NATIONAL NEWS - Education is the most valuable investment a young person will ever make, but to ensure they get the maximum return, do your homework before enrolling at a tertiary institution.
With tuition fees for the first year of a BA degree ranging from R13 600 to R46 000, depending on the institution, an added headache is the uncertainty the direction the Fees Must Fall protest will take next year and how the university of one's choice will be affected. For most getting a tertiary education is a serious financial commitment.
Marlies Kappers, marketing head of financial services provider DirectAxis, says that besides being clear about what you want to study and how the qualification you choose will help you achieve your career goals, you should also make sure that the institution you decide to attend has the right accreditation.
"Unfortunately there are people who take advantage of prospective students and claim to offer tertiary qualifications but don't have the proper, or sometimes, any, accreditation. This means that even though one has paid and passed, the qualification obtained is worthless" says Kappers
According to The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE), South Africa's largest and most accredited private higher education institution, the easiest way of finding a list of accredited institutions, is to go to the website of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and follow the 'Qualifications and Part Qualification' link.
The site reflects the institutions' accreditation and registration status as well. There are two types of higher education institutions, public institutions, those subsidised by the state and private institutions, which receive no state subsidy.
Only public institutions are allowed to call themselves universities in South Africa, even though private institutions have to adhere to the same regulations as the universities, and often offer the same range of qualifications.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges (TVET) offer qualifications linked to a specific range of jobs or employment possibilities, ranging from beauty therapy, plumbing, IT, business studies and a lot more. Qualifications are normally limited to a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 4, a national certificate, and is not part of an academic progression leading to higher education. Higher education institutions offer qualifications such as degrees, higher certificates and diplomas from NQF5 to 10.
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