BACKGROUND
DHET has to find ways to cater to the needs of millions of adults and youth who are unemployed, poorly educated and not studying. The DHET has therefore established Community Colleges to address the issues of low levels of literacy and numeracy competencies of adults and post school youths, the need to develop the skills required to access the labour market, general self-improvement and community development. Community Colleges will primarily target youth and adults who for various reasons did not complete their schooling or who never attended school, by providing formal and non-formal programmes. Non-formal programmes may include community programmes such as: community health care; parenting and childcare; citizenship education and programmes geared to the needs and desires of local communities. Formal programmes will include the General Education and Training Certificate for Adults (GETCA), the National Senior Certificate for Adults (NASCA) and other skills, occupational and vocational programmes. The NASCA is a qualification at level 4 on the General and Further Education and Training Qualifications Sub-framework of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and is registered as a 120-credit qualification. Four subjects are required for certification and each have an equal weighting of 30 credits. The programme is nationally assessed and is certified by Umalusi. The qualification has no formal learning programme requirements that need to be completed in order for a student to register to write a subject. |