National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act 67 of 2008)NoticesPolicy and Criteria for Recognising a Professional Body and Registering of a Professional Designation for the purposes of the National Qualifications Framework Act, Act 67 of 2008 (as amended, September 2020)3 - 7. Introduction and background |
| 3. | The South African NQF is a comprehensive system approved by the Minister of Higher Education and Training for the classification, registration, publication and articulation of quality-assured national qualifications. The NQF was established under the SAQA Act (Act 58 of 1995) and continues under the NQF Act (Act 67 of 2008) which came into effect on 1 June 2009. |
| 4. | The objectives of the NQF are designed to contribute to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of the nation at large, including to: |
| a. | create a single, integrated national framework for learning achievements; |
| b. | facilitate access to, and mobility and progression within, education, training and career paths; |
| c. | enhance the quality of education and training; and |
| d. | accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities. |
| 5. | SAQA is responsible for overseeing the further development and implementation of the NQF, and understands the NQF as a system of communication, co-ordination and collaboration across education, training, development and work. In advancing the NQF objectives, SAQA embraces diversity, environmental sustainability and social justice. |
| 6. | The NQF is an integrated framework overseen by SAQA and comprising three coordinated Sub-Frameworks, each managed by a Quality Council (QC): |
| a. | Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) overseen by the Council on Higher Education (CHE); |
| b. | General and Further Education and Training Qualifications Sub-Framework (GFETQSF) overseen by the Quality Council for General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi); and |
| c. | Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF) overseen by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). |
| 7. | In terms of Sections 28, 29, 30 and 31, read with paragraphs 13(1)(i)(i), 13(1)(i)(ii) and 13(1)(1) of the NQF Act, and notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, a statutory or non-statutory professional body will: |
| a. | co-operate with the relevant QC(s) in respect of qualifications and quality assurance in its occupational field; |
| b. | apply, in the manner prescribed by SAQA, to be recognised as a professional body in terms of the NQF Act; and |
| c. | apply, in the manner prescribed by SAQA, to register a professional designation. |