ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education:

1. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Parallel Session 7B: National Qualification Frameworks, Recognition of Prior Learning and Competencies Integration and Articulationof Post-Primary Education and Trainingin Africa:Contribution of NQF and Recognitionof Non-Formal and Informal Learning:a Key to Lifelong Learning Presenter: Madhu Singh 1 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

2. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Problem statement • While Education for All (EFA) is good, it is not enough to wait for the achievement of universal coverage of primary education, especially as many children, youth and adults in marginalized and rural and urban contexts, need to have alternative access programmes to progress into TVET , skills development and adult and community educational programmes linked to comprehensive frameworks for human resource development. 2 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

3. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Context: African countries • Frameworks for comprehensive capacity building and lifelong learning strategies. • Renewed interest in all sub sectors • NQFs seen as a way to reform education and training systems • International conventions • Cross national comparability • Increase competitveness in the labour market • Establishing compatibility with other certificates. 3 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

4. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Issues • Limited pathways • Difficult transitions • Ever-growing number of dropouts • Tenuous links between TVET and general and higher education • Certificate contain little information on competencies, learning goals and learning achievements 4 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

5. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa • Limted mechanisms for recognizing knowledge and skills acquired outside formal settings • Fragmentation of training of the variety of providers • Only internal testing, no external testing • Limited qualitications and career routes • No compatibility/comparability with other certificates cross-nationally 5 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

6. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Objectives: 4 interrelated strategies • National qualifications frameworks (NQF) • Lifelong and life wide learning(LLL) • Recognition of prior learning(RPL) • Institutional and structural dimensions 6 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

7. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa NQF: • Typology of African countries • Enormous discrepancy between policy and practice • Different emphases - access, simplifying the process of RPL, • NQFS primarily a communciative and mapping tool • NQFS in Africa – legal basis, national bodies, 7 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

8. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa NQFs facilitate LLL – give clear reference • to individuals to start, move to , different learning and career paths • to education and training institutions that attempt to accredit individuals prior learning as part of the requirements for obtaining a qualification. 8 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

9. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Need for clear lifelong learning strategy • basic competencies at all levels • more emphasis on working life, non-formal education and voluntary sector as learning domains • validation of non-formal and informal learning • Updating knowledge to improve competitiveness and flexibility in changing working life 9 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

10. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Lifelong learning from skills development perspective • Training becomes shorter • Happens more frequently • Contents are more relevant • Responding to the market • Formal, non-formal and informal modes coexist and recognized • Dividing lines between vocational and general become blurred • NQFs • Open assessment 10 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

11. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa • Learning domains • working life, enterprise, branch, organisaton, • Education – non-formal a education • Voluntary sector (community, society, culture, family) 11 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

12. Various approaches to RPL ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa 12 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

13. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa • International Best Practice • Scotland – gaining credit versus personal/career development • Austria – bottom up approach • France – professional experiecne is enlarged to incldue experience in non-paid activity or voluntary work; work experience reduced from 5 yrs to 3 yrs. • Norway – developed validation proceures relevant to employment, third sector, upper secondary and higher education 13 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

14. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa • International Best Practice • Sweden – integration of immigration into labour force • Germany – 80 Further Education certificates recognized • South Africa – access to higher education for non- traditional students • Mauritius – improve employability • Namibia - NAMCOL access to its distance educational certificate courses 14 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

15. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Institutional and structural dimensions • School based work-oriented bridge programmes helping potential dropouts • Complementary basic education programmes that are equivalent to formal education • ABET: adult learning takes into account competencies developed in life contextsNew institutional framework for skills development in South Africa 15 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

16. ADEA 2008 Biennale on Education in Africa Beyond Primary Education: Challenges and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa Institutional and structural dimensions • TVET: Second-chance – non-formal TVET • Higher education: Credit transfer programmes, Preparatory studies and access courses; • Workforce development programmes: or low qualified workers/casual labour; developing new qualifications in upcoming/competitive sectors; Skills recognition in the informal economy 16 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

17. Governments and stakeholders must recognize problems in introducing NQFs. • Key messages • Ensure that NQFs are tackling the problem of exclusion NQFs are “enabling” frameworks not “prescriptive” • Develop “bottom-up” approaches rather than top down approaches • Develop Incremental approach – building blocks • There should be a better balance between qualification development and standards development, • Increase professionalisation of RPL 17 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education

18. Governments and stakeholders must recognize problems in introducing NQFs. • Key messages • More strengthening of structured credit transfer • RPL:from assesment to accreditation • Costs of RPL must not be overlooked • updating and recognizing skills in the informal economy • Right to quality certification for all • Outcome based approaches need to be balanced by teaching and learning processes, provision and input • Recognizing different target groups. 18 Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in AfricaAssociation for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)Biennale 2008 on Post-Primary Education