Organization

The national education system in South Africa, like many other sectors of the country, has undergone a complete transformation since the end of apartheid. The objective has been a speedy redress of past discrimination in education, training and employment.

The Ministry of Education was established in 1994 to deal with education and training at national level, and is assisted by the Department of Education. (www.education.pwv.gov.za)

The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) was established in 1996 to oversee the development of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) covering standard setting and quality assurance. It is controlled by an appointed board consisting of a chairperson and members nominated from a diversity of interests. One of the objectives of SAQA is to create an integrated national framework for learning. Access, mobility and progression are the other key objectives, as is the need to enhance quality in education and training.
It is also the competent authority for the evaluation of educational qualifications, whether it is for study or employment purposes (www.saqa.org.za).

The language policy promotes multilingualism and gives the right to the students to be taught in a language of their choice, provided that it is one of the official languages of South Africa.

The higher education system in South Africa includes universities and technikons (technical schools) that are autonomous institutions fully responsible for their own management.

Universities are established by private Acts of Parliament, controlled by their respective councils, but administer their own affairs. South Africa has 21 official universities, 2 of which are distance-learning institutions.

Technikons (technical schools) provide vocational-oriented education on a tertiary level in order to supply the labor market with people who have particular skills and adequate technological and practical knowledge.

Accreditations
The higher education system is administered by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), a statutory advisory body created in 1998, which is charged with the development of a planning and monitoring framework for the higher education system.
Nevertheless, each institution is autonomous in the conduct of their academic and administrative affairs within the framework of their approved budgets and their terms of accreditation.

Academic Year
The universities in South Africa have their academic year spread over 2 sessions : First semester (January to June) and Second semester (July to November).