News & Media
Strategic cooperation between Unisa and TVET college realised
Siza Magubane (Deputy Director: Strategic Partnerships, Unisa), Prof Truida Oosthuizen (Head: Tuition and Student Support, CEMS, Unisa), and Khaya Matiso (Principal: PE College)
On 3 August 2017, the Port Elizabeth (PE) Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College opened its facilities for the offering of a higher education qualification, two Unisa Level 5 higher certificate programmes. At an event attended by university representatives, including colleagues from the Unisa Eastern Cape Regional Office and the National Skills Fund (NSF), PE College launched its facilities for offering the L5 Certificate in Banking and the L5 Certificate in Accounting Sciences.
The PE College venue was renovated, fully furnished, and then donated to the college by the NSF. The venue includes the Resource Centre consisting of 40 computer stations and two offices for facilitators of the Unisa programmes. The NSF will also pay for the services of facilitators appointed by PE College. In addition, the fund will cover the total cost of implementation of the Unisa programmes at PE College. This includes support for 60 Unisa registered students for the first year. The handover was accepted by the PE College Principal, Khaya Matiso and both PE College and Unisa cut the first ribbon symbolising the opening of these venues.
Matiso expressed the PE College’s gratitude to Unisa for choosing to work with them. He spoke about the significance of improving the education and lives of challenged communities in the surrounding communities, including articulation into higher education and said that PE College was well placed and capable of contributing to the development of people in the area. Professor Truida Oosthuizen, Head: Office of Tuition, Student Support and Community Engagement, College of Economic and Management Sciences, Unisa, concurred with him and informed the meeting on behalf of the university that the institution’s management is committed to the partnership with TVET colleges. Unisa appreciates the determination and enthusiasm shown by PE College in advancing the implementation of this partnership.
The launch of these venues was followed by an operational meeting between Unisa and PE College. The meeting discussed a number of matters and clarified many challenges in registration and admission of students, handling funds, including a subsidy from DHET, communication with students and between Unisa and PE College, library services, and literacy training for the students and their facilitators.
The meeting also officially launched the Unisa-PE College Steering Committee. It was agreed that the Steering Committee would meet three times a year. The last meeting of the committee would be held during the last quarter of the year at Unisa. This is a significant step, as all the parties acknowledged that there were several teething challenges and that operational requirements between higher education institutions (universities) and TVET colleges were still very different. As such, those involved in these engagements with TVET colleges now appreciate the challenges in implementing the signed agreements.
PE College is so far the only TVET College that has gone this far in launching a fully funded venue and services for the implementation of the signed Unisa-TVET college agreements. The work continues and other TVET colleges are expected to implement the agreements by 2018 at the latest.
*By Siza Magubane
Publish date: 2017-08-11 00:00:00.0
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