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Director of Ceremonies, Sam Isaacs
Minister of Labour, Comrade Membathisi Mdladlana
Dr Mokubong Nkomo
Ladies and Gentlemen

A common refrain voiced by detractors of our efforts to transform the South African Education system was that transformation would lead to a drop in standards. The "drop in standards" lobby veiled their racist contention that Black people could not build, manage, or sustain a system that ensured quality education, as well as their belief that Black people could not govern a country properly. At a school level the influx of township learners into suburban Model "C" schools was automatically linked to a drop in standards and a collapse of discipline. In this context the debate about standards was actually a commentary on the capacity and ability of South Africans.

The development of public confidence in the public education system is a key component of our transformation agenda. The annual public hype surrounding the matric results can be used as a measure of public confidence. The significant increase in overall matric pass rates in 2000 was greeted with joy by the majority of our people, but sadly although not surprisingly, there were also those who doubted the authenticity of the results and even went so far as to suggest tampering and manipulation of marks. This was yet another permutation of the standards debate - first there was the questioning of the ability of those running the education system to deliver quality education, then when results steadily improve the validity of the results are questioned. You see, acknowledging the accuracy, authenticity and validity of good results means that our detractors would need to admit, somewhat grudgingly, that we could actually build, manage and sustain a system that delivers quality education.

Let us be clear, not everyone who is critical is a detractor. Honest, constructive and rigorous criticism is welcomed as a necessary facet of any worthwhile education system.

As I have reminded people on many occasions, the SAQA Act (No. 58 of 1995) was the very first act that was passed by the new democratic government. The South African Qualifications Authority and the myriad of complex structures constituted by National Standards Bodies (NSBs), Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs), Quality Assurers and Assessors have a collective function to provide the critical perspective that will validate the quality of education delivered by our education and training system across all bands from Early Childhood development, through General, Further and Higher Education including Adult Education and Training.

I recall watching women buying material. They invariably felt the texture and weave of the cloth between their fingers, held it up to the light to check for any flaws and gave it a few tugs to test its strength. I now realise that I was actually watching a form of quality testing in action. The Education and Training Quality Assurers (ETQAs) we are about to accredit are challenged to ensure that the material laid before us is of good quality.

I know that I have oversimplified some very complex and intricate processes yet I firmly believe that without this simple (note not simplistic) understanding we might lose the very essence of our commitment to quality education in the maze of structures, regulations, procedures, and complex processes as these have the propensity to develop lives of their own.

The National Qualifications Framework's first objective is the creation of an integrated framework for learning achievement. Tirisano, Vhutsila, the Human Resources Development Strategy, and the development of learnerships reflect the partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Labour and our commitment to the NQF.

SAQA through the NQF is developing a national quality assurance system that affects the quality of learning for all learners, for those in high profile occupations, those attending celebrated institutions and selected schools, those participating in formal and informal education programmes.

As government we have established a policy, legislative and regulatory framework aimed at the enhancement of quality in education and training, addressing issues of redress of past unfair discrimination, and facilitating access, mobility and progression within learning pathways.

It is imperative that we set empowering and liberating standards that map viable learning pathways that support life-long learning and produce thinking, productive citizens that participate effectively in a vibrant economy.

Quality education requires consistent vigilance. We are challenged to monitor and support learning and teaching, facilitate the development, procurement and delivery of learning support materials, promote the efficient and effective management of the education system and its institutions, and enhance learner attainment and educator performance.

Our policies are now at the stage of implementation and the Education and Training Quality Assurance Bodies have a major responsibility in making our vision a reality.

Many structured relationships have been established between organisations that have a common interest in specific qualifications e.g. the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) - one of the ETQAs to receive its certificate tonight - is working closely with the Council on Higher Education to ensure that the Bachelor of Commerce degrees at our universities meet the requirements that SAICA needs to ensure that the South African chartered accountant qualification is internationally acceptable.

The Mining Qualifications Authority is working together with a number of professional councils, including the Engineering Council of South Africa to ensure that our mining industry is up to standard.

ECSA in turn is also working with the Council on Higher Education to ensure that our engineering qualifications meet their standards for the registration of practising engineers who are internationally recognised.

These activities show that education and training working hand-in-hand as intended in an integrated framework for learning achievements.

It is pertinent to comment on the concept of internationally acceptable qualifications. The NQF is a national framework; it is a South African framework. It is not an international framework.

But, we would be amiss to ignore the fact that as a nation we are part of the global village and therefore we need to benchmark our systems against other countries. However we have our own context and peculiar circumstances.

We need to build a South African system with South African qualifications that have credibility in their own right and which are recognised by other countries.

Because we in the Ministries of Education and Labour take these matters seriously and are committed to the objectives of the NQF, a focus study group has been tasked with looking closely at how issues that affect the smooth implementation of the NQF can be addressed.

We have instituted this critical voice and we look forward to the report from the focus study and its recommendations in respect of strengthening the development and implementation of the NQF.

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the quality assurances bodies and remind them of the huge responsibility they have to our nation.

I thank you.

Issued by Ministry of Education

15 August 2001