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Adult Education and Training Act, 2000 (Act No. 52 of 2000)

Notices

National Norms and Standards for Funding Adult Learning Centres (NSF·ALC)

Part 2

6. The ABET Subsidies and Grants Framework

 

46. As discussed in paragraph 11, there is a need for a formal approach to publicly fund mainstream ABET provision, but there is also a need for public funding of a less formal nature, and that also allows more collaboration between various government departments and initiatives. These NSF-ALC establish formula-based funding of ALCs in a manner that allows for predictability of funding in ALCs and encourages curricular transformation. However, the NSF-ALC also assume, and encourage, a standardised and relatively formal set of offerings. Less formal, community-based provision also needs to be encouraged.

 

47. In order to support less formal and innovative provision, the Minister of Education will develop conditions for the granting of subsidies or grants. This will be regulated via a set of regulations separate from these NSF-ALC. These regulations will be developed after the gazetting of the norms and will be based on the following principles:
(a) The granting of subsidies to private registered ALCs will be in line with sections 27 (1), 29 and 31 of the Act. Private ALCs will not be required to undergo certification, but are to adhere to the criteria to be developed in the conditions for granting subsidies to private ALCs.
(b) The funding will be close-ended in any given year. A fixed amount will be made available by the PED each year. This amount is not driven by enrolment or any formula and is established irrespective of the number of potential applications.
(c) The funding of ABET private ALCs will be by application and will be competitive if there are more applications for funds than funds available.
(d) There will be a fixed upper limit on the size of award to any entity, so as to encourage competition. A minimum size will also be created to ensure efficiency.
(e) The criteria will be sensitive to context and disadvantage. Applications from disadvantaged community organisations will be favoured according to the conditions for the granting of subsidies or grants to be developed.
(f) The funding will be open to entities registered as non-profit with the Department of Social Development.
(g) Applications bringing matching grants or some form of non-public funding from individuals, Foundations, NGOs, or the for-profit sector, will receive extra points in the awards decisions, to a degree to be established in the regulations for the Fund.
(h) Applications addressing scarce skills, as determined by the National Skills Authority will receive extra points in the awards decisions, to a degree to be established in the regulations.
(i) Whilst the awards will not attach specific monetary values to levels of accomplishment, in terms of unit standards or credits, as the formula-based funding of public ALCs does, there will be reasonable guidelines for the amount of funding per learner, to ensure that the funding is approximately in line with the formula-based funding covered elsewhere in these NSF-ALC.
(j) All grantees will be subject to periodic evaluations similar to those applied to the public ALCs under formula-based programme funding as described in section 33 of these NSF-ALC. The evaluation will be conducted by evaluators who are appointed by, and are directly accountable to the Department of Education.
(k) Strict records and databases containing, at a minimum, data on the rejected and successful applicants, size of award requested (successful or not), numbers to be served, numbers actually served, as well as the results of the periodic evaluations will be maintained.