Vocational Education and Training in Southern Africa

[Pages:174]Vocational Education and

Training in Southern Africa

A Comparative Study

Edited by Salim Akoojee, Anthony Gewer and Simon McGrath

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

HSRC RESEARCH MONOGRAPH

RESEARCH PROGRAMME ON HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

Compiled by the Research Programme on Human Resources Development, Human Sciences Research Council

Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa hsrcpress.ac.za

? 2005 Human Sciences Research Council, in this version

First published 2005

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

ISBN 0-7969-2043-5

Cover by Fuel Design Copy editing by Laurie Rose-Innes Typeset by Christabel Hardacre Print management by comPress

Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Marketing and Distribution PO Box 30370, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966, South Africa Tel: +27 +21 701-4477 Fax: +27 +21 701-7302 email: orders@blueweaver.co.za

Distributed worldwide, except Africa, by Independent Publishers Group 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610, USA To order, call toll-free: 1-800-888-4741 All other inquiries, Tel: +1 +312-337-0747 Fax: +1 +312-337-5985 email: Frontdesk@

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

Contents

List of tables and figures vi Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations viii

1. The multiple context of vocational education and training in southern Africa Simon McGrath 1

Introduction 1 The historical legacy 1 International influences 2 This study 6

2. Botswana: united in purpose, diverse in practice Salim Akoojee 9

Introduction 9 The socio-political, economic and development context 9 The educational context 15 The TVET system 17 Recent developments 22 Conclusion 29

3. Lesotho: the uphill journey to development Thomas Magau 32

Contextual realities 32 The educational context 34 The VET system 36 Conclusion 44

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

4. Mauritius: `the Singapore of Africa'? Skills for a global island Anthony Gewer 46

The country context 46 The educational context 49 The VET system 54 Summary and conclusions 63

5. Mozambique: towards rehabilitation and transformation Nimrod Mbele 65

Introduction 65 The country context 65 The educational context 68 The TVET system 71 Key issues in Mozambican TVET 74 Conclusion 79

6. Namibia: repositioning vocational education and training Mahlubi Mabizela 81

Introduction 81 Locating Namibia 81 The education system 84 The VET system 85 Current vision and changes in the VET system 95 Conclusion 98

7. South Africa: skills development as a tool for social and economic development Salim Akoojee, Anthony Gewer and Simon McGrath 99

Introduction 99 Setting the scene: economic and development contexts 99 The educational context 103 The unfinished business of building a new integrated VET system 106 Attempts to strengthen the integration of education and training 112 A decade on: assessing and explaining successes and failures 115

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

8. The Kingdom of Swaziland: escaping the colonial legacy Jennifer Roberts 118

Introduction 118 The social and economic context 118 The Swaziland education system 123 VET in Swaziland 126 Emerging policy issues and directions 137

9. Key issues and challenges for transformation Simon McGrath 139

Understanding the extent and limits of regional convergence in VET policy 139 A vision for VET? 140 VET and the bigger policy picture 142 The VET debates 144 Conclusion 151

References 152

v

?HSRC 2005

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

vi

?HSRC 2005

List of tables and figures

Tables

Table 2.1 Key economic indicators 10 Table 2.2 Botswana exports (P million), selected years and sectors 11 Table 2.3 Literacy rates 15 Table 2.4 Public education expenditure 16 Table 2.5 School enrolment ratios 16 Table 2.6 TVET provision in Botswana 17 Table 2.7 The cost of TVET (per student per year) 24 Table 3.1 Macroeconomic plan indicators, selected years 34 Table 3.2 Some social indicators 34 Table 3.3 Number of teachers and students by level in Lesotho's

education system, 1998 35 Table 4.1 Mauritius and the 2003 Human Development Index 47 Table 4.2 Human Development Index trends, 1975?2001 47 Table 4.3 Schooling statistics for 2002 51 Table 4.4 Post-secondary (polytechnic) statistics for 2002 53 Table 4.5 Post-secondary (higher education) statistics for 2002 54 Table 5.1 Qualifications of the labour force by location 69 Table 5.2 The public school population of Mozambique, 1998 71 Table 5.3 Qualification background of teachers in selected TVET institutions 76 Table 6.1 Percentage contribution of different sectors to the country's GDP and

employment 82 Table 6.2 Student headcount enrolments at VTCs 93 Table 7.1 The National Qualifications Framework 104 Table 7.2 Total headcount enrolments in education and training sectors,

1970s?2000 105 Table 8.1 Population statistics 119 Table 8.2 Human development indicators 120 Table 8.3 Paid employment by sector 122 Table 8.4 Employment by skills level 122 Table 8.5 Selected education statistics 124 Table 8.6 Aggregate enrolments by sector 124 Table 8.7 Budget allocations by educational sector, 2003 125 Table 8.8 VET enrolments by institution 129 Table 8.9 Accessing and exiting the VET system 129 Table 8.10 Ministerial responsibility for institutions 130

Figures

Figure 4.1 The structure of education in Mauritius 50 Figure 6.1 The structure of the VET system in Namibia 88

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

Acknowledgements

This volume represents the collective endeavours of a number of persons. I would like to thank my co-editors and the country chapter writers for their efforts. I would also like to thank our three co-funders and their representatives on the project's steering committee: Barry Masoga (British Council), Andre Kraak (HSRC) and Nick Taylor (JET Education Services). Particular thanks must also go to Barry for his leadership in ensuring that this is not simply a report on an academic study but a step on a journey towards better regional co-operation in the area of vocational education and training. My appreciation also goes to Cilna de Kock and Leonorah Khanyile, who provided support to the research activities and to the final seminar in Mauritius. My thanks also go to Rosalind Burford and all her team at the British Council, Mauritius, and Roland du Bois and the Industrial and Vocational Training Board of Mauritius for co-hosting the regional seminar. This volume would not have been possible without the assistance of a large number of institutional leaders and senior officials who gave their time to the researchers in order to enrich our understandings of the systems in which they are working. You are too many to name individually but we hope that your investment of time in our research is compensated for by this report. Dr Simon McGrath Director: Research Programme on Human Resources Development, Human Sciences Research Council Pretoria August 2004

vii

?HSRC 2005

Abbreviations

Free download from hsrcpress.ac.za

ABET AGOA ANC BDC BDP BNQF BNVQ BOTA BTEP CBET CEO CHSC CIDA COSATU COSC COSDEC CPE Danida DFID DINET DIVT DoE DoL DVET E ECOL EPZ ESD ESSP EU FE FET

Adult Basic Education and Training (South Africa) African Growth and Opportunity Act African National Congress (South Africa) Botswana Development Corporation Botswana Democratic Party Botswana National Qualifications Framework Botswana National Vocational Qualification Botswana Training Authority Botswana Technical Education Programme Competency Based Education and Training (Namibia) Chief Executive Officer Cambridge Higher School Certificate Canadian International Development Agency Congress of South African Trade Unions Cambridge Overseas School Certificate Community Skills Development Centre (Namibia) Certificate of Primary Education (Mauritius) Danish International Development Agency Department for International Development (UK) National Directorate for Technical Education (Mozambique) Directorate of Industrial and Vocational Training (Swaziland) Department of Education (South Africa) Department of Labour (South Africa) Department of Vocational Education and Training (Botswana) Emalingeni (Swaziland) Examination Council of Lesotho Export Processing Zone Employment Services Division (Mauritius) Education Sector Strategic Plan (Mozambique) European Union Further Education (United Kingdom) Further Education and Training (South Africa)

viii

?HSRC 2005

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download