Question NW272 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
15 March 2018 - NW272
Van der Westhuizen, Mr AP to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training
(1)(a) By what date will the National Senior Certificate for Adults be rolled out and (b) what (i) amount of funding has her department requested from the National Treasury for the rollout and (ii) is the detailed breakdown of the costs that will be covered by the funding; (2) Whether she has found that the entities involved in the quality assurance of the final assessments and issuing of the certificates for the specified qualification are ready for action once the qualification is rolled out; if not, what is the position in this regard; (3) Whether any steps have been taken to ensure that the specified qualification will be recognised for suitable employment and/or admission to further higher education and training institutions?
Reply:
1. (a) The date of the rollout of the National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA) has not been determined without a committed budget allocation for the rollout.
(b) (i) The Department has requested R3.48 billion for the rollout of the NASCA in 2018/19, R3.68 billion in 2019/20 and R3.87 billion in 2020/21 financial years; and
(ii) The approach adopted for budget estimates was based on programme funding targeting 100 000 students. Elements within the programme funding include personnel, goods and services, and capital expenditure.
2. The development of the NASCA has been done in collaboration with Umalusi as the Quality Council for general and further education and training. Umalusi has indicated that capacity to quality assure and issue certificates will be available once the rollout of the NASCA takes place.
3. The Department has developed the draft admission policy for candidates wanting access to Higher Education Institutions. University Registrars, Universities South Africa (USAf) and the Council on Higher Education (CHE) were consulted with regards to admission into university.
Consultation has also taken place with private providers and employer structures on the design of the qualification, curriculum development process and related regulations and policies. Further continuing work will need to be done with public and private employers regarding the recognition of the NASCA for employment purposes.