Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Education

1. Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Education 15 March 2006

2. Contents • What is SAQA • SAQA’s mission • Objectives of the NQF • Budget assumptions • Medium-term revenue estimates • Strategy • Programmes and plans

3. What is SAQA? • South African Qualifications Authority • Statutory body of 29 members • Appointed by Ministers of Education and Labour

4. SAQA’s mission • To ensure the development and implementation of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) that contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large

5. SAQA’s mission • The mission supports: • Tirisano programme of the Department of Education – whose priorities are derived from the overall policy framework, which seeks to enable all individuals to value, have access to, and succeed in, quality life-long education and training

6. SAQA’s mission • Vhutsila programme of the Department of Labour – which challenges South African to make a working reality of skills for productive citizenship for all

7. Objectives of the NQF • Create an integrated national framework for learning achievements • Facilitate access to, and mobility and progression within education, training and career paths • Enhance the quality of education and training • Accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities • Contribute to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of the nation at large

8. Seven directorates with 12 operating units reporting to an Executive Office Executive Office Standards Quality Strategic Support: IT HR Finance Setting and and Assurance and Communications, Development Admin. Development Research, NLRD CEEQ Resource Centre, Meeting the NQF objectives

9. Budget assumptions • That the budget is based on the implementation of the recommendations to the Ministers on the outcome of the NQF study report • That the funding from government will be at least R34m • That savings of R3.2m from the 2005/6 budget will be used to fund the 2006/7 budget

10. Budget assumptions • That the projected additional interest income for 2005/6 of R1.2 m will be used to fund this budget • That the surplus of R2.198m from the 2004/5 financial year will be used to fund this budget • That personnel costs will be adjusted for the effects of inflation • That inflation in income and costs will be around 6 percent • That project funding will be sought for clearly defined and discrete projects

11. Medium-term revenue estimate

12. Medium-term expenditure estimate

13. Medium-term expenditure estimate cont.

14. Strategic plan • Focuses on ensuring the evolution of an enhanced NQF that is underpinned by systemic co-ordination, coherence and resource alignment in support of the HRD strategy, the objectives of which are underpinned by a strong NQF

15. Core strategy • Develop and sustain policies, procedures and infrastructures for the NQF, actively supported by the key stakeholders in education and training

16. Core strategy • As the NQF apex organisation, provide leadership to deepen, broaden and strengthen NQF implementation with a strong focus on effective partnerships and informed decision-making based on quality research

17. Core strategy • Work with stakeholders to build communities of trust in an effort to develop pragmatic and workable solutions to NQF implementation difficulties. These will reduce tensions within the system to ensure that short-term gains do not undermine the long-term needs of the system

18. Programmes and plans

19. Administration and Support • This programme covers the activities of the Executive Office and the following Directorates: • Finance and Administration • Human Resources • Information and Information Technology and • Strategic Support

20. Administration and Support • Plans: • Partner major stakeholders to ensure systemic coordination, coherence and resource alignment to the benefit of learners in line with the national HRD Strategy. • Advise and inform policy-makers on all matters relating to the NQF, through conducting and commissioning research on national imperatives, NQF impact, policy development and implementation.

21. Administration and Support • Plans cont.: • Conduct ongoing strategic advocacy for the NQF • Represent South Africa on international qualification framework forums; and support the development of qualification framework initiatives, especially SADC and NEPAD. • Ensure the aligned development of human, financial and infrastructural resources to support the achievement of the organisational objectives

22. National Standards Setting and Development • Plans: • Continue to provide leadership and professional expertise to ensure that high quality, nationally relevant and internationally comparable unit standards and qualifications are registered on the NQF

23. National Quality Assurance and Development • Plans: • Continue to provide leadership through systemic monitoring and evaluation for continuous quality improvement of education and training

24. National Learners’ Records Database (NLRD) • Plan • Ensure that the information on the NLRD is of acceptable quality and previously inaccessible data is available

25. National Centre for the Evaluation of Foreign Qualifications (CEEQ) • Plans: • Maintain and develop the role of SAQA’s Centre for the Evaluation of Educational Qualifications (CEEQ) as the national recognition information centre for foreign and domestic learning and qualifications.

26. THANK YOU