South Africa's Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Bonginkosi Emmanuel Nzimande, signed 27 June 2014 the Policy for provision of distance education in South African universities in the context of an integrated post-school system, which got published 7 July 2014 in the Government Gazette No 37811, as Government Notice No 535.
Whereas the notions workplace learning and work-integrated learning each appears 13 times in the preceding White Paper; the term workplace learning has been replaced by work-based education (WBE); which appears as synonynm to work-integrated learning (WIL) at the end of the glossary of the said policy.
The glossary defines (emphases added) work-based education/work-integrated learning (WBE/WIL) as:
a component of a learning programme that focuses on the application of theory in an authentic, work-based context. It addresses specific competences identified for the acquisition of a qualification which relate to the development of skills that will make the learner employable and will assist in developing his/her personal skills. Employer and professional bodies are involved in the assessment of experiential learning, together with academic staff. Distance methods may usefully be used in providing a structured WBE/WIL experience within a larger learning programme; the provision of WBE/WIL, and the need for placement, mentoring, support, supervision and assessment present particular challenges for large scale distributed distance education provision and require special attention in the planning, resourcing and monitoring of programmes offered in distance mode.
It appears as if the notions and explanation have been haphazardly thrown together in that work-based education could be considered a sub-discipline of eduction, concerned with methods of work-based learning and the facilitation of learning that is work-based. The definition disregards the notion education and start by stating WBE/WIL is component of a learning programme.
The definition makes provision for the use of distance methods to provide WBE/WIL, but in the same sentence specify placement, mentoring, support, supervision and assessment. What the definition does get right is that planning, resourcing and monitoring require special attention. However, in the South African higher education context the work-integrated learning part/s of manny curriculums do not get state subsidy. Instead, funding is to some extend channeled through the Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
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