Uittreepunte as skakelingsmeganismes tussen die formele en nie–formele onderwys– en opleidingsinstansies

Abstract

Formal education provided by a school, college, technicon or university ends officially with the award of a certificate, diploma or conferral of a degree. The formal education sector must therefore make provision for a qualification structure while non-formal education normally makes provision for qualifications in vocational training which are more directly related to the requirements of a specific profession or even employer. In some cases this kind of training is concluded with the granting of a qualification which, while not of a national nature, is sometimes accepted by education authorities in other countries. The lack of a clear and well-structured nationally recognized qualification structure within the vocational training sector which can be linked to that of the formal education sector still remains a problem. A possible solution is that there should be more effective and appropriate communication between the formal and informal education sectors which, in turn, should result in mutual recognition. Clearly demarcated career tracks which are recognized nationally according to which a person can undergo vocational training, is also part of the solution. This will again stimulate further vocational training. The aim of this study was to determine the viability of a system with various points of exit in the South African school system and the improvement of the contact which exists between the formal and non-formal education sectors. The various theoretical points of departures which guide and sustain the relation between the formal and non-formal sectors were first determined by means of a literature survey and interviews conducted with functionaries from two vocational training institutions in the informal education sector. West-Germany and Japan were used as foreign examples to determine which points of contact existed between the formal and non-formal sectors. Various suggestions offered in the RSA with regard to the various points of exit were then analyzed and evaluated. Certain conclusions were reached to determine the viability of the suggestions for the South African situation in terms of the determinants, theories and foreign experience. It was found that, based on the career profiles of the Boskop Training Centre and ISCOR, that the principle of multiple points of exit is already being used as a linking mechanism between formal and non-formal education and training institutions. The actualization of the concept of a single education and training system existing of the formal education system as well as the vocational training sector as identifiable sub-systems operating effectively seems to be the answer to the main research question addressed by the study.