South Africa is at the forefront of education in Africa, the quality of education the country institutions offers attract students from all part of the continent. There are bodies that accredit South African Colleges before they can start to function as an educational institute. It is important for students to know if the college they are applying to is accredited.
The accreditation process South Africa Colleges undergo is to make sure that the college has everything in place to offer quality education and meet the demand of the employers, companies and organizations. It is mandatory for every country that wants to produce graduate that are competent and compete well in the labour market to focus on the quality of education offered by its institutions.
The Government of South Africa has put some bodies in place to check the quality of education offers by the colleges in the Country. Students are expected to make sure the college they are applying to is registered under the department of education.
Registered colleges with the department of education
If you have been wondering how to know if a college is accredited? Before an institution can be accredited in South Africa, it has to pass through the registration process first. The registration is done by the Department of Education, all the registered colleges in South Africa are the colleges registered under the department of education. You can find the list on colleges registered under the department of education on their website.
Accredited colleges in South Africa
For an institution to be accredited, the institution will have to meet some standard and qualifications. The first step is that the college must be registered under the Department of Education. Students can check if their institution of choice is registered under the Department of Education by visiting their website.
Umalusi is responsible for the accreditation of all the private colleges in South Africa. To know if your college is accredited you have to contact Umalusi and request for the list of accredited colleges using the details below:
Telephone: +27 (012) 349 1510
Fax: +27 (012) 349 1511 (by unit)
Email: [email protected]
Any student that wants to be sure of an institutional accreditation will have to check is the institution is registered by the Department of Education and confirm if the institution is accredited by UMalusi. South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) is the institution that set the standard for colleges in South Africa. This system gauges the quality of education that colleges offer by gauging:
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- The quality of the institution and services that the college offers
- The quality of the facilities in the colleges like the laboratories and the libraries
- The quality of the learning materials like textbooks
- The academic qualifications of the lectures
After SANAS has ascertained that the college is credible to offer education, they will then proceed to the accreditation of each course the institution will offer. There are many bodies under the SETA (Sector Educational and Training Authority). Each body has an area of specialization it governs. Some of the bodies are:
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- AGRISETA
- BANKSETA
- CATHSSETA
- CETA
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All these bodies are responsible for the assessment of the quality of education each institution offers.
Umalusi accreditation
The Umalusi is the institution that is responsible for the accreditation of the following type of institution:
- Private Adult Education and Training providers
- Private assessment bodies that assess the qualifications Umalusi certifies
- Private Further Education and Training Colleges (FET Colleges)
- Independent schools
In as much as private colleges may seem to have their system of governance, the quality of education that they offer still has to be monitored. That is the reason as to why Umalusi came into existence.
During accreditation, Umalusi will exercise its power under the guidance of set-aside policy documents. The set-aside policy documents have a method they use for the accreditation of an institution. Umalusi’s mandate is only tied to private institutions, its task for the public institution is limited to monitoring and giving reports on how effective the curricula are. It is responsible for the monitoring of FET College’s curricula, Public Schools curricular and Adult Learning Centres curricular.
The accreditation of a private institution is to ensure that institutions comply with the registration requirements. Registration is done for institutions to provide them with the license to offer their services to students. You should also know that registration is different from accreditation, while registration is to give institution license, accreditation is to assess the quality of education the institution offers.
How to check if a college is registered with Umalusi
To know if an institution is registered under Umalusi, you will have to start with “Expression of Intent” and then proceed to fill it in and submit online. The “Expression of Intent” will then pass through screening to be sure if the institution meets the terms of quality assurance. The applicant will receive the result of the screening after it is completed.
Students that want to check is a college is accredited can check the list that Umalusi has compiled and posted on its website. You find all the colleges that meet all Umalusi requirements and are accredited.
The South Africa Government put all these measures in place to make sure that all the colleges in the country offer quality education. it also ensures that the standard of education in the country is not compromised. It is very important for a student to find out about the college they are applying to.
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