International collaboration is integral to NQF development in South Africa

Since a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for South Africa was first considered in the late 1980s, international collaboration has formed a vital component of the development and implementation path led by SAQA. Over the years this involvement has not only influenced the evolution of the South African NQF, but has also created numerous opportunities for South Africa to contribute to, but also benefit from, involvement in the international NQF discourse.

SAQA's current transition to strategically adjust to the focus areas as outlined in the NQF Act of 2008, including the explicit responsibility for international collaboration (Section 13[j]), has presented an opportunity wherein the existing international function will be further developed to strengthen SAQA's capacity to: (i) collaborate internationally on all matters of mutual interest concerning qualification frameworks; and (ii) inform the Qualifications Councils and other interested parties about international best practice in the development and management of qualifications frameworks.

• NQF Act (2008) ,
• Notice for NQF Implementation (2009)

The International Liaison Directorate at SAQA has been involved in the following projects:

• The recognition of teacher qualifications in the Commonwealth
• Southern African Development Community Qualifications Framework
• European Qualifications Framework
• Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD)
• Transnational Qualifications Framework for the Virtual University of Small States of the Commonwealth
• Seychelles National Qualifications Framework
• Ethiopian National Qualifications Framework

Recognition of formal and non-formal learning: Country note for South Africa

The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) has overseen South Africa's participation in an initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that has investigated the recognition of non-formal learning across 22 countries and five continents. This form of learning is known as the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in South Africa. The initiative by the OECD has given South Africa the opportunity to benchmark its practices against countries such as Australia, Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Austria. Click here to read the report on South Africa....more [PDF].

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