Not mentioning private learning providers in the budget speech does not mean that it will not have any effect on us. It most certainly will and the prognosis is, as can be expected, not a very good one. Private learning providers need to know how the budget will impact on t...

Wait a minute! Or as James Keevy would have said, “hold your horses!” I was thinking about Sylvia’s remark on Skills Univers earlier today that Cas Olivier and I should stop feeling sorry for ourselves and start doing something (for private providers, I assume). I can...

Well, I suppose one should first find out if you have what it takes to start and run a business before investing any money in the idea. Some people can come up wi...

One should never organise a breakfast workshop without making sure that the prospective delegates have a need to discuss the topic and to listen to the particular speakers. I, therefore, did some research to see if we are on the right track. The responses by the target grou...

Last week I attended a public forum event titled “Imagining a transformed higher education sector: Lessons learned from home” hosted by the University of Pretoria. The speakers were Professor Melissa Steyn, DST-NRF SARChI Chair in Critical Dive...

The photo next to this paragraph from (taken by Thulani Mbele and featured in The Times of 18 February 2015) made me feel really sad. This young girl clear...

The National Development Plan is a strategy for the future rather than just a plan. As such it is a well–prepared and well-researched vision for the future. Even though Mentornet is a tiny little player in the field of community development, we do our utmost to promote th...

...

Last week we discussed the preconditions for a new small business. In a nutshell it means that your business must be a growth organisation. This means that everythin...

n Mentornet decided to have our graduation for 2014 in conjunction with our year end function and also spoil our full qualification candidates with a spit braai and an open bar for celebrations.nn We have been walking a road together with these candidates, many of th...

It is true – people who work for a salary make other people rich, not themselves. Our Human Resources Development (HRD) policy is to give our employees as much freedom of movement and choice as they need to plan their own future. In addition, we have a culture of growth, ...

The idea of holding strong views regarding women in the workplace never appealed to me. I had (ignorantly or, rather, naively) believed that women had pretty much achieved equality in Western society, and this despite the statistics and research telling me different. I was ...

A happy group is more likely to process information. So my trick this week was to use energizers every morning. Ice-breakers are great for the first day of the course but as the week progresses the learners can still need a little bit of fun and something to help them unwin...

When the topic of education comes up, there will undoubtedly be one person to claim a university education (or any kind of further education, for that matter) is not all it’s cracked up to be. Their clearly logical and well-thought out reason? Bill Gates didn’t...

On page 4 of The Times of 2 February Kingdom Mabuza writes about the school children, college and university students in Malamulele in Limpopo province “leading the struggle” to obtain municipal status (under the title “Food yes, education no”). This makes the old ..

n Two prominent experts in the field of RPL recently gave feedback on the book entitled A Holistic Approach to the Recognition of Prior Learning, written by Dr Hannes Nel of Mentornet.nn Prof Dr. Erwin Seyfried of the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht (Berli...

I facilitated a course on quality assurance of ETD this week. It was no challenge to me, seeing that I wrote my D. Phil thesis on the topic and developed our training materials for the course. Besides, I’ve been facilitating for nearly thirty years already. You...

n The following learning providers demonstrated their sincerity to offer good quality education and training by purchasing training materials from Mentornet:nn  nn A&R Engineering and Mining Supplies (Pty) Ltdnn Academy Trainin...

In our efforts to survive we miss wonderful opportunities. Mentornet, the ultimate optimists, thought we could contribute to the NDP and in the process also do something for other private learning providers. We prepared a concept strategic framework, offered it to APPETD to...

According to a news report, a certain private school in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs was recently faced with an unusual problem. A number of the girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on...

Having heard the news that load shedding will soon be implemented (if not this week already), it occurred to me that a good contingency plan should be in place if the lights go out during course hours. The following are ideas and suggestions that a facilitator should keep i...

I prepared a strategic framework last year according to which private learning institutions could support the National Development Plan. I discussed the framework with the CEO of APPETD and suggested that they arrange a conference or workshop on the topic. <...

Mentornet researchers are continuously doing research on ETD related topics with the aim of writing academic books that can serve as manuals for the higher educatio...

The Mentoring Network was established with the purpose of improving the quality of learning that we, as private learning institutions, offer. Members enjoy many benefits, for example training materials are provided to them at half the normal price. Members need t...

There we go – the December holiday is history and yet another year lies ahead of us. I sincerely hope this year will not be as interesting as the previous one. Last yea...

The following Mentornet books are now available:

n Mentornet is sad to see Nicolene Conradie leave to teach junior high learners in Malawinn We would like to thank her for being part of the Mentornet family for 7 years. Mentornet was/is sad to see her leave and her positive attitude and hard work has been in...

Yes, stress is bad for us. However, playing ostrich will most certainly worsen the situation rather than solve it. In my first doctoral thesis I did research on how t...

This cannot go on - never in the history of this country has quality assurance of education and training been in such a poor state as now. We were supposed to...

Assessors and moderators might be falling into a trap without realising it. As time goes on, we start to feel comfortable in our approach to assessment, and the concern of others identifying our mistakes or suggesting more appropriate actions fades away. There might be a nu...

1-4 Dec: US123392 - Design and develop instruments to evaluate ETD. 1-4 Dec: US115759 - Conduct moderation of outcomes-based assessment. 5 December: Graduation for 2014 candidates and year end function. 5 December: Mentornet closes until 5 J...

It’s that time of the year again where there’s a final rush to hand in overdue assessments, mark final exams furiously, and pass out statements of results. However, while recently marking final summative assessments (an assignment in which learners had 2 weeks to comple...

Some ten years ago Mentornet decided to sell our training materials at a most reasonable price to emerging learning institutions in an effort to improve the quality of...

I have been on many courses where the facilitator agrees to giving the 'scope' for the theoretical summative assessment. But when the scope was revealed, the facilitator gave page numbers to the learners which they should study. I feel in two minds about this? For one, assessme...

This letter deals with the training of last week. There are three salient points that I would like to discuss. The principles of adult leaning. Some learners might find the principles of adult learning challenging. Even some facilitators fe...

Keep in mind that your tuition fees and, probably, other costs, will increase every year. Keep your debt to the absolute minimum. Most importantly, don’t in...

1. Sitting down while facilitating, this could  give the learners the impression of a facilitator being uninterested in what he or she is facilitating. 2. Dressing inappropriately, i attended a course where the facilitator's dress showed her undergarments and i...

Sometimes we as facilitators can come across a situation where we have to deal with a learner that might have a negative attitude towards attending a course.  I recently had such an experience where I could sense the learner’s negative attitude the moment when he first e...

After having designed standards and developed learning materials for 31 years, I am convinced that not all people can design and devel...

This is a follow-up discussion based on my previous question - Do you know of any good ice-breakers that are adult-appropriate and relevant (somewhat) to Education, Training and Development? Having facilitated the Facilitation course last week, here are some ideas from my l...

The tuition fee for a three-year bachelor’s degree is approximately R107 560.00. This means that studying must put one in a position where you will be able to earn the money spent on studying (R107 560.00) plus other expenses in a reasonable time while earning enough to...

Yesterday, we received the published copies of our new book "Coaching and Mentoring of Workers and Learners" by Bronwyn M. Menne. This is my first book and had it not been for Dr Hannes Nel, this would not have even been a possibility. Thank you for the opportu...

I am writing this letter in response to the latest set of course reports that Mentornet Facilitators submitted. This time I would like to discuss two bad habits that we should avoid. Bad habit 1: Killing time. Don’t ever present anything just t...

Well, I suppose there always will be those who go to college or university to have a good time.  The problem is - studying is often quite expensive in many different ways. To begin wit...

As a facilitator, I struggle to think of and/ or find ice-breakers that are suitable for adult learners AND the Education, Training and Development environment. This week I am presenting the Facilitation course 11 78 71 and the topic of ice-breakers will inevitably come up....

In response to the needs of our clients we designed curriculums for two new qualifications, namely: Bachelor of Education: Occupational Learning....

The iNtgrty website gives all registered users the opportunity to list and thus promote their training companies on the website. All added company profiles can be found under the “Providers” link in the main navigation bar at the top of the page. To promote your website...

n Do you realise that the Mentoring Network offers its members an opportunity to market for free? Private learning institution...

Group work is often seen as integral to learning - it teaches us many skills...or does it? I once had a group of learners, who after being assigned into a group, mutually agreed there was nothing to gain from working together and so they simply split themselves u...

3-7 November 2014 US10301 - Complete a research assignment. 3-7 November 2014 US123401 &US123394 - Design and develop outcomes-based learning programmes. (To be confirmed Monday 27 October) 10-14 November 2014 US11...

If you had asked me two years ago if I saw myself as a facilitator/ lecturer/ anybody who stands up and talks in front of others etc. I would have had a (really) hard time believing you. But now, just try and hold me back because I can't imagine anything else I wo...

Often as human beings we get caught up with so many things in our personal lives, social lives and work; we forget to take a moment and reflect on all that we have been given. This moment of reflection is often the moment we take to just appreciate and be grateful for every...

These notes deal with the courses offered in the last week. Please note that an evaluation mark of less than 2.5 out of a possible 5 for any item is not acceptable. The only way in which this can be changed would be by taking note of suggestions such as the following. ...

Prof Jonathan Jansen is a wise and courageous man, who calls a spade by its name. Yet, in The Times of 16 October 2014 (page 13) he showed that even he can, somet...

n We do our best to communicate regularly with our facilitators by email, meetings, breakfast workshops, Facebook, web site, et...

I have this friend who, some fifteen years ago, told me that I was a fool for going through all the trouble of applying for accreditation and working so hard to ensure that Mentornet would have the capacity to offer professional, quality learning. Back then he landed a cont...

  14-17 October 2014 US116587 - Develop support and promote RPL practices; Level: 7; Credits: 10. 20-24 October 2014 US115759 - Conduct moderation of outcomes-based assessment; Level: 6; Credits: 10. 28 - 31 October 20...

  I think that it's only fair that facilitators give back to a training institution what they receive for free. when a training institution spends money to train their facilitators, they should benefit from it too, these facilitators need to give service back to ...

There are many who decide to enrol in part-time studies rather than attend full-time. This can be attributed to a number of reasons: further career development, enjoyment, exploration of further interests, skills and knowledge top-up, personal development, or creating susta...

Should a learning provider offering just on or a few unit standards be allowed to accredit? Can such a subsistence provider really be regarded as a learning in...

Our learners are happy, and so are we. it is just so much easier to offer learning when the  learners enjoy the work. our learners are like that- in fact...

I recently spoke to the CEO of a private learning institution about his efforts to obtain accreditation. He felt rather dejected. They submitted an application for accreditat...

This issue is not the flavour of the month – it is more like the taste of garlic in your mouth the day after you put too much of it on your steak. The first time ...

It is at times like this that I really feel like just throwing ...

The flavour of the month in RPL is a holistic approach. Probably the biggest stumbling block in the way of RPL is to find evidence of prior learning that relates to the c...

It is interesting to see the lengths to which students will go to improve their exam marks – other than to learn. When I was at university, many moons ago, I had this f...

In an article in the Sunday Times of 10 August 2014 (Unlocking the mind’s power to change your life, page 14) Claire Keeton wrote that Professor Langer, the first women...

There is no doubt in my mind that the large majority of private learning providers know that the need for change is critical. Even so, there wi...

  In his regular column on page 5 of the Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine (27 July 2014) Ndumiso Ngobo t...

n Although this letter is meant for the Mentornet facilitators, I am putting it on the Mentoring Network web site so that our learners can also take note of our policy regarding time spent on learning.nn  nn Hallo again, Even though we spoke about this at s...

According to the fin24 web site, Jimmy Manyi and Adam Habib had this debate about transformation in South African universities, specifically Wits. And some individuals commented to the article, often in a rather emotional and, therefore, irrational manner. It is ...

Would it not be something if I could buy my wife some really nice and expensive jewellery? Perhaps a Christo-Kiffer-Munsteiner tourmaline butterfly pendant on a white gold necklace to wear when she goes shopping. And for when we go out for dinner in the evenings a pink gold...

I am reading the National Development Plan for the second time, with the intent of preparing a strategic framework for private providers. We need such a framework if private learning institutions are to provide full support to the achievement of the Plan. These notes are no...

I often come across more or less the same mistakes made by learners doing our course in educational research. Furthermore, I often read the mini-scripts, scripts and thesis of post- graduate students because I use them as references in my own research. They all make more or...

These comments refer to General Notice number 505 of 2014.  I would not be surprised if this document emanated from the SAQA Research Section, because much of it looks really familiar from the SAQA Conference on an integrated NQF of some two or three years ago. This is pro...

We are out own worst enemy. Let’s summarise before we discuss – private providers are guilty of bribery, offering unbelievably poor quality learning, lying, cheating, pursuing ulterior motives, being selfish, paranoid, etc. “Not I,” you might respond. Very well, per...

For the past fifteen years I’ve been worrying and arguing about the quality assurance bodies, DHET and other government institutions that are unprofessional, corrupt, disorganised. Read any contribution to any social forum – you will see that it is mostly bad news....

If I were really, really rich, I would give every young person who earns less than R10 000.00 per month a million Rands. Would it make a difference? Will it help? Perhaps only for a short time? Perhaps some young people would invest the money well, for example in a new bus...

n nn We are extremely proud and excited to announce (brag) that Jennifer Fry one of Mentornets’ facilitators has been chosen ...

June 19 2014 at 11:18am By Leanne Jansen

An enabling environment for staff and students with disabilities and more African women in leadership as well as prominent academic positions. These are just two of the transformation issues that Dr. Thandi Sidzumo-Mazibuko, Executive Director: Diversity Management, Equity ...

Johannesburg - The country’s district education offices are critical to the system, yet they suffer staff skills inefficiencies. A newly published academic paper has argued that “technical inefficiencie...

Johannesburg - A top Education Department official this week admitted that outcomes of the country’s education are of poor quality – more so the matric passes. Matanzima Mweli, acting deputy director-general for...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Perhaps I am not very good at statistics, but the claim made in the White Paper for Post-school Education and Training, page 42 does not make sense to me. On this page, sec...

Published in: Legalbrief Today Date: Friday 13 June 2014 Category: Policy Issue No: 3532  

June 12 2014 at 04:57pm By SAPA  

n 12-6-2014nn Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motsekga has appointed a 14-member council for Umalusi.nn The council, which will serve until June 2018, will be chaired by Professor John Volmink -- who is a nationally recognized expe...

June 12 2014 at 08:00am By Pierre Heistein What do you think the countries with the worst education in the world look like? They probably have terrible infrastructure where most people don’t live in bricks and mortar houses, don’t have access to clean water, or don’t h...

Will, what do you know? This morning, while looking at an invitation to tender it struck me like a bolt of lightning – Mentornet is actually helping the unethical to make money, lots of it. I guess the best way to explain this would be by way of examples: Ex...

INNOVATIVE: CPUT Librarians are collaborating on an international course with their counterparts from Virginia Tech in the US Despite being on separate sides of the globe, CPUT librarians and their counterparts at the Virginia Tech in the United States are collaborating...

While opinions of implementation and other factors differ, many authors, experts and researchers agree on one point: the future of education is digital. Institutions around the world have embraced online learning as a means to attract more students and provide the public with alt...

WHATEVER their backgrounds, South Africans are united in wanting a better education system for everyone, so it should come as no surprise that media reports on education in South Africa are the basis for intensive scrutiny. Reports on the state of education typically take the for...

Nehawu pickets outside Parliament Johannesburg - Nehawu members will protest on Wednesday against what the union says is the deterioration of higher education. “The management of the department is very polarising and is embarking in unashamed union bashing,” National E...

Pretoria – Over 3000 youngsters, seeking advice and information on career opportunities, have visited the 2014 Ekurhuleni Career Expo. The four-day expo, which is currently underway at the Alberton Civic Centre in Ekurhuleni, is being hosted by the municipality for the secon...

These days we are so politically correct and scared to discriminate that we are actually making life really difficult for ourselves, not to mention doing an injustice to the English language. It has become customary for us to refer to ‘he or she’ when, what we are writi...

The majority of South African managers are optimistic about their roles and the organisations for which they work. This is despite the significant economic challenges that the country has weathered over the past year. There are, however, a number of challenges which will need ...

The Constitution’s framing lets the state take strong hold of universities. Academic freedom is given an unusually privileged place in the Constitution – one of the few worldwide that both explicitly does so and pledges its defence. But the place it gives it is, in some...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Did you read the Sunday Times yesterday? And if you did, did you also read the article entitled SHORT COURSES A WAY TO MASTER A TRADE? I was really hesitant to write these notes, especially because I know that Jacqui Baumgardt feels strongly that we should get rid of unit s...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

There are people who feel that verification of moderation is a waste of time and effort. It is true that verifiers do not always do a professional job. However, the solution is not to erode quality assurance but rather to train the verifiers better. I really hope the DHET a...

THE MENTORING NETWORK BREAKFAST WORKSHOPS ...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Membership tips: Did you know that there are various levels of membership? The options are: Primary – When you register you automatically become a Primary member, our free membership option, this gives you access to the website and som...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Gavin Tonks wrote the following on the Skills Universe discussion forum: “I made a conscious decision a few years ago no more meetings, conventions, talk shops they just cost me money which I can never recoup from my clients.” Carla van Veenendal replied as f...

Some two years ago SAQA arranged a conference on the integration of the (sub-frameworks of the) NQF. A lot of lip-service was given to how well quality assurance bodies cooperate and how novel our integrated framework is compared to other countries with professional educati...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Most of us know how difficult it is to get an appointment with managers in quality assurance bodies. And yet, when we create an opportunity where private providers can air their views and ask questions, few actually seize it. Mentornet, in cooperation with the APPETD, arran...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

It is not even ten o’clock in the morning yet, and I have received so many fires for effect from the media that I am almost feeling depressed. Wits University decided to rethink, actually just scrap, their four year LLB degree. My first reaction was that they should not m...

Date: Friday, 09 May 2014 at 08:00 - Friday, 09 May 2014 at 11:00:00 Venue: Silverstar Hotel Cost: R200.00

It is true that the maintenance of quality of online learning, as professed by Paul Prinsloo, can be a challenge. However, online learning is not the most important determinant of quality in learning. The quality of learning is mainly determined by the course content; how t...

Click on the link below to download the slides for the Research Presentation that took place on the 19th of March 2014 at the Mentornet offices. Download slides now (click here) ...

I felt really dejected at the SAQA RPL Conference last week, Friday, when Dr Heidi Bolton, in her closing remarks, made a statement that I thought to be a pot shot at me and my book on RPL, entitled “The Concepts and Procedures Governing the Recognition of Prior Learning..

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

These notes are my impressions of the SAQA Conference and not the views of or endorsed by SAQA. I missed the Workshop on the first day because I never would have thought anybody in South Africa would schedule a workshop on a Sunday. The conference was very well o...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

The following is an extract from page xvii of the White Paper for Post-school Education and Training: “Quality Councils should use external assessment to reveal poor performance (except in universities, where assessment is institution-based and moderated through peer-revi...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

You all know the story of the new manager who was given three envelopes by the outgoing old hand. The old hand suggested that he opened the envelopes, beginning with number one, every time he had a crisis at work. When it became time to open the first envelope, the note ins...

It is national policy that RPL must cost less than formal learning and the accompanying assessments. However, the process of RPL can be rather expensive and sometimes even require specialised instruments or tools. A fork lift operator cannot be assessed unless you have a fo...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

We often find that the DHET make decisions that actually hamper the achievement of the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan, the New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan and the Draft Human Resources Development Strategy for South Africa. ...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

Treasury has published new electronic services regulations, detailing which digital products and services will be subject to 14% VAT com...

We cannot allow this kind of misinformation to continue any longer. Yesterday night, 29 January 2014 on Freek Robinson (Kyknet) a certain doctor Somebody (I think her surname is van Staden, but I am not sure) claimed that private learning institutions ask quadruple (the wor...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

I’ve read the White Paper for Post-school Education and Training, issued by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). My initial idea was to write a report on the entire White Paper. However, my impressions will probably span quite a number of pages, so that...

Last week from the 28th of October to the 01 November I facilitated a course based on facilitate learning using a variety of given methodologies in Bloemfontein. The course was very successful. The learners who attended the course felt that it was very important and be...

...

No doubt there are others who also play around with the kind of thoughts that I will raise in this article. My main argument, or null hypothesis, if you like, is this: BEE (just to keep it short) is the worst enemy of job creation in South Africa. Sunday evening ...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

I read the speech recently made by the Minister of Higher Education and Training and provided to us by Sylvia Hammond, with keen interest. As always the Minister makes a good point – his arguments are seldom unfounded if only one were to make the effort to figure out the ...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

I believe it would be better to respond to arguments in the CHE document, entitled “A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure” as I come across them rather than to read everything and prepare a consolida...

Have you noticed, people often don’t interpret you email messages the way you meant it? This often leads to the demise of friendships and healthy business relationships. Take Facebook (or Twitter, MXIT, Whatsapp, BBM, etc.) as an example. Someone may send thousands of mes...

JOHANNESBURG - The higher education and training portfolio committee will conduct oversight visits ...

The Proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure, proposed by a Task Team of the CHE (August 2013) suggests three main changes to the current curriculum structure: Increase the duration

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

Ccoming to a laptop near you, the Brazilian model of free online learning that could revolutionise African education.   Imagine if instead of paying to attend a university, you could watch lectures, access reading material and interact with othe...

The CHE recently circulated a document, entitled “A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure.” As with almost all research reports by the CHE or task teams working for the CHE, the report is a professiona...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

COMMENTS ON THE REPORT BY THE MINISTERIAL TASK TEAM ON PERFORMANCE OF SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES 2013   Introduction. Government Gazette No. 36747 of 16 August 2013 has reference. Arguably the most important ...

Sunday night, 25 August 2013, on Carte Blanche the putrid manner in which the exams and assignments of UNISA students are marked was discussed. I was not surprised, because a UNISA student phoned me some two months ago already, asking for help. He failed a practical assignm...

I was honoured to be allowed to speak at the fourth Pan African Conference for TVET and FET Colleges Held in Cape Town last week. It was a great opportunity, especially to do some networking. However, that was not the main reason why I attended. The purpose of my presentati...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

I attended the Empowerment Session with Registered Private FET Colleges hosted by DHET in Pretoria this morning. As in the past the DHET speakers were diplomatic and well informed.  I only wish there were more private providers present, because the fifty-odd that were ther...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

15 Aug 2013 23:59Tabelo Timse A board member is accused of exploiting insider knowledge to land a R26m contract. The mining qualifications sectional...

by Staff Writer, August 16 2013, 09:12 WHEN it comes to training of artisans, the government’s further education and training (FET) colleges are too focused on quantity rather than quality, a private-sector competitor argued on Thursday. "What this ...

INTRODUCTION   The writing of occupational curricula is taking longer than initially anticipated, leading to discontent amongst stakeholders and rendering the process inefficient. The reason for the process being extremely time-consuming is, unfortuna...

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by: John Ross From:

In an earlier discussion in one of Mentornet's morning meetings, the following question also arose.  In where student's normally gets confused in which enthnic group they belong.  Whether it is black, african, white etc.  I came upon this artical posted by Prof. H. Rus...

I have to confess that I am still bruised by the intensity of some of your responses to my first letter to Jobless Graduates, where I tried to explain the reasons why you are still unemployed. But I see too many human shipwrecks to remain silent on this top...

Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality assurance pol...

Too much is also not a good thing .......................   The number of university graduates in China has exploded. In 1997, 400,000 students graduated from four-year university programs. Today, Chinese schools produce more than 3 mill...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

Silence, absolute silence. Nothing is happening, no progress, no feedback, no further curriculum design. In fact, the QCTO Manager with whom I had an interview some two months ago never even responded to my follow-up email. Since then I have not heard anything from the QCTO...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

Never could I have imagined that such a, well, uninspiring topic could be the theme of such a successful breakfast workshop. The APPETD arranged a breakfast workshop for Friday 19 July 2013 on “The establishment and approval of a professional body”. The Centurion Lake h...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

Now don’t get me wrong – Mentornet will never ever pay anybody a bribe for the simple reason that it is against the law. Problem is, now that the Minister of Higher education and Training in his infinite wisdom decided to channel almost all skills grants to public learn...

  Quality area 2: Teaching and learning   Teaching and learning cannot be successful if professionally designed and developed training materials are not used. Learning programme design and development are two s...

In a Skills Universe message on 23 June 2013 Cas Olivier aired his view that private learning institutions are more flexible than public learning institutions and, as I understand it, private learning institutions should set the example in offering good quality ETD. If one ...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

n AUSTRALIA is an extreme example of a global trend whereby government takes away university control of quality assurance, says expert Ellen Hazelkorn.n n Professor Hazelkorn, head of the Dublin-based Higher Education Policy Research Unit, said the Tertiary Educ...

Sector Education & Training Authority (Seta) bodies have been urged to move away from its reliance and funding of private providers in order to focus on and grow public sector educational resources. “There are some very good private providers who are doing ...

Date: Friday, 19 July 2013 at 08:00 - Friday, 19 July 2013 at 10:30:00 Venue: Centurion Lake Hotel Cost: R100.00

  Quality area 1: Institutional ethos and strategic planning   When evaluating the institutional ethos and strategic planning one would typically check the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the learning ...

Hundreds of students have been deregistered and evicted from Cida City Campus in Johannesburg after the institution filed for business rescue. Deregistered from the institution that promised them free tertiary education because they were from poor backgrounds but...

An Microsoft initiative to train unemployed young people in IT has been given funding to expand in South Africa. The Development Bank of South Africa (BDSA) has awarded Microsoft South Africa a R145m ($15m) grant to invest in its St...

  Learning institutions and quality assurance bodies are welcome to use any information given in these articles to review and, if necessary, improve their own quality...

If you were to read some of Shakespear’s plays you can easily get the impression that he knew that the ETD environment of the future would be turbulent and difficult to cope with. He probably understood that the work of the educationalist is an unthankful one, and he had ...

  Quality area 1: Institutional ethos and strategic planning   The first quality area that needs to be evaluated is the institutional ethos and strategic planning. Here one would typically check the vision, mis...

  The Structure of the Quality Assurance Instrument(s). Before a learning institution can be accredited one must ensure that it has the capacity to offer professional learning in the field for which it wishes to accredit. Most qualit...

I suppose it is kind of standard procedure for people in all countries to play power games, to eliminate the opposition, to push those that you regard as a threat to one side if you feel that they pose a threat to you and your source of income. The problem with this kind of...

n Press Release: 10 May 2013n A three day Higher Education Transformation Colloquium ended in Bloemfontein onn Wednesday, 8 May 2013. The three-day event brought together a wide range ofn stakeholders including some Members of University Councils; Vice-Ch...

All learning institutions, regardless of whether they offer higher education (HE), vocational education and training (VET), further education and training (FET) or occupational education and training (OETD) need a system in place by means of which the quality of learning of...

Durban - The fundamental problem with the schooling system was that most teachers had limited knowledge of their subjects and knew only marginally more than what they had to teach their pupils. This was despite year...

ALEXANDER Forbes group chief executive Edward Kieswetter called for combined efforts in tackling challenges in education at his inauguration as the first chancellor of the Da Vinci Institute. The institute also stressed its view on the importance of work-based le...

http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=wDsAc6BUC6k%3d&tabid=36 ...

n The first pan-European massive open online course initiative has been launched by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities.n n  n n

I followed the discussions on Skills Universe and one or two other platforms about the Umalusi quality assurance process and fee structure with quite some interest. It is important that private learning institutions work together in combating threats like this one and the A...

The African Education Week Convention and Learning Expo is the meeting and trading platform for everyone who is passionate about improving the standard of education in Africa. Now in its seventh year, it's reported to be the leading educationa...

Lack of trust often ruins opportunities. At the end of last year we decided to, in future, issue all learners who enrol for full qualifications with laptop computers. By doing this we would have saved substantially on printing costs, so we would have contributed to the prot...

Two private providers visited me earlier this week to discuss some burning issues with which most private learning institutions struggle. I explained to them that I established the Mentoring Network in response to advice given to me by a prominent manager at DHET whom I vis...

Survey details: "The Minds Behind the MOOCs" Professors teaching hundreds or thousands of students online has been all the buzz in academic circles, but the professo...

Is the investment in education worthwhile? What is your return on investment (ROI) in the long run and are you getting value for money? According to Peter Ayuk of the Milpark Business School, higher education institutions have an obligation to ensure they provide...

Standardisation is an international practice, and most, if not all, large-scale assessment systems use some form of standardisation. It is the moderation process that is used to mitigate the effect of factors other than learners’ knowledge and aptitude on their performanc...

n A new cadre of SETA practitioner needed for effective skills development and economic growthnn Pretoria, 25 March 2013 – Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) cannot just be about dishing out millions of rand in train...

You know, sometimes we know so little that we don’t even realise how little we actually know. This is when we tend to regard our own perceptions as the only “truth” – we do not even consider the possibility that we might just not be entirely correct. And it is rathe...

I was indeed honoured and privileged to be invited to the Second NQF Research Conference arranged by SAQA that took place from 4 to 6 March 2013 in Benoni. After all, Mentornet is just a tiny, insignificant private learning institution, so why should people listen to what w...

Zodidi Mhlana A technical education is the answer to the shortage of jobs in the country, says the Gauteng education department which on Wednesday launched the technical schools turnaround strategy. The idea is to encour...

n 6 Mar 2013 13:50Submit a commentBizLiken CAPE TOWN: The present production rate of qualified artisans in South Africa falls far short of the required targets, says the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande.n However, government was makin...

I cannot believe how difficult those who are supposed to implement the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III) and Skills Development Plan can make it for us to contribute. In 2010 Mentornet approached the ETDP SETA to offer our services to develop the training mate...

01-3-2013   Pretoria – Higher Educat...

THE number of unemployed graduates has remained stubbornly high despite the "fairly successful" graduate placement programmes of some higher education institutions, the South African Qualifications Authority has found. Statistics South Africa's latest quarterl...

Briefing statement by Minister of Education Angie Motshekga on the occasion of the post-State of the Nation Address Ministerial briefing on government priority: Education 26 Feb 2013 In his 2013 State of the Nation Address, Pres...

THE first of four planned teacher training colleges to be reopened in the country was officially opened at Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga.   The teacher education training campus at Siyabuswa was formerly known as the KwaNdebele Teacher Training College.

I guess what is important to me might not be important to others, so the notes I took might not be as important to you as they are to me. I will list them more or less in order of importance, but keep in mind this is based on my perception. Of course it would have been bett...

Yesterday morning (25 February) I attended one of the most valuable workshops ever. Most private learning institutions are uncertain and sometimes even scared of the changes that the QCTO holds for us. Rumours are rife, even political leaders make threats that already scare...

They say that President Obama should look at the UK as a role model, but I wonder why they aren't making use of cheaper alternatives for higher education such as in South Africa like the FET Colleges? ...

Executive orders: the announcements in Barack Obama's State of the Union address amount to 'the biggest change to federal higher education policy since 1972' Barack Obama aims to expose US colleges and universities to "competition from new, l...

20-2-2013 Pretoria – The Department of Higher Educati...

“Naïve as they may now seem, the hopes placed on RPL in the transition to democracy were not misplaced. RPL speaks to the human aspiration to be seen and honoured for what one already knows, to be given access to new learning opportunities and to contribute to society th...

n Mentornet received a report from the Department of Higher Education and Training, signed by Dr P.M. Buthelezi, Director: Private FET Colleges dated 28 January 2013. I will not repeat the entire report. Suffice to say that the final outcome and recommendations read as follow...

Introduction.  I compared the “Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework as revised, dated January 2013, distributed by the CHE” with the “Background Document for the Joint Meeting of the Directors-General for Vocational Education and Training and the Dire...

Maybe it was inevitable that one of the new massive open online courses (Moocs) would crash. After all, Moocs are being launched with considerable speed, not to mention hype. But Mooc advocates might have preferred the collapse of a course other than the one that was suspen...

Don't start your first job under a dark cloud of debt.   Funding your tertiary studies may be the best way to improve your employability and earnings potential, but make sure you are able to do this without starting your first job under a dark clou...

By: Joanne Taylor 5th February 2013 ...

n "Year of the Artisan" to help address critical skills shortagen 05-2-2013n Pretoria - Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has placed focus on the country’s need for more artisans by declaring 2013 as the “Year of the Artisan..

MEDIA STATEMENT: For immediate release Minister Nzimande on Vocational Education and Training mission to Denmark Pretoria, 16 January 2012 Minister of Higher Education a...

http://www.fm.co.za/politics/local/2013/01/17/sa-running-out-of-time-to-tackle-education-woes ...

The new SETA Grant Regulations passed in December have unintended limitations and consequences which could have a detrimental impact on skills development as it fails to address a diverse skills need on a national level comments Suzanne Hatting. The changes to th...

Make sure your training provider/FET College is all legit!!   A bogus further education and training (FET) college which operated for at least 12 years was closed down in Seshego near Polokwane

INTRODUCTION There has been quite a furore about global warming for probably the past decade or so. As people noticed that the effect of changes in the environment is not always “warming”, “climate change” became a more popular descriptor of what is happe...

n Cash-strapped parents are turning to financial institutions to get study loans so that their children can go to university as the costs for tertiary education continue to rise sharplyn At the University of Pretoria, a three-year undergraduate Bachelor of Administrati...

These days you often hear people, especially psychologists and educators, talking about cognitive thinking. It clearly is the flavour of the month, even though it is nothing new. And as is usual with newly invented or newly discovered terminology people sometimes misuse and...

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has launched a study to find out the state of skills demand and supply in the country.   Nzimande says the research is the first in the world and will bring the country to where it can plan better ...

Tens of thousands of matriculants will be turned away from tertiary education institutions because the number of applicants far exceeds available places. And almost 45% of the pupils who passed the matric examination last year will not qualify f...

A year after its establishment, officials at a tertiary institution specifically targeting Afrikaans speakers have hit back at critics who have labelled the institute as "exclusive". Akademia, a private institution registered with the Departme...

http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=svTvUZwJhUI%3d&tabid=36 ...

No policy changes in the past two or more years show evidence that we will soon be seeing skilled workers emerge at the rate all producers of goods and services in the economy believe is required. The sooner policymakers and their backroom advisers accept this commonsense c...

IBM ups skills development initiatives By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's portals deputy editor.

Its is debateable on how genuine this form of testing might be?   UK universities award students exam-free degrees

Dr Roy du Pré of the Vaal University of Technology prepared a report entitled “The Philosophy of a University of Technology in South Africa: An Introduction” that was published in KAGISANO, Universities of Technology distributed by the CHE (Issue No 5, summer 2006). On...

The Wine Industry Network for Expertise and Technology (Winetech), an organisation that coordinates research, training and technology transfer in the wine industry, hopes to form a steadfast partnership with sector education and training authorities (Setas), the FoodBev Set...

To view the actual Ministerial Media Briefing on" The Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges Turnaround Strategy" that took place on the 14th November 2012 in Parliament, Cape Town, click on the link below:   http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick....

The Australian and Malaysian higher education sectors will forge closer and stronger ties after a new Memorandum of Understanding on Higher Education was signed in Perth today. Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, today joined Malaysian Minist...

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi   Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande says Further Education and Training (FET) colleges are producing more graduates who are employed in various industries. Nzimande said y...

WINDHOEK – Namibian tertiary institutions need to improve the way they communicate and market curriculums, as well as educational programmes using available information and communication techn...

Johannesburg - A target has been set of four million students at further education and training colleges (FET) by 2030, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said on Wednesday.

The Department of Higher Education (DHET) on Wednesday tabled a turnaround strategy for South Africa’s 50 further education and training (FET) colleges, which span over 260 campuses. Many of these colleges were not only underperforming, but had failed to align ...

SA: FET colleges’ turnaround strategy bearing fruit

It took me fifteen years before I decided to become a member of the APPETD. The APPETD was established in 1997 as a national body representing the interests of private providers. In time the APPETD has come to be recognised as a reputable body that works towards maintaining...

In his presentation at the Third Pan African TVET and FET Colleges Conference in Cape Town on 8 November 2012 Minister Blade Nzimande announced that he will change the collective name of FET (Further Education and Training) Colleges to VET (Vocational Education and Training...

It is always much easier to criticize what speakers say rather than to look for constructive arguments that can lead to or testifies to progress. I intentionally decided to look for positive points in the Minister of Higher Education and Training’s presentation at the thi...

Universities round on Nzimande and his Higher Education Amendment Bill   By pushing through "devastating" legal amendments that will allow him to interve

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System Date: 02 Nov 2012 Title: FET colleges to offer maritime courses -------------------- By Dennis Cruywagen Cape Town - As part of an initiative to reduce ...

5th International Banking Conference – Keynote Address by Dr B.E. Nzimande MP, Minister of Higher Education and Training 1 November 2012 The Chairperson of the BANKSETA Board Board Members Management and Staff of th...

Positive report for skills sector Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:31 Share

All varsities finally account to Nzimande November 4 2012 at 02:59pm By BONGEKILE MACUPE

I attended the meeting arranged by DHET held on Tuesday 30 October 2012 to brief Private FET Colleges on the implications of the Interim Guidelines on the Registration and Accreditation of Private Providers Offering Qualifications or Part-qualifications in the Trades and Oc...

National Skills development strategy National skills development strategy in disarray Thu, 25 Oct 2012 08:53 ...

Directors: M.S. Badat; A.C. Bawa (Chairperson); R. Botman; C. de la Rey; T. Eloff; J.D. Jansen; M.R. Kgaphola; M.S. Makhanya; M.W. Makgoba; F. Mazibuko; L.V. Mazwi-Tanga; P. Mbati; N.M. Mokgalong; I. Moutlana; T.Z. Mthembu; G.L. Nongxa; B.P. O’Connell; N. ...

Follow this link: http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=x1wGSzEoIT0%3d&tabid=36 to view the content for the "Framework on the Cooperation in the provision of Career Development Services in South Africa. ...

You can regard this report as mere speculation or scenario building, and your decision can have rather serious implications for the survival of your learning institution if you own one or is employed by one. In the “interesting” times in which we live it is very importa...

The Department of Higher Education and Training has been criticised by auditor-general Terence Nombembe for under-spending by more than R877m on its National Skills Fund (NSF). The auditor-general said in a report tabled in Parliament on Thursday that while th...

Follow the link below to view the article "Red lights flashing for SETAs" posted on the DA website, posted by Annelie Lotriet, Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training on 16 October 2012.

Mentornet had a stand at The Star HRD EXPO in Sandton arranged by the Institute for International Research for the sixth time in a row over the period 9 to 11 October 2012. This year Mentornet is already 21 years old, so we used this as our marketing focus. As in the past w...

The SAQA Board approved a Policy and Criteria for the Recognition of Prior Learning (Government Notice No. 35747 dated 5 October 2012). The “Glossary of Terms” is probably the best section of the document and one can relate to the definitions. This should not be underes...

Mentornet (Pty) Ltd was registered as a Private FET College in terms of the FET Colleges Act, 2006 (Act No. 16 of 2006) and related regulations on 21 October 2011. Mentornet also applied for and was provisionally registered by DHET to offer a number of FET qualifications th...

Any learning programme needs to be designed, developed and offered in a coherent manner if it is to achieve a central learning objective, and a learning programme cannot be coherent if the foundation on which it rests does not provide for coherence. As we all know, the “p...

http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=J6SMANwg050%3d&tabid=36 ...

http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=I%2bA9WRdIM%2bI%3d&tabid=36 ...

The Joint Communiqué of 2012 issued by the DHET, SAQA, QCTO and Umalusi is quite succinct and clear. At first glance the decision that Private SD Providers who wish to offer OQF qualifications and part-qualifications need not register with the DHET while those that are alr...

Ah jee, some people just take longer than others to adapt to the changes in the environment. Mentornet started giving our learners laptops for free simply because it is to our advantage. To begin with, we print more than 500 000 pages per month on manuals, workbooks, exam ...

The Master List of Educational Institutions was published by the Minister of Higher Education and Training in The Government Gazette.   http://www.dhet.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=DCG5r0TmnD0=&tabid=36 ...

Students presenting thesis via Skype September 4 2012 at 11:21am By Julia Zappei

Technical Careers expo in October highlights opportunities 3 Sep 2012 08:56

The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr. Blade Nzimande has published the draft Policy on professional qualifications for further education and training college lecturers for public comment.   See the link below to the draft:  

University's Non-E.U. Students Face Deportation By D.D. GUTTENPLAN Published: September 2, 2012

Skills and vocational training need rethink on qualifications 31 Aug 2012 14:54 - Stephanie Allais   ...

New world for 2030 matrics August 30 2012 at 10:52am By Michelle Jones

I visited the QCTO in the DHET (Sol Plaatjies) building in Schoeman street, Pretoria on Tuesday 28 August 2012 and was received by Ms Busi Mtintsilana, Quality Assurance Manager. The purpose of the visit was to discuss how the QCTO will do verification of internal moderatio...

In a previous article on verification of assessment in higher education I mentioned that I will write further articles on verification in further education and training (FET) as well as occupationally-directed education, training and development (OD ETD) once I manage to sp...

The University of Cape Town's Science department on Tuesday announced it has found a single dose cure for malaria.

I came upon this books published by 17 different authors explaining the future of post school education and training and the crisis we might face if more emphases is not placed on the importance of post school education.  This book gives a very brought overview on the curr...

Itebogeng Madumo really kicked over a beehive when he posed the question on Skills Universe: “Is it advisable to use non-accredited training providers?” Responses to his question came fast and furious – clearly this is still a contentious issue about which everybody w...

n SAQA has posted a new notice that is now open for public comments.nn See the notice posted by SAQA by folling this link: Policy and Criteria for the Registration of Qua...

I recently sent the following email to a Quality Assurance Manager: “Hello Mr …… Mentornet submitted an application for accreditation by means of memorandums of understanding with several other ETQAs/Setas on 8 June 2011. To this day we did not receive any ...

Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment on the Policy and Criteria for the Registration of Qualifications and Part-qualifications on the NQF as Approved by the SAQA Board dated 27 July 2012. Probably the strongest point of this document is that it is quite flexib...

ITS Evula (Pty) Ltd invited Dr Hannes Nel of Mentornet to act as the key note speaker at the annual Examination Administrator’s Conference that took place over the period 13 and 14 August 2012. The venue was the NH Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, a most suitable venu...

I believe most of us know of instances where lecturers or other staff members of learning institutions actually collaborate with students to cheat in examinations. This also happens after the examinations, for example where assessors are instructed by their superiors to inf...

Russia to send graduates abroad 2012-08-09, Published By : Wais Wafa    

Ninetey-six teachers who have been found teaching with fake certificates in KwaZulu-Natal may still face the wrath of the law even though the education department has decided not to lay criminal charges. The department says it opted against prosecution because...

Anger as FET college calls off semester Aug 8, 2012 | McKeed Kotlolo | 10 comments HUN...

There is an article entitled “HOW WILL THE QCTO DO SO MUCH? WITH QUALITY PARTNERS!” on page 3 of the QCTO NEWS, Newsletter dated January 2012 Volume 1: Issue 1. I predicted in 2007 already that, regardless of what the structure of the QCTO will be, they will not have th...

It is rather frustrating when consultants who evaluate training materials on behalf of quality assurance bodies claim that the materials have not been contextualised when clearly they do not know how materials should be contextualised to begin with. Quality assurance bodies...

Billions invested in FET Colleges Wednesday 1 August 2012 19:14 SABC 22-year-old Beauty Thoka is studying at an FET college.(SABC...

Government wants to sell the idea of FET colleges as viable alternatives.   Government wants to sell the idea of FET colleges as viable alternatives.  Minister of Higher education Blade Nzimande explains: “There are many r...

Dear Mr Segopolo, Thank you for the opportunity to explain what Mentornet as a private provider expects from the APPETD. Perhaps the best way to go about this would be to explain to you why we joined the APPETD only now, and also only provisionally, since if the APPETD does...

30 July2012 The vision of contributing to the creation of decent employment through inclusive economic growth is expected to gain its momentum when the Department of Labour (DoL) continues with Jobs Fair event in Kimberle...