disadvantaged.
COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:
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DIRECTOR – GENERAL
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QUESTION 254 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED
Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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